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Kore Essentials Battle Belt
The first micro adjustable battle belt by
Kore Essentials
What is a Battle Belt?
A Battle Belt is a heavy duty style of duty belt, similar to what you see most uniform police officers wearing, however it uses the MOLLE system. In the Special Agent community a tactical belt like this is not worn all the time but is typically used during enforcement operations (i.e. search warrants). It is advised that all criminal investigators have a properly fitted and equipped Battle Belt ready for enforcement operations.
There are many different Battle Belts on the market right now with slight variations in design and quality. There is the older style MOLLE battle belt with a padded system that either has a sticky rubber type backing or a Velcro inner belt. Then there are the new style 1.75-inch MOLLE Battle Belts that have become more popular recently, which are more like a standard law enforcement duty belt but with MOLLE features. You will end up spending anywhere from $40 for a cheap version on Amazon or between $150-$200 for a Blue Alpha or Ronin belt. Here are some of the overall benefits to this style of belt.
- No belt keepers required so you have more space for pouches and gear
- Pouches can be replaced without having to slide everything off of your belt
- MOLLE system does not add thickness to your belt or cover up VELCRO on the inner belt
Adjustability
One of the primary problems with this style of belt is that they have not always been easy to adjust in size. This might not be a big problem if you always wear your belt in the same duty uniform with the same setup. But in the 1811/Special Agent community, we put our belts on for many different types of operations while usually wearing plain clothes or semi tactical type clothing. Different clothes sit on your hips differently so there can be a slight variation in belt sizing or maybe you had a little too much to eat or drink the day before and things just are not fitting the same. For whatever the reason, I think we can all agree that having the ability to make easy micro adjustments to your belt is a very nice feature to have. The everyday carry (EDC) community is filled with different types of micro adjustable belts for exactly these reasons (Kore Essentials has these as well). So it should be no surprise that someone has finally invented a similar style micro adjustable Battle Belt.
Best Type of Belt
I have been on the fence about buying a Battle Belt for quite some time. Primarily because I don't like buying new gear when I have issued gear that works well enough, but also because I haven't been able to decide which Battle Belt I wanted to try out. They are already a bit expensive and even more so if you start trying different belts and decide that you don't like them. I used to think that having the padded battle belt with the sticky inner surface would be nice because you could throw it on over whatever belt you are wearing, and not have to put on some special inner Velcro belt. Depending on your job this still might be a good option if you are regularly having to throw your belt on for emergent situations. For myself, even for last minute operations I usually have enough time to throw on my belt and get ready, consequently I chose to avoid that option. Additionally, although I have heard that those belts grip fairly well, I would rather go with the more secure option of the Velcro inner belt.
Another common issue concerning Battle Belts is that they can be slightly more difficult to adjust on the fly. Consequently, when Kore Essentials came out with the world's first micro adjustable Battle Belt, I felt like I had to give it a try and am very happy that I did.
The Kore Essentials Battle Belt
So far, I could not be more pleased with the
quality and functionality
of the Kore Battle Belt. Only time will tell regarding the durability, but so far it seems to be of excellent quality materials. The belt has a reinforced "power-core" center that Kore claims is stronger than any steel core. The outer nylon webbing and MOLLE is rated to 500 Ibs, which is more than sufficient for a typical law enforcement load out. The Kore battle buckle is made of a zinc alloy and is powder coated black. It may look different but functions essentially the same as Kore's other EDC belts with a touch and release tab. I was initially concerned that an accidental bump to this release tab in a fight could cause the belt to come loose or undone. However, I quickly realized that this would not be a problem. The patented spring system that locks the belt in place, and the weight of the belt on the locking mechanism seems to make it very secure. It's not as quick and easy to remove as the popular Cobra belt design and might take a couple of seconds longer to remove but I like knowing that it won't come undone unless purposefully manipulated.
A truly awesome feature of the Kore essentials Battle Belt is that you don't have to worry about picking the right size. The belt is "one-size-fits-all" and you will cut and size the belt to your own specifications, like many other slide style belts. You do need some heavy-duty scissors to cut the belt and should make sure to error on the side of caution when trimming. Additionally, it is recommended that you always start larger and work your way down in sizing. It's a little more time consuming but you don't want to be stuck with a non-returnable belt that doesn't fit you because it was cut too short. The instructions are easy to follow and cutting is not difficult at all. Personally, I found that it was easiest to start with the sizing on the inner Velcro belt by making sure that you didn't have any Velcro showing behind the hex portion when wearing it, and then size up the appropriate amount according to the instructions for the Battle Belt. Again, I still went larger than the instructions said at first to make sure I had plenty of wiggle room to adjust and additionally trim if needed. After properly sizing the belt, it was fairly simple to attach the buckle.
This brings us to another new and truly awesome feature that is unique to the Kore Battle Belt. The inner belt hex material. All previous duty belts have had the same problem when it comes to the buckle. The buckle is thicker than the rest of the belt and sticks out when pressed up against the inner belt. This causes added bulk to the front of your belt. The Kore inner belt has a thin but strong hex material as seen in the picture below. This means that the inner belt doesn't push out your buckle and it can also collapse on itself, allowing for more adjustability before you even adjust the main belt. I fitted my inner belt to the lowest part of my hips because some pants sit lower on the hips, whereas others fit higher depending on the rise.
With everything there is always a give and take. Having the ability to adjust the belt means that you give up a little bit of real estate on the belt. I tried to trim mine to leave a little bit of room to make small adjustments without leaving excessive material, so that the end of the belt doesn't cover up space on the MOLLE system. Most Battle Belts have a D-ring on the belt anyways, so I figured I was just trading the never used D-ring for the ability to make adjustments. The D-ring design originated from the military style rigger belt that has been popular for many years. The idea behind it is that you can use it to rappel. However, you will find that almost no one uses it for this purpose and it is primarily something that you can use to clip keys to, or more often than not, a waste of space that makes a belt look tactical. If you rappel regularly then you are probably SWAT/SRT or in some Tier 1 organization, and will probably be using a proper harness anyways. I doubt the average cop or Special Agent will ever find themselves in a situation where he/she needs to rappel.
Overall, I would highly recommend this belt! Considering the quality and unique features, it is very well priced when compared to other high-quality belts. I also like that you don't have to worry about sizes when ordering and being able to make small adjustments easily makes it standout. The belt always feels like it fits perfectly, no matter what I am wearing. If you are looking to upgrade your duty gear, you can't go wrong with this choice. Use the code SpecialAgent at checkout to receive 10% off your order of any gear at Kore Essentials
