User Panel
Posted: 11/9/2017 4:10:01 PM EDT
I ordered an Esstac Shooter's belt and I'm in the process of picking out some mag pouches. I was thinking about an Esstac kywi triple pistol pouch and two of their 5.56 kywi pouches. Does that sound like a decent set-up? Would I be better off with a double pistol pouch instead of a triple? I also have a couple softshell scorpion pistol pouches I could use instead of the kywi. This will just be a basic set up for training and range use. I will be getting a T-Rex Ragnarok holster to go along with it. Thanks for any ideas.
|
|
[#1]
Two pistol mags is plenty. If you have a carbine, your pistol is a lifeline.
|
|
[#2]
I'd vote for two pistol pouches.
Just attended a rifle course this past weekend. Volund Gear Works Aesir belt with double pistol pouch and two 5.56 mag pouches. Was great for being on my feet all day. Conisdering I hardly used my pistol two on the belt was almost excessive. The two rifle mags was nice though. |
|
[#3]
two pistol, two mag on belt, with minimal retention. feed them from vest with secure retention
|
|
[#4]
I agree.. keep your belt simple - 2x pistol, 2x rifle, pistol holster. IFAK/dump pouch/multi tool pouch is/as you see fit.
|
|
[#5]
Thanks for the replies. I'll probably just run my two Scorpions and two 5.56 kywi's for now. I can always change it up later on as needed. I'll be using this mostly for handgun shooting, so I was thinking a 3rd mag might be nice.
|
|
[#6]
Two pistol, 2x double rifle, imo.
A dump pouch can hold extra full pistol mags if required. At my left kidney I have a surplus radio pouch I cut the top flap off, holds a 20oz soda/water/tea bottle perfectly. |
|
[#7]
On my Esstac belt my setup is as follows. Starting on my left, Kabar TDI, double pistol tacos, single rifle taco, blow out kit centered on back, pistol and single pistol taco on right.
|
|
[#8]
|
|
[#9]
|
|
[#10]
Quoted:
My vote - just ran it at Tiger Valley 2 Man Match, worked awesome ! https://m.imgur.com/gallery/OCib7 View Quote |
|
[#11]
I think you really need to try various setups to find out what works for you. I ran double stack mag pouches for a while and didn't like for how wide it made the whole setup. So I moved to all single layer pouches. 2x pistol 2x rifle, blow out kit, pistol, dump pouch.
My next "line" up from that is a chest rig with 3 rifle mags and a radio pouch. |
|
[#13]
I prefer two pistol and single rifle.
I started with HSGI double decker tacos and really hated indexing pistol/rifle mags on top of each other, it just wasn't for me. Now I run two individual HSGI pistol mags and a single m4 HSGI taco. Had this set up close to 5-6 years now and have stuck with it. I thought the HSGI was a great idea for universal approach, however I pretty much always have Glock 17 or 19 mags, and M4 mags. Guess I do use USGI, P Mags, and Lancers, so the HSGI has worked fine with all of them. |
|
[#14]
I would avoid the double (thickness) pouches until you get comfortable. When fully loaded, they can affect your balance, the stick out further (easier to snag doorways or foliage) and it can be troublesome if you practice any "tactical" reloads if you're not using a separate dump pouch or pocket. About the only time I've run a double mag pouch is with a pistol and rifle (double decker Taco), and that's if access to my battle belt is restricted to a narrow window when wearing my IOTV; hell, everything is sticking out then.
I personally like the two pistol mag pouches and two rifle mag pouches. If I'm doing a lot of mag-change drills, it's a nice option and comes in handy. What you don't want is your rifle mag pouches creeping around to the small of your back. I have see some guys with a third rifle mag pouch on the other side for weak-side access...but then, that becomes drill-centric. Don't over think it. Start simple and work from there. ROCK6 |
|
[#15]
I currently use 3 pistol mags and 2 rifles. I may take a rifle off and add another pistol or two. I do a lot more handgun shooting/training/competing. With 40 Rd pmags 1-2 rifle mags is plenty for my needs
|
|
[#16]
My set up at work is a single rifle and a single pistol weak side, both in fastmags.
