My gear - duty belt - 2nd line of equipment
2016-10-13
Duty belt
You already know who I am and probably you know some of my opinions in airsoft world ;) It’s high time for you to learn something about the gear I use. Today’s topic is about a piece of my II line of equipment – the duty belt. Maybe this post will be helpful for airsoft freshmen, that don’t really know what to put on themselves, it can also serve as kind of inspiration, guide or set of hints for making your own duty belt ;)
Before I start – I’m aware that my gear is not an universal and ideal solution. There may be some things missing, and some of the pouches should be replaced with better counterparts. But frankly, that’s what our hobby is about – improving your gear equally to your experience.
Base
The base of my configuration is a Condor Duty Belt. It’s not the one of that fancy cordura belts, but it managed to survive 3 years of usage without any issues, even with my tendency to crawl into spiky bushes on every skirmish or sliding from steeps. It's got maximum regulation of 108 centimeters. It’s width equals 50 millimeters and works with most of pistol holsters. The belt is shipped with two additional horizontal pouches.
Configuration
In current design, the belt is supposed to carry 2 or 4 AK magazines, a dump pouch, a cargo pouch for basic things, a 1911 holster and a flashlight for emergency use - for example searching through some old structures or buildings (unfortunately, we don’t really have too many CQB places in Silesia).
2x2 M4 magazine pouch
My pouch is made by Condor and has capacity of 4 STANAG or 2 AK type magazines. It can perform both as CQB (open) and closed pouch – I prefer the open one. I’m using that pouch mainly because of it’s universality – if I sell my AK, I can still use it with M4 magazines. In the future I’m going to replace it with Taco type pouches.
Dump pouch
It's All China Made, I’m not kidding ;) At first it was in some poorly made multicam pattern, but I’ve decided to paint it with some Fosco spray paints and it started to be usable. I’m highly surprised that after all those years it still does its work.
Cargo pouch
It is made of Ranger Green cordura by private tailor. It’s a well made copy of SOE chest rig cargo.
Inside I keep things like:
- red rag
- 2 speedloaders
- second 1911 magazine (I don’t use it that often)
- lighter for pyrotechnics or esbit fuel
- something to take notes
- map of terrain
- some snacks ;)
The little pieces of equipment are held by rubber loops sewed inside the pouch. At the left side of the pouch I have mounted a piton with legendary black tape – you’ll never know when you’re gonna need it, especially when no one will carry it at that moment.
Polymer made 1911 holster
It’s made by IMI Defense. It’s one of my best purchases ever – it had never let me down. It has regulated angle, solid belt mount and a lot of additional accessories available on the market – what else do I need? The only thing that makes me sad is that there is no version of this holster made to carry a 1911 with flashlight. But frankly, you can’t have everything.
The horizontal pouch
I have mentioned it before – it’s the one shipped with belt. I carry a small flashlight inside. It is possible to fit there equipment like knife, multitool or just pistol magazine (but something bigger, the 1911 mag seems to be too thin and it’s not secured firmly). The pouch has 2 big cons. It’s not that easy to take out things from inside (especially if we’re used to standard vertical pouches). It also takes too much of belt surface in relation to the poor capacity it offers (you can easily mount 3 vertical pistol pouches in place of this one).
The set described above seems to fulfill most of my airsoft needs. I can easily play only with this belt on longer scenarios, when I want to take a brake from my plate carrier or backpack. I predict some changes in future:
- dump pouch will be changed for better, non Chinese model
- the 2x4 M4 pouch will be changed for universal carbine pouches (like the Taco ones)
- the horizontal pouch will be changed for more simple, vertical construction + two additional pistol pouches will be placed on saved surface
- the cargo pouch will be replaced with velcro first aid pouch
- the belt will be replaced with MOLLE construction – I’m waiting for premiere of something like the Templars Gear TP1 belt (they have disappeared from Polish market).
And how about you? What belt configuration do you like and why? Feel free to discuss!
Author:
Paweł "Fishbonee" Napieralski
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October 2016
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