I recently got some armor from AR500 Armor because their sale dropped the price to where I could afford it. My armor came with a War Belt.
I don’t think much of the war belt. I am having trouble with the sizing adjustment, the belt doesn’t really feel stiff enough, and the buckle is plastic. I have a really hard time trusting my life to plastic (And yes, I am aware of the irony of this statement in that I carry a plastic gun in a plastic holster).
That said, I quite like the idea of a war belt for some projects I have percolating around in my mind, and even just the range. Also, if something goes bump in the night and I don’t think I have enough time for my armor, I may still have time for the belt. And if something goes weird in my town and rioting ensues, it could be that I find myself needing it.
So with all that out of the way, as a matter of general policy, would it be better to get the accessories I need for a war belt and put them on this one and get a better belt later, or would it be better to get a better belt now and put off the holster etc for later?
I think I picked up a similar deal from AR500. They had a 2 for 1 sale last year that came with the armor plates, carriers, belts, holsters, and various mag and supply pouches. I’m OK with the plastic on the belt buckle; it’s been pretty firm so far. I also have several pistol mags in the mag carriers, and the belt keeps them easily available. One gripe with the belt though: it doesn’t seem to be much good for a standard outside the waist band holster, and the adjustable holster you get with it is pretty terrible for any weapon with an optic. Maybe I haven’t done enough with it yet or maybe I, too, should be looking for a better holster. I’d say stick with the belt if you can get it to work for you. It seems pretty durable. Also, have you attached anything to the vest yet that might make the belt of less use? Like attaching a holster and mag carriers to the front, etc. The carrier I have seems to have a lot of options that almost make the belt seem of little use if fully taken advantage of, although it would increase the bulk by quite a lot.
I can’t speak about your particular items, but there are a lot of kinds of plastic, and some are extremely durable. I’m pretty sure that you’re already trusting your life to plastic in many places.
I always try to buy quality the first time around. If it came free, fine. But, learn from it, you know the +'s and -'s from this one, so you know what to buy now.
Yeah, they admit that their holster doesn’t work with optics. They claim to be working on it. I’ve been told that holsters of that sort don’t work well, though. Everyone insists that they need to be made specifically for the gun you have. I don’t actually know of my own accord, but with literally everyone I’ve heard talking about it saying the same thing, I’ve decided to take the advice.
I put the double AR mag pouches on the plate carrier chest, and I plan to put a single next to them. I’ve put the double pistol mag pouches on the belt (that was a PAIN!), and I plan to put a holster and a first aid kit. Not sure what else I would put. Thought about a holster or mag pouches on the cummerbund, but I’m not sure I could draw from that high up.
As to why I’m not doing everything now, well, Civilization 2 had a cheat menu where I could give myself infinite funds, but I haven’t found the cheat codes for real life yet.
I was looking at the Warrior Poet Society’s Double Rig belt, Ronin Tactic’s Shuto, and T.rex Arms’ Orion and finally decided on the Orion, but does anyone have any advice on that too?
From the video on their website, it is called a "battle belt. The belt goes through a loop near the buckle and you cinch it as needed and then press the remainder to the belt, as it is all velcro, it sticks. I would not feel that the velcro outer “duty belt” that uses velcro to attach to the inner belt that goes throug the belt loops is a secure enough method. I guess cinched tight enough it might be. The other issue is what you addressed, the sturdiness of the belt system. The concept is interesting, and if the belt is sturdy enough and the velcro holds well, it would seem to be a good concept.
Ahhh another one enters on the path to enlightenment! You are in the add more stuff to it phase which culminates in the realization that “I can’t lift it let alone carry it.” Then you strip everything off it and buy a bag to hold everything your not wearing. Rinse and repeat till you have several bags. Then you buy a pickup truck. It gets interesting after that.
My personal opinion is, spend the money on good armor before a belt.
If crap really gets crazy with riots, what you really want to do is avoid them completely. Or, if you can’t avoid them, have several like minded and like armed friends and family with you…and in either case, probably, having your tools and firearms concealed is going to be preferred.