Then up on my plate carrier I have two rifle and two pistol, both in VTAC flapped pouches. If I make it through two G17 mags, I better have found some cover at that point and will move the two from my chest into my gun and down on my belt. Same with the rifle mags. There have been few if any LE shootings outside of the LA bank shootout that has had LEO's doing multiple reloads in a sustained firefight. My belt and loaded weapons will have 70 rounds of .223 and 35 rounds of 9mm before I even have to go to my chest. At that point its a really bad day, and I hope I am standing behind something like concrete or steel. |
|
[#17]
|
|
[#18]
Quoted:
I keep it light and simple. 2 pistol, 2 rifle https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/396950/IMG_1752-365606.JPG View Quote |
|
[#19]
I've got bad discs in my back so I have to carry as much of the weight on my hips as I can. Mine's an Alice belt and on it I carry a two mag .45 pouch, a three mag 5.56 pouch, a Bowie knife and a two quart canteen. I carry a .45 in a shoulder holster which snaps around the belt on my left side for a poor boy's suspenders effect and my AR on a sling. I'd like to find a way to carry a blowout bag too but that may not be in the cards with this rig.
|
|
[#20]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I keep it light and simple. 2 pistol, 2 rifle https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/396950/IMG_1752-365606.JPG By far the best belt I have used to date |
|
[#21]
|
|
[#22]
|
|
[#23]
|
|
[#24]
Quoted:
TYR Tactical Gunfighter Belt-E By far the best belt I have used to date View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I keep it light and simple. 2 pistol, 2 rifle https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/396950/IMG_1752-365606.JPG By far the best belt I have used to date |
|
[#25]
The kywis are awesome. So are the belt clips. Double stacked mags are the debil. I have a triple pistol, but I put a flashlight in one of them.
|
|
[#26]
My work belt is 1X short rifle Kywi pouch and IFAK on left side, right side TQ pouch and a GP pouch.
If I weren’t an RTO, and didn’t have an SOP on IFAK location I’d have have two rifle pouches and dump pouch on left, IFAK, GP and TQ on right. |
|
[#27]
Op, if your pistol was a single, then I'd say quad pouch, it it was a double stack mag, then a double. I'm considering ammo quantity not number of reloads. If you're not interested in the quad. Then get the triple if you have a single stack.
|
|
[#28]
Thanks for all the replies. I got my Esstac belt the other day, along with most of my pouches. In ARFCOM fashion I bought both a double and triple pistol so I can try some different configurations. I also got 2 short 5.56 KYWI's and ordered an ATS dump pouch. Everything in ranger green, including my T-Rex holster. Looking forward to getting it all together and trying it out.
|
|
[#29]
Quoted:
Thanks, waited till today since they have a 17% off sale. I like my more cushy warbelts for heavier loads but I'm going to use this as a comp belt. 3-5 pistol mags and a gun. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I keep it light and simple. 2 pistol, 2 rifle https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/396950/IMG_1752-365606.JPG By far the best belt I have used to date Bout how long was the wait on yours? |
|
[#30]
Quoted:
@ATXSniper Bout how long was the wait on yours? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I keep it light and simple. 2 pistol, 2 rifle https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/396950/IMG_1752-365606.JPG By far the best belt I have used to date Bout how long was the wait on yours? |
|
[#31]
|
|
[#32]
I didn’t listen to everyone and tried stacked hsgi pistol/rifle mags and it was.....workable at best.
I now run everything flat. I also am a fan of loading up my belt. Your hips can carry a lot more weight than your back. And my body type makes it so my belt doesn’t slide down. I also didn’t like like my tacos for pistol mags do I got kywis. Not as impressed with them as I thought I would be. Going to try the g code scorpion next. |
|
[#33]
Quoted:
I had mine in a less than 2 weeks. They told me it takes a few weeks to produce and ship View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I keep it light and simple. 2 pistol, 2 rifle https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/396950/IMG_1752-365606.JPG By far the best belt I have used to date Bout how long was the wait on yours? |
|
[#35]
Biggest issue here is waist size. If you have a small waist not a lot of real estate to work with. Attached File
30-31" waist. Esstac double KYWI, single FastMag, dump pouch and Safariland 7378. Going to try another FastMag next to the first and see how handy it is. |
|
[#37]
View Quote Who the hell is that guy.... |
|
[#38]
Quoted:
Nice article... Who the hell is that guy.... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Who the hell is that guy.... |
|
[#40]
|
|
[#41]
Dump pouches are more for speeding tac reloads, not having to police your marked mags to see which are yours in training, and not leaving a mess of evidence IMO. I am not a fan. Just mark mags, put partials into empty slots on weak side, and only use a dump pouch as an evidence collection bag/place to put bag guy weapon.
