A few days ago I ordered a new battle belt (BB). I went with the ATS Tactical War Belt. I ordered it on a Sunday Evening and it shipped Monday morning and arrived Wednesday afternoon.
Before I get into the ATS belt, I want to point out why I wanted to change to something better.
I was using a Condor Gen II Molle belt. It works fine and is quite comfortable. Plus it doesn't break the bank at around $24.00. Couple the belt with a $15.00 H-harness from Condor and I had a great set-up. Of course, as I progressed in my training and in my philosophy of how to best use a BB (Thanks to Max's CRCD course), my BB needed to change. The only problem with the Condor belt is the sides that curve around the waist. As you can see from the below picture, there are missing sections that allow for flexibility in the belt.
You can clearly see that I am missing sections of molle webbing. While this may seem like a small issue, I guarantee you it is not. In the bottom picture, the open section of webbing to the left of the SERPA holster is where my IFAK usually goes. After that is attached, I have NO ROOM left for anything else like food, water, extra ammo, nothing.
Tangent: I am experimenting with SAW ammo pouches to find a good balance of storage and comfort. Pictured is a 200rd pouch stuffed with Clif bars, jerky, and an MRE for patrol. This pouch is much too large for a BB and will be thrown in the patrol ruck in exchange for a few 100rd pouches.
Enter the ATS Tactical War Belt.
Not only is this thing very well build, it's light, comfortable, made in the USA, and has no breaks in the molle webbing. It also has 3 rows of webbing versus the two rows Condor utilizes.
The inside of the belt (where the web/riggers belt goes) is lined with Velcro to secure the belts to one another. It truly felt like one belt when I had everything attached. The padding in the belt is about 1/4" thick foam pad which feels great. The lining is also a type of moisture-wicking material to keep the wearer cool. I use a Blackhawk 2.25" duty belt as an inner belt. While that may seem like overkill to most, I love it because it gives fantastic support to my gear.
The bottom of the ATS War Belt does not fasten closed on the bottom. It is open to allow attaching gear to the inner belt at any point - this is an awesome design feature.
The harness loops are ITW Nexus if that matters to you. I honestly don't know the difference in manufacturers. This brand seems to be widely used by higher quality manufacturers. My Condor h-harness will be used to support this.
I normally set my BB up like this from left to right: (see first picture)
2 HSGI Tacos for speed reloads
1 Condor MA4 double M4 mag pouch (holds 4 GI mags or 4 PMAGs) - to refill HSGI Tacos when empty. These will fit AR, AK and FAL mags with no problem.
BDS Ultimate Dump Pouch very large dump pouch w/ different attachment options. It does take up some room if you mount it to your BB so I advise attaching it directly to your inner belt.
USGI Saw Ammo Pouch - 100rd and 200rd. Great for storing short-term food and extra mags.
Paint the suckers!
IFAK - Condor Brand in Multicam - this is simply fantastic. Yeah, it's Chinese. Its a tri-fold design that allows for plenty of goody storage like chest seals, clotting agents, etc. Plus it rips away from the velcro panel for quick access.
Blackhawk SERPA - Good retention holster. Probably going to change it out at sometime for a standard molle holster if space becomes an issue as it takes up 4 sections of molle.
Tangent #2: I've been thinking about adding a fighting knife or some sort of blade to the belt. I am not sure how to mount it securely though. I have a Gerber LMF II. I think it's a great knife that holds an edge very well. The sheath is pretty good and has a great retention. Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I may stick with my Recon I knife in my pocket as a close quarters type weapon.
I have worn the belt around and must say it much more comfortable than the Condor. I will update as I become more comfortable with this belt.
-JL
I mounted my ESEE 4 via the molle backing to the side of my HSGI canteen pouch which has molle on the outside of it. The knife blade faces away from my back and is then sandwiched between the next utility pouch. I can get to it pretty quickly, but don't consider it a fighting knife (more a utility/last ditch knife). Not sure If you have the molle sheath listed in the amazon link. If you do, then is there no more room left on your belt?
ReplyDeleteI have room, just haven't had time to really play with an arrangement. I have a Recon 1 knife that is always on me. The Gerber will probably not make the BB. It will likely be in/on my ruck as a utility type blade.
DeleteThe only downside to the Gerber sheath is that it retains almost too well. It's tough to get the knife out with one hand.
I too have been looking at mounting a blade as a utility/last ditch tool... and pulling my hair out doing it. lol
DeleteFor starters, for me personally, I don't like mounting a fixed blade to a BB, as the handle sticks up to much, digs into your side, and makes it difficult to draw (I detest high positioned draws- even belt mounted handguns). Granted, this can be mitigated with a smaller blade, bit I still don't like it.
That being said, PP seems to have made it work, so YMMV...
It's always a fight between having a knife big enough to "do all" on your gear, versus available space and comfort.
Which sucks, because I prefer fixed blades to folders- faster to get into use if need be, and as a wise man once said "a folding knife is a broken knife"...
That being said, I still EDC a folder- different uses and all that.
With a big blade like that gerber, you would probably have better luck drop legging it, Or D/OS it from the inner belt on the BB. By that I mean, using a hanger strap that goes through the slot in the ATS belt and attaches to the inner belt, but has space between it and where it attaches to the sheath- so basically it would drop the handle of the blade to a reasonable level, and sort of sandwich the BB between the strap and sheath- better example is to look at the folks that use a Safariland holster with the UBL attached to the inner belt of their BB. It's going to flap like a bitch, so you'd still need a light leg strap.
Currently, I've got an Esee 6 on a DL panel that the original plan was to rig as a small E&E kit, but.... that may be a bit big. I just got a Benchmade Adamas 375 that is much smaller, thinner, and lighter that I'm going to try adding to the chest rig as my "full size" blade, and if that works maybe downgrade the DL panel from the E6 to something like an E-3 or Kabar/Becker BK11.
Although I do hate to drop the E-6; I really like that knife....
One other thing- apparently some of these sheaths that have the mounting holes/slots in them aren't spaced right for molle, which is a huge bummer.
Something cool to look into that may ease any molle-mounting issues you run into is the Bawidamann PUP platform. You can check it out on MSM's site here:
http://milspecmonkey.com/store/hardware-diy/156-pup-platforms.html#
Come pre-drilled, or you can drill your own holes, comes in a 2-piece split version too.
Another option to think about is horizontal carry of a larger fixed blade.
If you can brainstorm a way to rig it up, you could carry it on the back of your BB, either under or behind the pouches. Or again, if a way to rig it can be found, under or behind and front-mounted pouches if running a PC/CR. Bergmann from Max's place actually had that idea for a bayonet on a CR:
(see comments)
http://alaska-evasion-fieldcraft-survival.webs.com/apps/blog/show/39570048-chicom-rig-getting-tooled-up-w-more-mods-#comments
Anyway, maybe there's a good idea somewhere in all that blathering I just did... lol
I have the Bawidamann mini-PUP mounts which I originally used for mounting a kydex handgun holster to my BB but it just takes up too much space even though they worked pretty well. I have a EDC folder that I will always have on me. I am not counting on having the gerber on my BB. It will likely be in my patrol pack. The problem with my gerber is the pommel - its made for breaking automobile windows and the last thing I want is that digging into my side breaking a rib or something.
DeleteI appreciate all the suggestions.
The PC mounting seems much more viable for me than a BB mount. I will probably just stick with my folder since it has a blade that can get the job done!