Basic Concept: I wanted a setup that contained most of what I would need to defend/conduct myself in a bad scenario, yet also sustain me should I become separated from the house or my gear in other parts of the house. Say for example, I wake up in the middle of the night to an active home invasion... or I wake up in the middle of the night to an active home invasion going on at my elderly neighbors house... (you can pick scenarios all day). I want to be geared up and on the move to stop the threat in a minimal amount of time (lets say under 1 min and 30 sec, preferably in about 30 to 45 sec. I can always just go in about 3-5 sec in my underwear with the pistol and flashlight in my night stand, but I don't fancy defending anything attired this way)
I have an old set of coveralls and some slip on steel toe boots that I can put on in the blink of an eye, and with the battle belt I can clip it on and be out of the bedroom almost as fast as if I had worn my bathrobe.
From my battle belt I can sustain my primary weapon (Rifle) and I have my secondary (Pistol) if I need to transition. I have avoided adding anything I don't immediately need, no water, matches, energy bars, portable hair dryers, fishing tackle... you get the point. No man vs. wild here, just enough defensive persuasion to hit first, hit hard, and hit fast.
Here is a rundown of what I'm running on the belt currently:
VTAC Brokos Belt -
Excellent construction, the padding is a mesh honeycomb material that won't soak up and hold water/sweat, and looks pretty resistant to abrasion, it isn't bulky and I don't feel like I have a pillow around my waist (it's hard to explain or photograph, trust me or just buy one and see). All the seams are sewn and tacked. I ordered a Medium and as you can see it fits my size 30 waist pretty good, (In ordering belts that fit over your pants/clothing, you need to measure first. To measure just put on your clothing, and wrap an over-sized belt around your waist and mark the length you need, take off the over-sized belt and measure it while it's laid out on the ground. My measurements came to 34-36 depending on my clothing. Yours will vary depending on how tight you like your belt, I usually want it tighter because I don't want to look like John Wayne and have my belt slide off my hips when/if I need to run) The sizing is important for the Brokos belt because the larger the size the more attachment space you have. When I was looking online at others who had bought this belt I saw them running 4 AR-15 mags, 8 pistol mags, canteen, etc... If you are small like me you will be surprised at the lack of space that you end up with, its important to remember, between a 30 and 40 waist, that's ten extra inches of belt space. I picked the Multi-cam camo pattern, you pick what suits you.
I like how everything is attached using the MOLLE system and the inner stiffener of this belt keeps it from rolling over. All my gear hooked right up, I threaded the inner belt out and over the MOLLE section where ever I wanted to use a belt attachment vice a MOLLE strap. All my gear clipped on without much hassle, the belt is sewn to tight tolerances but not so tight that you can't thread and attach your gear. Nothing leans out from the belt or feels loose. I'd plan on leaving the side with the pistol free of everything but a holster, I tried a couple different setups and I just don't like bashing my loaded pistol into things when I draw or holster; again, you may want a different setup.
Emdom-MM CM Belt (Inner belt for the Brokos) -
I really like this belt, it's also patterned in Multi-cam camo and I like the buckle attachment. It's stiff enough to be worn on its own or inside a battle belt. The construction is solid and the price is really good, it has features that make it a great duty belt if you want to go that route as well. Sizing is true so my medium ended up fitting perfect when used with the battle belt, but I don't have a lot of room to go any bigger, if I were a 32 waist I'd step up to the large belt if I was going to use it as the inner belt on a battle belt.
S-biner clip
Mechanix gloves
BLACKHAWK! SERPA Holster, Fullsize 1911 on a Belt slide Holster
Kimber Eclipse Target II
Maxpedition Rollypoly Dump Pouch -
Nice well made dump pouch, it folds up small so it's out of the way and it deploys quickly for use, it opens wide enough to take several AR-15 mags and it stays open for easy "dumping". I wish it was available in Multi-cam camo, but the Coyote color is OK (If you are a stickler for matching colors, it isn't the same shade as FDE (Flat Dark Earth)), it doesn't matter much to me but it would be nice to see Maxpedition get up to speed on the current color schemes.
ITS Tactical IFAK Pouch with ETA Kit and SOF Tourniquet
EMT Shears - These are a better option to cut off zip ties than a knife, just try to cut off Flexi-cuffs with a bowie knife. These shears are cheap ($7) and can cut most anything from sheet metal to seat belt material. they fit nicely behind my IFAK.
