Ares gear belts. Opinions wanted

[Bourneshooter]

I literally wear an Ares Gear belt every single day. I have an LE Duty Belt that I wear on duty with my work kit. For off duty, I have an Aegis Enhanced that I wear daily. I wear the Aegis Enhanced with everything in my wardrobe and it looks good. It carries a G26 or G17 and reloads daily. I have tried 5.11, Blackhawk, Wilderness, and a handful of other belts over the years and nothing wears as comfortably and durably as my Aegis Enhanced.

Having said that, I am saving up for a Mean Gene Leather belt to complement it...NOT replace it.

Same here.

Ares Gear LE duty belt on shift.

Off duty Aegis Enhanced. I like a stiff belt for everything but doing situps in in which case no belt or a thin piece of nylon webbing is best.

Getting a Mene Gene belt (Victory First) is in the works for me.

 

[North]

Hey Guys. A question about the Aegis... Does anyone use the non-enhanced version? I have used an enhanced ranger for about 4 years now. I like it, but if the non enhanced version is stiff enough, I almost feel like it would be a bit more comfy and just as effective. Jake, what do you sell most of?


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[AresGear_Jake]

North, I got your PM asking this question. If you don't mind, I'll answer it here as well, so others can see it.

This and other customer service questions should really be emailed to us at "sales@aresgear.com"; that allows us to make sure you get the most accurate and in-depth answer possible.


- Jake

 

[nate89]

When Ares did the blem sale a few months ago, I picked up two belts, one is the enhanced version, and the other is the standard version. I wanted two belts in black and grey (those would match pretty much anything I was going to wear), and figured it would be a good experiment to get one of each and compare the two. I will say that when actually wearing and using the belts, it is hard for me to tell the difference. Both of them are so much better than what I have used in the past, and both are well-equipped to carry what I have on daily. I have a Glock 19 with a spare mag attached to the belt, and both are solid. I honestly don't care which one I am using, for all practical purposes, they are the same to me.

 

[Mikey Strauss]

Jakes stuff is top notch IMHO and mine gets used daily with no issues!

 

[Casey]

Hey Guys. A question about the Aegis... Does anyone use the non-enhanced version? I have used an enhanced ranger for about 4 years now. I like it, but if the non enhanced version is stiff enough, I almost feel like it would be a bit more comfy and just as effective. Jake, what do you sell most of?


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I tried the non-enhanced version first, and found it not quite rigid enough for my liking. If you like the Enhanced Ranger, the non-enhanced Aegis will probably not be stiff enough for you. In order of stiffness, from least to greatest, I would rate Jake's belts like this: Aegis < Ranger < Aegis Enhanced < Ranger Enhanced.

 

[MustangLT]

Both of my Aegis belts are standard and are rigid enough for me. The enhanced belt I have is actually a bit too think for most of my belt loops.

 

[North]

Thanks Peeps. I ordered a non-enhanced one. I guess I will find out tomorrow if I like the stiffness. I love the design compared to the ranger.


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[Mike F]

I am formerly a real cop and currently a plain clothes cop and I wear a non-enhanced aegis everyday. Subtle enough for plain clothes wear but really sturdy gun belt. Great for plain clothes cops or off duty wear.

 

[theWRECKLESSone]

Ok, so I finally decided to pull the trigger on an Ares belt after so many months. To preface, I have(previously) been wearing a 5.11 riggers belt for everyday and plain clothes details for several years. Out of all things 5.11 I found the one thing that actually performed as advertised, was plenty wide and stiff enough (or so I thought) for what I needed. Not to mention that fact that I could weave the 5.11 in without pulling a cobra buckle apart every time I need to take the belt off the pants. I checked out Ares gear to see what the hype was all about, but damn a whole C-note for a belt?! I read reviews, talked to guys, etc. I just couldn't pull the trigger. To top that off the Aegis belt reminded me of that jankey-ass buckle set-up that came with that floppy little kids belt (you guys know exactly what I'm talking about). Seriously there's no way that buckle would hold the belt tight enough to support a full size 1911, spare mags and a set of cuffs. Well I finally had the good guys discount burning a hole in my pocket and decided to man up and get the Aegis, I mean I had to figure out what the hype was all about, and I had yet to hear a single complaint about the belt working its way loose. So I log in, get to the belts and guess what, Blemished Aegis belts on sale! Score! Black buckle, black webbing and at that price I have to get the enhanced. Blemish, who cares, not like I'm wearing the thing to prom. Well I ordered the belt in the wee hours of Monday morning and the belt showed up Thursday. Pulled that sucker out and instantly think, "HOLY FUCK this bastard is stiff!" Gotta say I was impressed at how stiff the belt was while still retaining flexibility. Ripped that 5.11 POS out of my jeans and weaved this new sexy bitch in. Full size 1911 Rail Gun, two mags, a set of cuffs and its more stable than my Bianchi Duty belt. How is that possible?! The buckle is so simple there's no wonder the simplified design is used on toddler belts. With that being said, the buckle locks up tighter than a gnats ass. No slippage whatsoever and the tension bar is there to stay, no cheese dick piece of pot metal here. To say I'm impressed is an understatement. Oh and all that time I forgot about my belt being a "Blemish." I pulled the belt off and inspected the buckle. Literally no obvious scratches, dings, dents or otherwise. Under direct lighting I was finally able to see the most minuscule imperfection in the black Melonite coating. Are you kidding me?! Once again, thoroughly impressed, and the fact that the guys at Ares Gear consider this a "blemish" is just another nod to the meticulous set of standards in which they manufacture gear of the highest quality. The Aegis gets shit done and looks classy as fuck. I wouldn't hesitate to wear the Aegis with a set of khakis, or a suit. Ares Gear will be highly recommended to everyone, and I look forward to my own future purchases. I've attached a picture of the "blemished" buckle after a couple weeks of wear.
"Blemish" lower right, and a piece of German Shepard hair for reference.

