Today we’re focusing on the battle belt, a concept that’s evolved a bit over the years. Up front, the “ideal” battle belt setup varies from person to person. There is no single best way to configure your belt. That’s both a blessing and a curse, because it means you’ll never stop fidgeting with your kit trying to find a better way to do it.
So what is a battle belt, exactly? Sometimes also called a “war belt,” the best way to think about it a minimalist fighting kit. It’s more than a gun belt, but less than a full-blown LBE. The battle belt can stand alone, or supplement additional equipment like a chest rig or plate carrier. You could equip it to be very capable (but heavy), or strip it down to the bare necessities. It’s personal preference.
As we get going, I find it helpful to establish a mission set. This drives our requirements.
Scenario-X
At The Everyday Marksman, Scenario-X is our illustrative emergency situation. Imagine this: a natural disaster swept through your region, leaving you and your neighborhood isolated from government services and fending for yourselves. Your priority, along with a team of like-minded citizens, is providing security for your families against nefarious elements taking advantage of the situation.
You are not necessarily looking to fight, but you must present the impression that you are ready to do so in an organized fashion. This creates a layer of deterrence and presents your neighborhood as a hard target better left alone.
Load Carriage Options
You have two major options for managing your fighting equipment. Do you want it on your hips, chest, or mixed? Each have their pros and cons as far as comfort, capacity, and accessibility.
Today’s post is specifically about carrying weight on your belt line without a suspension system.
The battle belt, or something like it, belongs to the second tier (“Patrol”) of The Everyday Marksman Gear Hierarchy, right after your everyday carry (EDC) and basic essentials.
As I mentioned, everyone has a slightly different view of what they need and want to carry on their belt. I’m not going into this to be dictatorial about it. Rather, this post lays out some principles for success that you can use for your own setup.
Additionally, I’ll share my lessons learned through years of experimentation and mistakes.
