TMC lightweight gunfighter belt review
First off, my experience and thought process for buying the belt.
For a long time I have been looking for a good 1st. line belt. I needed a belt that could hold my sidearm, two pistol mags, one M4 mag, and a small GP pouch.
I also needed the belt to either work over a “keep up my pants” belt, or to keep up my pants AND carry all my shit.
I also wanted a belt I could ditch and put on relatively quick.
And lastly I needed it to be able to carry belt- and MOLLE-mounted pouches.
I’ve tried several different riggers-, shooters- and MOLLE-belts. Some of them worked out “okay”, but there were some negatives or lacks. In other words, they just didn’t quite fit the bill.
The last 1½ – 2 years I’ve used a simple Helikon riggers belt with at Cobra buckle. On the belt I had my sidearm and two pistol mags. The belt also kept up my pants. This setup actually worked out quite nice, but there were some things that annoyed me. Whenever I had to ride in a car or sit down (for example in a chair) my pistol holster would get in the way, and I would have to “unweave” the holster.
The other thing was, that if I changed my setup between games (for example from “DA ninja doorkicker” to sniper or vice versa) I would, again, have to unweave or weave on my holster and/or pistol mag pouches depending on the setup.
So, I searched around for a belt that allowed me to take it off easily but still stayed in place when put on.
First I considered the TYR tactical gunfighter belt and an inner low-pro belt. But then I saw the different Ronin tactics belts. I was very (!) interested in their “Senshi” model, but I was a little put off by the price (~$190). Especially when I didn’t know if it would fit my need.
Then I saw the TMC lightweight gunfighter belt. It appeared to be a copy of the Senshi belt but to ⅓ of the price. So, I bought one.
When you get the belt you actually get two belts. You get an inner belt and an outer belt.
The inner belt is covered in hook velcro on the outside. There are no buckles, so you close it with velcro.
The outer belt has hook velcro on the inside, so the belt “hooks on” to the inner belt and stays in place. (And it does. not. move!)
The outside consists of woven multicam webbing and two rows of narrow “MOLLE” pals.
The belt is 1.75” wide. So it takes a variety of conventional belt mounted holsters and pouches, and due to the pals the belt can also take a variety of MOLLE mounted pouches.
The outer belt closes with a Cobra buckle (with built in D-ring).
The belt is NOT rated for any type of climbing or rapelling. So I would NOT recommend using it to take any heavier load.
But as a shooters belt or for airsoft it’s just fine. The outer belt is nice and stiff and retains its shape very well.
I bought a size L belt. I’m a 34 waist in jeans and the belt fits perfectly. I would say the belt could maybe fit a size 32-36.
This is my initial impression of the belt.
I’m impressed! I own and have owned a lot of different hi-end and high quality gear. This belt is very well built. The stitching and overall quality is extremely good if you consider the price (~$58). I have not found any loose threads or “bad” stitches so far.
The spacing on the MOLLE pals seem to be on point and I have not had any problems with mounting pouches. I’ve tested with a couple of different mounting options and they all seemed to work fine.
It can be a bit difficult to mount belt-mounted pouches. I had to use a bit of force to get my Predatorgear pistol mag pouches on. But once on they stay put!
Right now I’ve tested it by doing some movements (jumping, kneeling, running etc.) with and without my platecarrier on. And the belt stays in its place. Soon I’ll be testing it “in the field”, and after that I’ll give an update.
But so far it’s looking good.
A few extra pictures to show how it fits/sits.
