Loadout advice (belt mostly)

[Punisher3990]

Good morning all,

So, I am new to airsoft and have been slowly buying my gear. I have been getter cheaper stuff as per advice given. Mostly VIPER or KOMBAT stuff. 

Here's a pic of me in most of it

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so my reason for the post is the belt mainly. I went for this Viper battle belt as it does a good job of hiding/keeping the belly in (lol) but I notice that most people use a belt with the velco inner. 

Would I be better off using one of those and then just having a hanging piece where the belt currently is? Or is my current load out good? 

Also any tips on my gear? is it decent? (I have lowered the PC after this image as I realised it was a bit high)(the belt also now has a holster, pistol mags and a couple.of rifle mags on it, it isnt just empty lol)

 

[Lyndication]

Why's the belt on backwards?

 

[Punisher3990]

Why's the belt on backwards?

If its around the other way none of the molle is accessible so I assumed this is the way its meant to go since the connectors line up with the straps under the mag holders perfectly. 

 

[Lyndication]

If its around the other way none of the molle is accessible so I assumed this is the way its meant to go since the connectors line up with the straps under the mag holders perfectly. 

The wide bit goes at the back, those connectors are for if you're running a shoulder harness. (Like the ol' PLCE).

You don't to fill the front of a belt, it gets in the way of crouching and going prone. That wide bit lets you attach larger pouches for heavier stuff, like water bottles, gas bottles, and HPA tanks.

Oh and note on fitting the plate carrier. 

The top of it should be in line with your collarbone. The bottom will end up slightly below your ribs, ideally. The idea is to cover your ribcage cos that's where your most important squishy bits are.

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

You do whatever is most comfortable for you bud!
 

I think the clips on the bottom front of your plate carrier are probably for a dangler pouch, to carry more stuff in (and a bit of tummy protection)

I used to use one of those belts, to hold a dump pouch and an extra mag pouch or two, but wore it with the buckle to the front with a harness to support it over my shoulders.

I’ve moved over to one of the two part belts, and have found it far nicer to have moved a bit of weight to my hips, (they are very rigid and have little to no “sagging” or drop when you fit them properly) and not my upper where the weight is supported by my shoulders and then my back, allowing me to lighten my PC a touch (helping reduce back pain)

 

[Emergencychimps]

As others have said, turn the belt around. 

Drop the height of the plate carrier a touch and Look into dangler style pouches, some of them are rather larger and/or groin protectors which hang down from the front of the plate carrier. 

As a "larger" man myself I've found 2 options. 

1. Dangler pouches on the front. 

2. Wearing field shirts rather than ubacs/combat shirts. They're a little less fitted/tight around the belly.

Personally, I find those belts too big to be comfortable, so I prefer the inner belt with a small outer molle on. However clones of cryes mrb are a good compromise. 

If you are going to stick with that belt, I'd suggest a set of braces/shoulder harness for it that would go under your plate carrier. 

It doesn't look like you have anything attached to that belt.....so if be inclined to ditch it altogether. 

As it looks like you're a righty, I'd probably move the mag pouch from under your right arm to as far forward on your left side as I could. 

My experience is both looks based and I'm not a fan of those stinging belly shots. 

 

[Punisher3990]

Thank you all for your tips, I have taken them all on board. 

Some further info 

• I do have a harness on in the other picture, it's just well hidden behind the PC 
  
• This picture was taken before I got my sidearm, etc. I now have a  Glock G17, holster, 3 pistol mags, and possibly 2 rifle mags if I don't decide to get a 6x chest pouch. Or stack the 2 mag pouches onto the vest to the left as Emergency chimp suggested. Though the site I am attending tomorrow is semi-only and these mags are mid caps 120 rds, so i doubt i will need 5 spares.
  
• I am almost definitely going to get a 2-part belt. I found an Emersongear one on Amazon. Annoyingly, I have a game tomorrow, so locked into using this one for now. Link
  
• It really, really annoys me that the trousers are a different colour to the rest
  

I really appreciate all of the help, it will be nice to not feel like an idiot when i gear up tomorrow. Glad i decided to make this thread. 

View attachment 153813

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

• It really, really annoys me that the trousers are a different colour to the rest
  

View attachment 153813

Don’t be annoyed Dude, Mixing camo’s is a vibe man, I never wear matching top & troos

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[Cannonfodder]

Looks good and if the set up works for you that's all that matters. 

