Slawburger
Master
For my EDC I use https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...iew-daltech-force-super-biobelt-gun-belt.html
However, I needed something a little different for USPSA so I looked around on the web and talked to a few people. The belts that were most often recommended were:
CR Speed
Double Alpha Academy (DAA) Competition Belt, IPSC Belt
ELS Competition Belt :: HOLSTERS.com
I settled on the Safariland ELS belt. It seems to be really well suited for 3 Gun competition because you can remove the mag holders and replace with rifle mag holders and shotgun shell carriers while leaving the mounting base in place. I am using it for USPSA so I don't need to swap the carriers around but I like the idea that the mounting bases are screwed in place and will not move.
The first issue was that I already had a bunch of Blade Tech Mag Holders. I really like them and they seem to mount pretty securely as far as not coming off the belt but they can slide around. I didn't want to buy all new mag holders so I had to make sure they would fit on the Safariland ELS belt. I removed the mounting base from the Blade Tech mag holders and attached the Safariland ELS forks instead. The holes lined up great without any problems (whew). I mounted the forks to the mag holders so that when the forks are inserted into the mounting plates the fork tips would be facing up which makes it easier to squeeze the fork tips together and remove the mag holders if needed for some reason. The mag holders stay in place and are very secure. I placed the first mag holder a few holes past the keeper on the belt so there is room to insert the end of the belt through the keeper and I have about an inch of room for adjustment depending on whether breakfast consists of just coffee or the big buffet.
The hardware is different on the Blade Tech and Safariland systems. Blade Tech uses phillips screws and Safariland uses hex screws. I like the hex screws because they seem less likely to strip out. Both Blade Tech and Safariland use a post that inserts into the plastic part and then the screw turns into the post. The difference is that the Blade Tech post is a smooth cylinder and turns along with the screw. This made it impossible to remove the screws from the Drop Offset attachment on my holster because the screw and post both turned together and I couldn't get a pair of pliers to grip the edges of the post and hold it in place. The Safariland post has prongs that insert into holes in the plastic part and lock it into position. The Safariland posts do not turn with the screw, I like this much better.
I read several opinoins that the ELS forks and mounting plates might be too light for the holster so a lot of people recommended using ELS for the mag holders and the larger QLS for the holster. I ordered the QLS fork and mounting plate set but the holes do not match up with the ELS belt. Why Safariland didn't make the QLS and ELS interchangeable I don't know but that is very disappointing. I read several online posts in which people recommended just drilling or cutting a new hole in the belt to match up with the QLS holes. However, since the holes go all the way around on the ELS belt and are fairly close together I didn't see any way of adding a new hole to match the QLS pattern without being very close to an existing hole and possibly creating a weak spot on the belt. Some people recommended just using one screw to hold the QLS mounting plate to the ELS belt but that didn't sound very secure to me. For now I am using my existing Blade Tech DOH holster that slides onto the belt without needing any holes. It seems to stay in place after the belt is fastened but I can adjust it's position before fastening the belt so both the first mag holder and holster are behind my hip bones per the rules.
The ELS belt itself consists of two parts that are ordered separately. The 030 inner belt has no buckle and is a just very thick piece of velcro-like material (loop side) that wraps around your waist and through your pant loops in place of a regular belt. The 032 outer belt has the holes for the mounting plates and has the velcro-like hooks on the inside. You wrap the outer belt around your waist last (over the pant loops) and it sticks to the inner belt. The 032 outer belt has no buckle rather it has two metal studs that stick through the same holes used to attach the mounting plates. It takes a few attempts to get both belts tight enough but eventually I can get it to work. The belt doesn't fit as snugly as my EDC belt so I do have to occassionally hike my pants up a little. To be fair I am carrying a holster, gun, six mag holders and loaded mags so that is a lot of weight and I have only used it four times so maybe I will learn how to get it a little snugger with more practice.
Overall, I am happy with the Safariland ELS system (other than the incompatability with the QLS) and I just need to learn to get it a little tighter.