 

[Bourneshooter]

So a common complaint about the Ares belts is that they can be to stiff. (PHRASING).

I know that several females I've talked to about gun belts have said that the stiffness is uncomfortable for a woman's hips and the angle of a holster. Talked with @AresGear_Jake at SHOT about this and what he is making that works for women. It was suggested to get a Aegis, not the Aegis enhanced and have my wife try that.

For whatever its worth, run with that.

 

[275RLTW]

I sent in an email to Ares sales inquiring about a small modification to an Aegis belt (adding a few small holes for shock chord/rubber band retention of a TQ). Jake was quick to respond however the answer was that they do not offer custom modifications of their products. While I could probably take a belt somewhere and have it done, I prefer one stop shopping if I am to send out a request for team gear. I did contact several other belt mfgs. about my needs and all were willing to accommodate however most use a cobra buckle which I'm trying to avoid, hence my initial interest in the Aegis belt. This post is not to diminish or negate Ares' products as I have heard and read good things about them, rather to let others know if you are looking for any modifications to their products, that Ares will not do so.

 

[Casey]

I sent in an email to Ares sales inquiring about a small modification to an Aegis belt (adding a few small holes for shock chord/rubber band retention of a TQ).

I cringe at the thought of doing this to a belt, but would a wood burner or hot knife work?

 

[275RLTW]

I cringe at the thought of doing this to a belt, but would a wood burner or hot knife work?

Don't know. Not my area of expertise. I presume it would but not sure how that would compromise the integrity of the material or the belt itself.

 

[Matt]

I sent in an email to Ares ...

Just out of curiosity, why are you avoiding cobra buckle? The reason why many appreciate the Aegis buckle is that it looks more like a normal belt buckle, but if you've got TQs rubber banded to your belt that would defeat the inconspicuousness of the Aegis, right? Surely there is another reason I'm missing for why you want to do this.

 

[275RLTW]

Most of the time in low pro the only part of belt that is seen is the buckle so anything attached to it is covered up by clothing. I don't want a cobra buckle as I don't want to deal with hassle and I've seen 2 of them stick and not work (heavy dust/debris & sub zero temps). This is not for Walmart use or imitating Costa.

 

[Matt]

I've seen 2 of them stick and not work (heavy dust/debris & sub zero temps). This is not for Walmart use or imitating Costa.

Fair enough, you obviously know what you want so I wish you luck in finding it. RE: cobra buckles sticking... Sticking closed or sticking open? Because Aegis buckles can stick closed also, it has happened to me on a few occasions which required either pushing more belt to break the tension or striking the lock bar to break tension.

 

[275RLTW]

sticking closed. Good to know about the Aegis buckle as well. I'm sure it could be a problem with any buckle. I'm just trying to minimize it as much as possible.

 

[AresGear_Jake]

...Aegis buckles can stick closed also, it has happened to me on a few occasions which required either pushing more belt to break the tension or striking the lock bar to break tension.

Actually, that's exactly how the buckle is supposed to work. To unlock the belt, simply tighten it slightly either by A) pulling the tail away from the buckle, or B) pushing the non-tail side towards the buckle. That unlocks the tension bar, and you can easily extract the belt from the buckle.

You never have to strike the tension bar; I absolutely guarantee you can apply more force by pulling the tail than you can by striking a screwhead.


- Jake

 

[jryock]

Actually, that's exactly how the buckle is supposed to work. To unlock the belt, simply tighten it slightly either by A) pulling the tail away from the buckle, or B) pushing the non-tail side towards the buckle. That unlocks the tension bar, and you can easily extract the belt from the buckle.

- Jake

The ability for infinitely variable length and tension (i.e. locking) is the best part of the belt. It really helps with the day-to-day uses by being able to adjust accordingly to weight fluctuations, body position (e.g. sitting), and load carried.

Are the Aegis buckles available as a separate purchase at all? I'd love to get my hands on one to upgrade some leather belts I have sitting around.