Like many of my gear setups, my battle belt has undergone countless changes. From police-style duty belt with keepers, to unpadded (with and without suspenders), to padded (with and without suspenders), to inner/outer velcro belts (my current, and so far, favorite). If there is a style of battle belt, I’ve probably tried it, and if I haven’t, a group member has.
Each style brings something to the table. This progression has been driven purely by my needs, and my preferences/comfort. I have spent the majority of my life, almost 30 years, wearing a duty belt. That is at work. On my off time, I spend a lot of time in a battle belt - either training as a student, training with my group, or while teaching. I have figured out what works for me.
My current setup (this is almost identical to the layout of my duty belt, as well):
Standard Co Presley magazine pouch. This has a 30-degree cant to it, making reloads slightly faster. This is my primary handgun reload.
Safariland 6354DO holster, on True North MHA and Black Box Customs NCP, with 11-10 TQ holder (see below for detailed pics)
Leatherman MUT
Dark Angel Medical DARK Lite (no longer made, but is my favorite low-profile IFAK)
Lead Devil Tactical Molle Belt
EGL Loppy dump pouch (Eggroll at EGL actually licensed this design to Maxpedition, and they made the Rolly Polly)
Esstac KYWI Mid single M4 pouch. This is my primary rifle reload when wearing battle belt-only, plate carrier/battle belt, or chest rig/battle belt.
Modlite OKW flashlight in HSGI Taco
Esstac KYWI Gap double handgun mag pouch
Random HK clip key/glove holder
SKD PIG gloves
The holster setup I run, regardless of gun is standardized as well. At the bottom, I will link to an article that digs into the science of holster placement and cant (angle), and explains why I carry how and why I do.
I’ll admit, I have a ridiculous amount of money tied up in holsters, when you factor in the upgrades/addons. Individually this is a pricey setup. When you start buying multiples, it gets painful. Understand that I teach a lot of different people and entities, and they don’t all run the same guns. My personal belief is I need to be competent on, amd demo with, whatever system the group I am teaching is using. Thus, I own a lot of guns (and therefore, the holsters for those guns), that encompass the most common platforms I encounter. Then, at work, I am required to wear black duty gear, while when training with my group or teaching, I wear predominately multicam or tan. So, I end up buying two or three (at least) of each holster. It adds up. All of that is to say that I feel the advantages given by this total system are significant enough to make the investment worth it.
Clear picture of back of holster:
Color-coded, same pic:
The red circle is the Nub Mod. This is one of those things I thought was pretty stupid amd worthless when I first saw them. Then I tried one. I now run them on every ALS holster I own. They are a game-changer.
The yellow shows the QLS Fork. The QLS is Safariland’s quick-release system. With the QLS Mount (shown below) attached to the belt, and a Fork on each holster, it makes switching holsters a breeze. Coupled with the Esstac KYWI mag pouches, which have interchangeable inserts for different magazines, I can switch my belt from Glock, to Sig P320, to Stacatto, to Beretta, etc, in about 2-3 minutes, without unthreading anything from the belt.
The blue shows the 11-10 TQ holder. The holster hardware is essentially a sandwich, which comprises the holster, the NCP, then the QLS Fork. The NCP, which is not really visible in the pic, allows the changing of cant of the holster, and also provides a mounting surface at the front of the holster, where you can easily mount a TQ.
The belt portion of the setup:
The red is the True North Concepts MHA (Modular Holster Adaptor), which is aluminum, and allows both drop, and additional cant.
The yellow is the QLS Mount.
Sandwiched in between the MHA and the Mount is a single legstrap, which is shown in blue.
When wearing the belt, my holster actually rides just forward of my hip, at 10 to 11 o’clock (I’m a lefty), with the rear sight angled behind the front sight (standard FBI cant has rear sight in front of the front sight).
A great White Paper that discusses the “why”:
https://archive.org/details/holster-optimisation-white-paper-v-1/mode/1up
As with all things gear, getting out and seeing what works for you is imperative. Practice getting to every piece of equipment you own from multiple positions, put yourself on a timer and see which placement is most conducive to speed and efficiency, and wear the gear under load, and during long movements to check comfort.