REVIEW: BLUE FORCE GEAR BELTminus

In times of plate carriers and vests, one thing has almost been forgotten: the belt harness. Those who have been in the German Bundeswehr or the Austrian Bundesheer will surely remember it well. Just as anyone who knows about ALICE. Blue Force Gear brings back the classic gear with the latest materials and camo patterns as BELTminus, available in Germany at SNIPER AS,. Find out what you can expect from it:

Here is the BELTminus seen from the side front and back. Basically a belt with suspenders. The "belt" has two rows of MOLLE on the front and sides, and three rows at the back. The straps are securely sewn and easy to adjust in length. Metal triglides are attached to manage the excess webbing. The entire system weighs only a minimalist 272g (size M). The belt is closed with a 5 cm Fastex buckle from ITW.

The shoulder straps are available in a padded and an unpadded Low Pro (presented here) version. They are made with a 3D mesh fabric. Since the shoulder straps are only a few millimeters thick, additional gear can be worn over them. Sometimes not quite problem-free: with backpacks, it can happen that the width adjustment is pressed into the shoulder blades due to the overlap of the straps. Unpleasant, but luckily this can be quickly fixed.

Here is a look at the inside of the mounted pouches. A classic MOLLE pouch on the right, and a TenSpeed triple magazine pouch from Blue Force Gear with the patented Helium Whisper attachment on the left. This allows the total thickness of the mounted magazine pouch with BELTminus harness to be less than a centimeter.

CONCLUSION: A touch of nothing, yet a full-fledged harness. That describes it quite well. If you need an ultra-light, ultra-thin simple belt system, this is the right choice. Combined with the pockets from Blue Force Gear, you get an extremely light yet very solid result.

The BELTminus is available at SNIPER AS for €139.90 (excl. shipping). The BELTminus version with padded shoulders costs €169.90 (excl. shipping).