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Inner Belt...................... Outer Belt..................... Mag Holders Attached...... Safariland Hardware
However, I needed something a little different for USPSA so I looked around on the web and talked to a few people. The belts that were most often recommended were:
CR Speed
Double Alpha Academy (DAA) Competition Belt, IPSC Belt
ELS Competition Belt :: HOLSTERS.com
I settled on the Safariland ELS belt. It seems to be really well suited for 3 Gun competition because you can remove the mag holders and replace with rifle mag holders and shotgun shell carriers while leaving the mounting base in place. I am using it for USPSA so I don't need to swap the carriers around but I like the idea that the mounting bases are screwed in place and will not move.
The first issue was that I already had a bunch of Blade Tech Mag Holders. I really like them and they seem to mount pretty securely as far as not coming off the belt but they can slide around. I didn't want to buy all new mag holders so I had to make sure they would fit on the Safariland ELS belt. I removed the mounting base from the Blade Tech mag holders and attached the Safariland ELS forks instead. The holes lined up great without any problems (whew). I mounted the forks to the mag holders so that when the forks are inserted into the mounting plates the fork tips would be facing up which makes it easier to squeeze the fork tips together and remove the mag holders if needed for some reason. The mag holders stay in place and are very secure. I placed the first mag holder a few holes past the keeper on the belt so there is room to insert the end of the belt through the keeper and I have about an inch of room for adjustment depending on whether breakfast consists of just coffee or the big buffet.
The hardware is different on the Blade Tech and Safariland systems. Blade Tech uses phillips screws and Safariland uses hex screws. I like the hex screws because they seem less likely to strip out. Both Blade Tech and Safariland use a post that inserts into the plastic part and then the screw turns into the post. The difference is that the Blade Tech post is a smooth cylinder and turns along with the screw. This made it impossible to remove the screws from the Drop Offset attachment on my holster because the screw and post both turned together and I couldn't get a pair of pliers to grip the edges of the post and hold it in place. The Safariland post has prongs that insert into holes in the plastic part and lock it into position. The Safariland posts do not turn with the screw, I like this much better.
I read several opinoins that the ELS forks and mounting plates might be too light for the holster so a lot of people recommended using ELS for the mag holders and the larger QLS for the holster. I ordered the QLS fork and mounting plate set but the holes do not match up with the ELS belt. Why Safariland didn't make the QLS and ELS interchangeable I don't know but that is very disappointing. I read several online posts in which people recommended just drilling or cutting a new hole in the belt to match up with the QLS holes. However, since the holes go all the way around on the ELS belt and are fairly close together I didn't see any way of adding a new hole to match the QLS pattern without being very close to an existing hole and possibly creating a weak spot on the belt. Some people recommended just using one screw to hold the QLS mounting plate to the ELS belt but that didn't sound very secure to me. For now I am using my existing Blade Tech DOH holster that slides onto the belt without needing any holes. It seems to stay in place after the belt is fastened but I can adjust it's position before fastening the belt so both the first mag holder and holster are behind my hip bones per the rules.
The ELS belt itself consists of two parts that are ordered separately. The 030 inner belt has no buckle and is a just very thick piece of velcro-like material (loop side) that wraps around your waist and through your pant loops in place of a regular belt. The 032 outer belt has the holes for the mounting plates and has the velcro-like hooks on the inside. You wrap the outer belt around your waist last (over the pant loops) and it sticks to the inner belt. The 032 outer belt has no buckle rather it has two metal studs that stick through the same holes used to attach the mounting plates. It takes a few attempts to get both belts tight enough but eventually I can get it to work. The belt doesn't fit as snugly as my EDC belt so I do have to occassionally hike my pants up a little. To be fair I am carrying a holster, gun, six mag holders and loaded mags so that is a lot of weight and I have only used it four times so maybe I will learn how to get it a little snugger with more practice.
Overall, I am happy with the Safariland ELS system (other than the incompatability with the QLS) and I just need to learn to get it a little tighter.
.... .... .... Inner Belt...................... Outer Belt..................... Mag Holders Attached...... Safariland Hardware