Don't worry about mixing up camo types, alot of people do it and anyway decent fieldcraft will always win over a fancy camouflage pattern. A case in point is when I watched a guy dressed as spiderman sneak up and get the drop on 2 guys at a woodland site.

 

[Tank423]

The wide bit goes at the back, those connectors are for if you're running a shoulder harness. (Like the ol' PLCE).

You don't to fill the front of a belt, it gets in the way of crouching and going prone. That wide bit lets you attach larger pouches for heavier stuff, like water bottles, gas bottles, and HPA tanks.

Oh and note on fitting the plate carrier. 

The top of it should be in line with your collarbone. The bottom will end up slightly below your ribs, ideally. The idea is to cover your ribcage cos that's where your most important squishy bits are.

Sounds like a PC would fit me like a bra if that's how they should be worn

Set up looks good punisher, I'll take pictures of my belts later and how I've set them up so you can see how I run the same belt. You can rock just the belt for hot weather and carry everything you need. Not gonna lie I actually quite liked the look of the backwards belt clipped to the carrier, if you find it comfortable run it! 

A word of caution for the belt you linked, as a bigger man the buckle will dig in and be uncomfortable very quickly, I had 2 and sold them as it was painful after less than an hour of having it on. You can get cheap belts with that style buckle on temu for ~£2 to try it before splashing out on the Emerson one to decide if you'll like it or not!

 

[ButcherBill]

TBH I kinda like the belt when it was the other way round but yeah, it is meant to be at the back.

You might find the belt & chest rig a bit heavy as we do tend to fill pouches, you could get a harness to attach to the belt and wear one or the other, or both depending on the game style or your playing style.

I have an old British Army chest rig that I find very comfortable that I use for my aeg's, and a belt rig (not the best pics) that I use for my GBBR's (usually).

The good thing about Molle set ups is how you can tailor it to your prefered loadout, the worst thing about Molle tho is how you can tailor it to your prefered loadout & will adjust it time & time again.

As long as you enjoy your game day then that's all that matters, on my first skirmish I was in DPM with an old PLCE rig, took me ages to find my preferences.

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[Anonymoose]

As long as you enjoy your game day then that's all that matters.

I like to go dressed as animals.

View attachment 153834

 

[Tank423]

I like to go dressed as animals.

Furry confirmed..

Where's the other reindeer at? Blitzen and the gang feel left out.

 

[Tank423]

@Punisher3990

Here's my 2 belts 

View attachment 153838

Top one is set up for My Apache with 5 mags + USP with 3 mags combo.

Bottom one is set up for sniper rifles (4 or 8 mags depending if L96 or VSR) and currently sand viper with 5 mags. Usually I run 2 pistols so have one on either side but really liking the sand viper at the moment so soloing that.

Both holsters are on quick release adapters so can be swapped for either belt.

 

[Punisher3990]

Hey all, 

So I decided to go with 3 pistol mags on the left, holster on the right, and moved the 2 utility pouches from the side of my PC to the back of the belt due to easier access 

I attended my first game today and the belt works amazingly as did all of my gear. 

Absolutely shattered but thank you all for your tips and advice!

 

[Impulse]

I've been doing a lot of reading and experimenting with different methods of carrying gear, and I would advise you also try different things to see what you like. What works for most people may not work for you, or it might. I've now got two belt kits that I tend to go for (well, three, but one is only for period loadouts!), and I only came to the conclusions I came to by experimenting with different styles and seeing what I liked and what I hated.

One is a supplementary, lightweight belt kit. I can run it solo if I really want to and only if I'm using my m700s or SRS, but it's designed to supplement my plate carrier or chest rig so it will generally struggle if I run it solo.

The other is an LBE setup with a harness. It's designed to run solo, with no chest rig or plate carrier and carries everything I need on it, with a backpack to supplement with more water, gas and BBs. I do need to revisit it to attach comms to it, as my radio pouch is currently on the back and I don't like that, and I need another PTT as my other two are firmly threaded into my chest rig and plate carrier... Hmmmmmm...

What I will say though as a general warning, especially as a larger gentleman (I, too, suffer with it and just got back from a session of trying to sort that issue), you don't want to put too many mags on your front on your plate carrier. I use single stack mag pouches on my chest rig and plate carrier both, and use the belt to hold the extra mags to keep me at a fighting load, because I use GBBRs with 35rd/20rd magazines and I'm an immersion nerd (6 spare mags + 1 in the gun is a US standard load of magazines). If you double stack mags on your front, it's fine as long as you never go prone. Prone with a gut and double stacked mags sucks