Which riggers belt?

Darn near any descent belt will keep your pants up and be comfortable.

When you add weight to the belt, you become very picky. If you are carrying a pistol (legally) either concealed or open carry, your typical flimsy keep your pants off the floor belt won't work. When you draw your pistol and the holster - pants - belt all get pulled up to your armpit, you realize imediately that you need a better belt.

For everyday wear I use a Bianchi DOUBLE THICKNESS 1 & 3/4 inch leather belt. Since tight, this provides a stable platform to draw a pistol from. It also will carry a reasonable amount of weight very comfortably. I should note that this belt is cut on a curve to match MALE hips so it doesn't get that classic pinching in back.

The riggers belts offer all those features and more. They can be stiffer (depending on which brands you buy), carry more weight comfortably and, can serve you well in an emergency. While I don't plan on repelling with my rigger belt, it beats the hell out of going hand over hand down a rope. I like the extra margin of safety and utiltiy. Utility I use everyday, the safety only when things go wrong. If I intend to do rope work, I will use a better harness.
 
Sproles,
Sid pretty much covered it: a riggers belt is very strong and stable. While I don't plan to use it to climb, it's great for carrying heavy stuff without sagging, turning, flipping, etc. It gives me a more stable platform for my gear and allows a cleaner draw of a knife or handgun. It's also great at taking alot of weight and distributing it.
When I switched from my old leather belt (which I thought was strong and supportive... boy was I wrong) to my riggers belt, it was almost as if I couldn't feel some of my gear anymore. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes in what you can comfortably carry.
 
or essentially, rigging up tie lines for lifting stuff, rigging ropes for rappelling and rigging stuff to be dropped out of aircrafts. The basic function is so that you can be tied to a rope and secured to the top side of a cliff or building, the inside of an aircraft, or anywhere so that one does not die from sudden deceleration syndrome.
 
Originally posted by MelancholyMutt
...snip...sudden deceleration syndrome.
Click to expand...

Hi MM,
Just going to be pedantic for a second - there is no such thing as deceleration - it's just acceleration with a -Vector :D :rolleyes:

I used to wear one back when I did......Rigging!

Now I'm a FAT bastid, and can't find one that fits:(
 
Good Evening All-

Placed an order with SOE the other day for their Rigger's belt, assorted pouches, and shotgun shell holders.

As promised, I will post a short review on this thread. My belt from The Wilderness has been great, so I'm hoping these two manufacturers complement each other for use with a variety of pants and shorts.

Regards,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
talk about a Half azzed website... most of the pictures are broken sources, and most of the pages are missing... Can't see it even if I gotta buy it...
 
LOL. if they want a fully azzed up site they should contact yours truly. Our boys have a 4 level .asp based content management engine at beta stage, friendly enough even Roger Ramjet could build and manage a site at Rei.com scale. Actually if any individual knifemaker is game enough and don't mind being a guinea pig, they're most welcome to use it for free. Heck sure beats using Imagestation. The first gentleman in mind is of course Robert Hankins :D
 
Interested to hear what you have to say, Blue.
I also just placed an order... but for an LBT instead. I'll also post a short review in this thread and directly compare it to my wilderness.

I ordered from Lightfighter: the belt shipped earlier today (Thursday - not Fri) so I should get it soon.
 
Good Evening All-

The SOE Rigger's belt has arrived, along with some utility pouches that I needed. Earlier in this thread, I promised insights and feedback to my friends on BF, along with comparisons to my Wilderness Instructor's belt:

Build Quality
Well, we're really splitting hairs here. Both of these manufacturers display top-notch build quality. An abundance of stitching ensures that neither belt will "fall apart" on you. Ever.

SOE was a bit more generous with the Velcro fasteners...including a full Velcro lining for securing accessories. Additionally, their hook & loops are so "aggressive" that it almost seems that they're welded together when closed. The folks at SOE get a little extra credit for the contrasting off-white stitching at the top and bottom of the belt...it's a nice touch.

Wearing Comfort
The five-stitch Wilderness Instructor's belt definitely provides more stiffness, while the SOE is a bit more supple. In the long-run, it would come down to preference, but my taste runs to a stiffer belt. This has always been the case whether it was for nylon belts or for leather belts. In terms of day-to-day convenience, the Wilderness Instructor's belt would be easier to manage. The tapered and "melted" end allows it to feed through loops much easier. This is especially true for the final belt loop where you have to feed the belt back through in the opposite direction.

Hardware
As far as I can tell, the hardware on the belts may have even come from the same supplier...even if they are slightly different. The SOE has a gray/industrial finish while the Wilderness is finished in matte black. The attachment points accomplish the same thing through slightly different placement. The SOE reduces the amount of stress placed on the attachment point because it is not used as part of the "everyday buckling-up" procedure. The downside is that the SOE system is much bulkier and occupies nearly five inches across the front of the belt compared to about three for the Wilderness. For pure utility, the edge would have to go to the SOE example. For appearance and speed, the nod goes to the Wilderness

Overall
If you're wearing the belts with a tucked-in golf shirt, the SOE is going to appear a "little over-the-top" in most civilian scenarios. If the belt will be worn with a covering garment with accessories attached via Velcro, one would grow to love the SOE.

The Wilderness Instructor's belt is going to allow for a bit more "flexibility" in the field in terms of dress. I've worn mine to the office without a second glance. The SOE will not do as well in that role.

You're going to hate me for saying this...
It really is true, you'll do well with both belts in your inventory. I am certainly glad to have an example of each to handle the different roles I'll throw at them. Yeah, they're both belts, but it's turning out to be more of an apples & oranges comparison than I thought. Amortize the $70.00 over twenty years and it ain't so bad.

Regards,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
Ok, I'm sorry for taking so long to get back to this thread but I really wanted to get a feel for the LBT Riggers belt before writing some thoughts on it.

To sum it up, I'd say that it comes nowhere near the quality of the Wilderness belt, but it's got some convenient features.

First of all, I prefer the separate tie in point. Also, I like the fact that there is a lot more velcro to use so the LBT belt will fit under a much wider variety of conditions. For example, I wear my pants at different heights depending on how much gear I'm carrying, what I'm doing, etc. This changes the needed belt circumference, however, which the LBT more easily accomodates. The velcro also seems to be of a slightly higher quality than the Wildnerness belt. It hasn't frayed yet.

The overal construction though is close to what I would call crap. The sewing is all over the damn place in an unorganized fashion and little bits of thread stick out here and there. It's really not something that you look at and marvel in its execution: quite the opposite, in fact.

Also, the thing IS NOT STIFF AT ALL. Maybe I'm just too used to my 5-stitch Wilderness but this thing is like a limp noodle... Ok, ok, I'm being hyperbolic... it's still stiffer than your average, run of the mill belt. But it really doesn't seem up to live up to what a riggers belt should be. I wouldn't want to really use this thing for any of my heavier gear. It certainly won't be a belt for the range.

But with that said, the fact that it isn't so stiff makes it conform to my hips better. My Wilderness can dig into me sometimes which the LBT never does.

So basically, the LBT is nowhere near as nice as the Wilderness. Still, it's a nice enough belt for everyday use as long as you don't carry heavy gear. I've been alternating between the LBT and the Wilderness depending on what I'm carrying.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
 
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