I vote 2 pistol, 2 rifle, (single thickness), flashlight, IFAK on lower back, polymer biner with gloves, handgun, and something on front strong side to balance your hips with the pistol mags on weak side. That can be recovery strap, GPS, multitool, boo boo kit, whatever, but you want to keep your hipsfrom being forced to cant in prone for comfort. I also run a dump pouch and cuff case but it's a tight fit. You need 34-36" waist or you need to start picking what to remove. |
|
[#42]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I keep it light and simple. 2 pistol, 2 rifle https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/396950/IMG_1752-365606.JPG By far the best belt I have used to date Bout how long was the wait on yours? |
|
[#43]
Thanks, I'm liking the belt so far. Like you, I think I discovered that it's more at home as a pistol belt or minimalist war belt. Only issue I have is that when I mount all my pouches it covers up quite a bit of the hook material, and I don't get good adhesion between the inner and outer belts. It's fine as long as I don't over load it. My waist isn't very big either, so that compounds the problem. I thought about sticking some adhesive-backed hook material on the Esstac belt loops, but I'm not sure if it would stay on. I decided to order a Stormrider Gear molle belt to use as my primary war belt. I like the velcro inner /outer, just wanted the ability to attach the pouches to the outside of the belt.
Quoted:
ESSTAC Shooters Belt, Great Choice Brother! Welcome to the "Cool Train" I run two different Belts. Heavy Belt is a USMC padded Belt with Lots of MEDs and Mags. 3 Pistol, Double Rifle, Meds https://imageshack.com/a/img923/9250/xsWjtS.jpg Top View https://imageshack.com/a/img923/1220/wYaq0n.jpg Light Belt: 3 pistol, Single Rifle, and Dump pouch ( Light belt is running a Max-P Roll up now) https://imageshack.com/a/img924/226/lYrYZz.jpg https://imageshack.com/a/img924/9346/m7c1LI.jpg cp View Quote |
|
[#44]
Quoted:
Dump pouches are more for speeding tac reloads, not having to police your marked mags to see which are yours in training, and not leaving a mess of evidence IMO. I am not a fan. Just mark mags, put partials into empty slots on weak side, and only use a dump pouch as an evidence collection bag/place to put bag guy weapon. I vote 2 pistol, 2 rifle, (single thickness), flashlight, IFAK on lower back, polymer biner with gloves, handgun, and something on front strong side to balance your hips with the pistol mags on weak side. That can be recovery strap, GPS, multitool, boo boo kit, whatever, but you want to keep your hipsfrom being forced to cant in prone for comfort. I also run a dump pouch and cuff case but it's a tight fit. You need 34-36" waist or you need to start picking what to remove. View Quote ETA: counterclockwise: 2 pistol mags, 1 rifle mag, Surefire, dump pouch, IFAK, Safariland holster, gloves on carabiner |
|
[#45]
I’ve got 3 on mine, esstac kiwi triple pouch
The third is really only useful at the range. At work I use the third pistol slot for a leatherman, which gave me room for a rifle mag to take some load off my vest. The rest of my belt is: Handheld flashlight, dump pouch, IFAK, holster The modularity is pretty awesome as I can scale up or down, or add an additional pouch if needed. Presently I’m working on a belt for primarily pistol work so the number of mags and whatnot will change. |
|
[#46]
I prefer to keep as little crap on my belt as possible. Usually have 2 pistol mags and 1 carbine mag on my belt in addition to holster and other things. If I need to top off the mag pouches on my belt, I do so from a plate carrier or chest rig.
|
|
[#47]
I use an AWS Warbelt with 2 pistol mag (double ESSTAC KYWI, great btw) and two rifle (one G-Code soft she'll scorpion and one S&S SMR). That's plenty of ammo for most things on a belt. Plus I run a Safariland 6378 and a horizontal utility pouch for an IFAK at 6 o'clock. Only thing I'd change is get the actual AWS IFAK for that belt system and I may throw on a light pouch on my off side. If I need more mags for a drill or something, I'm either wearing a chest rig or just stick them in my back pockets.
|
|
[#48]
I have the AWS combo IFAK with dump pouch and the IFAK portion is tiny. I don't use it because of that. I have the large square one AWS and Robin sells and it's awesome, holds twice as much.
|
|
[#49]
Quoted:
Thanks, I'm liking the belt so far. Like you, I think I discovered that it's more at home as a pistol belt or minimalist war belt. Only issue I have is that when I mount all my pouches it covers up quite a bit of the hook material, and I don't get good adhesion between the inner and outer belts. It's fine as long as I don't over load it. My waist isn't very big either, so that compounds the problem. I thought about sticking some adhesive-backed hook material on the Esstac belt loops, but I'm not sure if it would stay on. I decided to order a Stormrider Gear molle belt to use as my primary war belt. I like the velcro inner /outer, just wanted the ability to attach the pouches to the outside of the belt. View Quote Cp |
|
[#50]
|
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.