Battle Belt fittings?

[emilianoksa]

I've seen some wear them ending at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, and other with  them continuing around to the 5 and 7 o'clock positions.

I prefer the latter, but am unsure about the sizing. If the medium size of the Condor battle belt is given as 36-40" and you have a 34-36 waist, will the medium belt run out at 3 and 9 o'clock do you think, or closer to  5 and 7? 

Yet the 5.11 Brokos belt which I can't really afford at the moment has large/x large at 36-42".

I don't know what to make of these measurements. Being thicker and bearing weight the measurement of a battle belt must be completely different from normal belt measurement.

I just want to avoid getting something that covers only half of my waist with the inner belt visible from one hip to another.

Any advice would really be appreciated. 

 

[Druid799]

I was always trained that when wearing belt order you should be able to lay down on your belly and be able to access all pouches , so no pouches under you if your lying down .

 

[TheFull9]

And nowadays everyone's got mags and gear right on their front because doctrine changed and SF were doing it different for years anyway.

Getting prone and being flat can often be important but the further around your mags are the harder to access from a point of view of pure human biology.  The best compromise is to make sure you have at least some gap in your belt rig right above your junk, then put thin stuff like pistol mags nearest the front.

I've had this issue and reality is there's a ton of factors involved, almost too many unless you know someone the same size with the same belt.  Best estimate is to count the columns of PALS webbing/slots for an idea of the true length of the belt, taking in to account a couple of inches for padding and inner belt.  I wear medium trousers and go for a large in these kinds of belts to make the PALS almost meet in the middle.

 

[Tackle]

I was always trained that when wearing belt order you should be able to lay down on your belly and be able to access all pouches , so no pouches under you if your lying down .

Me too, back then it was 58 pattern, & the threat of a soviet 7.92 meant always getting down as low as possible, BUT these days if I was to lie down, likelihood I wouldn't be able to get up again lol, so I'll stay upright & take my chances with a hail of 6mm death  .

 

[emilianoksa]

Thanks for all the replies and thanks especially to Mr Kinnerly for that very useful advice.

Pals normally are an inch wide aren't they? If you can confirm this, I'll count the pals.

 

[Druid799]

Getting prone and being flat can often be important but the further around your mags are the harder to access from a point of view of pure human biology

Very true one would hope your not going to put mags round the back , but first 2 on each side are mag carriers then ammo/grenades then in the middle at the back non essentials . Means you can lay down prity flat and still access everything comfortably . 

 

[emilianoksa]

I would put only a holster and a couple of pistol mags on it.

Possibly a small pouch for keys, valuables etc and a dump pouch on the back. But probably not. I prefer to have a light chest rig for rifle mags.

Wouldn't it be much easier for sizing if they gave the actual length of the molle section. Then you would just use a tape measure to see more or less how much of your waist it would cover.

I can't imagine why they don't do this.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Very true one would hope your not going to put mags round the back , but first 2 on each side are mag carriers then ammo/grenades then in the middle at the back non essentials . Means you can lay down prity flat and still access everything comfortably . 

i go for 3 right 3 left mag carriers, then right hand side is pouch for speedloader/bipod, left is utility pouch for utility things then back is dump pouch.

generally grenade is left shoulder with a key lanyard on the pin so you can throw one-handed.

right hand mags are a bit slow but you just use those for reloading when not immediately under fire and leave the first left mag for a quick load should the need arise.

 

[Immortal]

I have two mags on the front at 2 and 10 o'clock, then a pistol holster on each side at 3 & 9, then two more mags at 5 & 7 and a multi use pouch at 6 with a radio and dump patch attached (dump pouch just for carrying consumables). The PTT is weaved inside the belt and up the left harness strap.

Much prefer a battle belt setup than a vest. Nothing against vests apart from in prone I end up flapping about like a seal and I don't need armour for a bit of pew pew. I have run kevlar vests before but that's just for shits n giggles (it's just fun bouncing off stuff like walls when running and gunning).

Regarding fitting: My belt is very padded and rigid so it holds it's shape under load without cutting in (Brand: Defcon5 - Italian Gucci belt... LOL). It probably adds 2 inches to my normal waist size. I'm a 35-36" waist, the molle section stops an inch before the buckles either side. The larger one offered has more molle loops too (the reason I went for it as it happens and I was unsure of sizing too).

 

[TheFull9]

Thanks for all the replies and thanks especially to Mr Kinnerly for that very useful advice.

Pals normally are an inch wide aren't they? If you can confirm this, I'll count the pals.

The stitching will actually be 1.5" apart as you go along horizontally, the the gaps vertically are 1".  So yeah find a pic of the exact model/size of what you're buying, count gaps then use a tape measure accounting at least a 2-3"+ for the thickness of the padding and materials.  I'd imagine in most instances doing the size-up thing will work out.

After that what you put on doesn't matter so much because it's all totally modular and you can adjust and perfect it over time to your preference.   r.e. providing exact lengths of the actual belt, the high end brands do do that kinda thing on their own websites a lot of the time, because they know folks encounter this exact issue and the manufacturers provide precisely the info needed to work things out.  Most retailers here are more like stores on base - "yeah you look medium-ish, here you go".