I’m assuming by AR500 you mean the spall-prone, heavy as heck steel AR500 armor.
Throwing on a plate carrier utilizing first spear tubes doesn’t take very long, in a home defense situation, to me, personally, I’m a thousand times more interested in wearing armor than a belt. Beef up the doors and windows with door clubs or night locks etc, longer screws in the hinges and strike plates, alarm that is armed as much as possible and absolutely when gone or in bed…buy yourself those seconds to put on armor instead of a belt.
And if there’s a riot and you’re leaving the house, use your concealed carry belt, maybe add a mag pouch or two or medical bag to it or in a backpack and don’t stand out. Or, if you’re going to stand out, stand out with lighter weight ceramic plates that wont’ spall, weigh less, are multi curve, and stop 5.56
Then get quality accessories for your plate carrier that is carrying quality plates. Put your medical and mags on the PC.
I put as much stuff as I reasonably can on my armor… I am not really familiar with the term “war belt”, assuming it is like a duty belt?
For home use, I would have extra shotgun rounds or AR mags on my armor (or handgun mags), a flashlight and a place to keep my cell phone. Seems a bit much for a duty belt, as it will probably be a quickly escalating theoretical situation.
Never buy “cheap” gear. And if you accidentally buy cheap gear… get rid of it.
But there is a category of “good enough”, IMO. That is gear that holds up to normal civilian use/training, but maybe wouldn’t last on deployment to the sandbox.
I don’t know which category this AR500 belt falls into.
If the belt conforms to a “standard” where an accessory you get for it will work on another belt, then I don’t see any problem with kitting this belt out with good accessories because you can transfer them to another belt if needed.
^^^ Truth.
Take a tour around youtube looking at the setups that popular guntubers have. Some wear just a belt, some wear a plate carrier, some wear a chest rig, and some wear a combination of the 3. There are reasons why you might want to wear one setup over another, so its helpful to figure out that part first before spending a bunch of cash on equipment.
This is very interesting to me, and you seem to know more on this topic than I do.
Ceramic armor is lighter, yes, but breaks apart when hit repeatedly, plus it has a shorter shelf life, plus more storage requirements. What makes it better than steel armor with an anti-spall coating on it?
I don’t mean to be argumentative, I really am looking for information.
Ceramics are still often rated for multiple hits, and I’d rather the armor fracture/whatever to absorb the energy, than the bullet break apart and send debris up into my neck and face as is more possible with steel.
Shelf life is still rather long, storage requirements really aren’t bad, many LE keep them in car trunks full time…unless you’re doing that I wouldn’t worry about storage (it sounded to me like this would be stored in a home)
I have yet to find a steel with spall coating that is as safe, spall wise, as a good ceramic. Other than that, it’s the weight. My ceramic plates rated for mutiple hits from 5.56 or M80 or 7.62x39 only weigh 4.5 lbs each
@Nathan57 and others. Can you pop some links of the best of the best on plates and plate carriers so I can look at them and maybe buy something.
Unless you have a compelling reason I’m thinking of only pistol protection. I’m not seeing that I’d ever engage someone with a long gun. If it’s a rifle, I can only imagine it’d be maybe a bit longer range snipe sort of thing where it would potentially be a headshot anyway.
I think you’re onto something with pistol only protection. We probably know, most of us, the stats on the % of violent crimes committed with pistols vs rifles. It’s, like, almost entirely pistol. And pistol rated plates or armor are much much lighter.
I legitimately think it’s a viable decision to build a plate carrier with hard pistol plates that’s really fast and easy to put on, like for home defense or whatever, since you’re by far the most likely to encounter pistols as a threat, the plates are less expensive, the plates are lighter, and the plates are THIN.
Lots of choices out there. Like Crye JPC 2.0.
My go two for getting the main idea would be Garand Thumb
And Hesco or RMA plates
PRices are pretty much in line with the combination of protection level, weight, cost. One of those here’s three things, pick two deals.