2 FAST Mag 5.56 Rifle mag holders - These are made from a rigid plastic with a thick rubber band to hold the mag tightly (although they will still retain a mag without the rubber band), they can be pricey when compared to cloth mag pouches, but I like the ability to quickly reinsert mags one handed. They also have the advantage of not getting soaking wet in the rain, a big factor here in Washington State.
2 Lancer 20 rd L5 mags - Good mags, and with the disappearance of the P-Mag (lets hope its just endangered, not extinct in the upcoming days) these are still available, I like the 20 rounders and they lighten my belt a smidge. I can plus up with my 30 rd P-Mags if I feel like I need that option, but for home defense I hope I won't need that much ammo.
3 FAST Mag Pistol mag holders - These are constructed the same as the rifle mag holders, but they allow for a far greater range of mag options, I can use these to hold almost any type of double stack or single stack pistol mags. I'm using mine for my 1911 mags, and while they are slightly more bulky than the cloth mag pouches, they hold the smooth slim 1911 mags exceptionally well. I was worried when I first put them on and was practicing drawing and reloading, the mags seemed to stick and hold with more retention than I would have liked, but when I was at the range moving and shooting I didn't notice any issues. It just goes to show that your living room is not an adequate test facility.
3 Kimber, Kimpro TAC-MAGS
Night OPS Gladius Flashlight in a BLACKHAWK! Belt slide Holster
Sizing: I am a 30 waist, (5' 11'', and I wear a 30X32 pant) don't be fooled by other opinions on the internet, too many people are either fatter or skinnier than they want to admit, and everybody wears it differently. One thing I have found as a common theme as a skinnier guy is that rarely are clothes I purchase too small. If you are slight of frame only you can judge what is going to fit you.
Of all the clothing and gear I have bought I find it most often to be correctly sized to the manufacturers advertised sizing. Yet I constantly read reviews of gear that people claim is too small..... I guess manufacturers all just use incorrect measurements... rolls eyes.
Weight: All loaded up it weighs 10.5 lbs..... That's a lot for a duty belt... which is why I went with the battle belt setup, and even with all that weight its' still significantly less weight on my hips than a fully loaded hiking pack with a hip belt would exert.
Comfort: I wore the belt for an hour and a half at the range doing some reactive shooting and it wore really well, much better than a duty belt would with all that gear on it. Its not cumbersome and It didn't ride up drawing the weapon, or pulling out the mags, I did experience some riding up when I was bending over and kneeling down to pick up my spent brass, but it wasn't affecting the function of the belt and I'd say the impact of it riding up a few inches was minimal. It was a fairly cool day with temps in the 50's so overheating wasn't a factor. Overall it was comfortable and functional; I don't test my gear by low crawling, jumping out of planes, combat rolling, or otherwise exerting myself. I also don't plan to test its function riding in a Humvee in the desert of Iraq or manning a door gun on an SH60 in a sandstorm. It worked perfectly for running, kneeling and shooting on the move, don't make your life harder than it needs to be, if you are Spetsnaz and only buy gear that is designed to endure a backflip while throwing a hatchet... the battle belt is not for you.
From everything I have read people have really mixed views on the battle belt setups, some people hang all their bug out gear off them, others load their entire setup with an armload of extra rifle mags, some people run them with a drop leg holster, or with suspenders. I don't think there is a right way or a wrong way to set up your belt. If it works for you, run it.
Remember, The best setup in the world won't do you an ounce of good if you don't have it with you, I have a chest rig and I can only imagine trying to sort that out and get it put on in time to respond to a threat in the middle of the night... in the dark.... under stress. Mall ninja and Tacticool Armchair Ranger talk aside, I don't realistically think you can expect to have time to get your gear on if it involves more than a few steps, keep it simple, keep it mobile, keep it real.
Note: I love this multi-cam camo pattern, it works well everywhere, its good in the front yard, the scrub brush in the open field, the deep woods, and well.... just about anywhere. It reminds me of a lighter version of the german flecktarn camo. The pants I have on are Vertx (designed by Arcteryx) and they are awesome, the fit and feel is top notch, and they aren't overly baggy like a lot of the BDU type pants you come across.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteLanguage.
ReplyDelete