Mountain Hardwear has two alternatives to the GI rigger’s Belt for those that like the basic look but don’t want to scream “average”; the Double Back Belt and the Alloy Nut Belt.
Sure, they’re not life support capable, but either are the issue Rigger’s Belts which really are nothing more than a few feet of Type VIII webbing and friction adapters from a Parachutist H Harness. The issue belt might look cool but won’t do much for a you in a jam. On the other hand, the Mountain Hardware belts look really cool and come in enough different colors you can make up your own combatives belt system. What’s more, you won’t look like a toolbag if you wear one of them in civilian clothing.
Colors include Espresso, British Tan, Stone Green, Grill, Moondust and the boringly named Black. One size fits most.
Update- One of my colleagues who is a big MH fan told me he had purchased the Alloy Nut Belt and it just wouldn’t stay tight. I have had hands on the Double Back and the design keeps the belt secure but he feels that the webbing on the Alloy Nut Belt was too supple and slippery to stay secure. Looking at the two designs you can see that the buckles are drastically different and this may contribute to the disparity in performance. So at this point, the SSD verdict is Double Back = Good, Alloy Nut = Not So Good.
Thanks for the input Rob! If anyone else has any input please feel free to share it in the comments section.
