Made in the USA.
What does that mean to you? To some manufacturers it means buying materials or extrusions overseas and finish machining parts in the US, or even having parts made overseas and assembling them in the US.
To ZeroBravo it means sourcing materials that are made in the US and then using those materials to make the best products money can buy! Only when a US made option is not available will we look elsewhere, as is the case with the Austrian made AustriAlpin buckles. All sewing and materials are Berry Compliant and the Dark Coyote Brown conforms to AR670-1.
If you are buying a product that your life depends on – or simply want to have the best. The solution is simple. Made By – Made For.
The Alpha Belt by ZeroBravo is quite simply the ultimate EDC Belt. This slim and lightweight belt features ventilated, antimicrobial, moisture wicking mesh material, rolled and sewn edges for additional comfort, and DuraGrip Hook Pile Tape for durability and strength. Scuba webbing is wrapped between the layers of Type 27 and Type 17 nylon to provide additional rigidity to effortlessly support your EDC gear and features a 1″ Cobra FM buckle from AustriAlpin. Backed by our limited lifetime warranty and made in the USA. We are certain that the Alpha Belt will be the most comfortable belt you’ve ever worn!
Tags: ZuluBravo
I’m all for Made in America rah rah rah
but choosing that as the lead in for a product that has its key component made in Austria doesn’t make a lot of sense
Don’t want to rehash the whole Raptor/Cobra testing thing here, but there are Made in America buckle options if that’s really your key differentiator
I love Made in USA too but if those Made in America buckles were worth it, DoD would have dumped the Cobra buckle. They haven’t so it gets a waiver.
The AustriAlpin buckle is the only one that the military will currently allow. It is also one of the very few foreign made items that is Berry Compliant because there simply IS no US made equivalent. That being said, I see your point and appreciate the feedback.
I find it strange that AA haven’t opened up a US facility, considering how many other non-US companies that do so because of contracts etc.
They haven’t been forced to
Personally I’m happy as long as a product is made in an allied country. I don’t care if it’s from America, Austria, or New Zealand.
Just don’t fork me shit from China. I am so sick and tired of dogshit products from China.
I hear you. I generally prefer made in the US stuff, but there are some things that don’t fit that pigeon hole, the cobra buckle is one of those things.
that said, just about anything made in China I can do without.
Haha they make a big hype out of the AustriAlpin buckle, and they pick the Cobra FM! The one “made for fashion”. I have used the Cobra FM before and its nothing special. Not like the standard Cobra.
They could have easily gone with a Raptor buckle or other type of quick release buckle. Since this is not a retention PPE item the arguments against the Raptor buckle don’t apply, and wouldn’t anyways because the Cobra FM is not as good or realiable or load bearing as the standard Cobra buckle. I think they went with the Cobra for name recognition and they got a good deal on the Cobra FM’s. They didn’t care about the made in the USA part as much as they care about the price tag and moving product.
The FM buckle still has the convenience of the stab design while not being bulky. Another downside to the Raptor buckles is they are more bulky than Cobra buckles, and they don’t even offer this smaller size. A lot of people just want a nice belt and don’t need to pretend they are going to drag a body while rappeling down a mountain with it.
Nice to see you here buddy!
I see the raptor buckle in 1in. on their website, and pictures of it on others, but could not find them for sale.
Maybe they stopped making them, cause I thought I saw a belt made by vertx that had one.
Not going to argue about bulkiness.
But don’t we all just want to be super tactical operators that could lift a car with our belt? Haha
Why do I have these sneaking suspicion you work for the folks who make the Raptor buckle?
Nope. Don’t have any skin in the game, I’m only a active duty guy who gets annoyed when a company hypes up their “made in america” product, and one of the main parts of it is not.
Interesting, I actually ordered some Cobra buckles from Milspec Monkey about 9 months ago and they are great. That was before I found out you can order directly from AustriAlpin.
The point is, DoD gave AustriAlpin a Berry waiver because there isn’t a US equivalent. They don’t like giving Berry waivers.
CTOMs did a piece, available here on SSD, on how Raptors break prematurely and well below the Cobra’s threshold.
That is true, but it was talking about the standard cobra, this belt is using the “Cobra FM” which is a “fashion and sport” buckle. It does not have the same weight standard as the standard cobra buckle and is well below the raptor buckle.
It is mearly a aesthetic buckle. The website even says so
Again, 800lb breaking strength should be able to hold up your pants and gun, it isn’t meant to be a “riggers” belt so you don’t get (or need) the 10x work load safety rating
Are Cobra FMs also Berry Compliant?
Technically, I’d say Yes.
Is it company or products that get approval? The normal Cobra states about their Berry compliance, while the FM has basically nothing.
As an example, would every Canada-made Arc’teryx product be berry compliant or is it only select products?
No Canadian made Arc product is Berry Compliant.
But to answer your question, products or materials are given waivers. In this instance I am unsure exactly how the waiver is written because it may cover all buckles from AustriAlpin.
I will stick with companies that are upfront and honest about where all of their parts are sourced. I don’t mind the conra isn’t made in America as it is the best product available, but dont start off with paragraph of flag waiving patriotism then slide that product in, as the assumption would be that everything is made in America.
The belt is Berry compliant even though the buckle is not made in America,