I have never been one for a battle belt, when I served in the Army, I had a drop leg holster for my Beretta M9 and never really thought about how my system for my firearms was set up. For a few years all I carried was an inside the waist band holster for my old CZ-52 and my Glock 22. When I got my Glock 34 and started its transformation into my Jedi Glock I was on the hunt for a custom holster. I found one that was to my specifications and needs, but for the last few months I have been putting my holster on my Nexbelt Titan Precise fit belt. While this worked, I watched my fellow writer and friend Roger Frame use a battle belt and decided that I needed one. I settled on the Elite Survival Systems Sidewinder.

The Elite Survival Systems Sidewinder is a cost-effective starting belt using the standard MOLLE rigging. Coming in at $69.95 the price is great and starts off the user with just a shell of a belt. I needed to get an actual belt that would work with the shell. I decided my old Army Riggers belt would work for the time being. The belt fit perfectly on the shell and had me ready for initial set up. My holster for the Glock 34 has a Tek-Lok system that doesn’t work on the battle belt, but sits perfectly on my riggers belt. I then added my Glock mag holsters and went about my day shooting.

From the get go where my holster and gun sat, it seemed to feel better and my draw felt more natural, reholstering took a few minutes but once I started practicing, I was able to adjust with minimal effort. I started by just shooting and testing how the battle belt distributed the weight of my Glock and the loaded magazines, it distributed the weight well and didn’t interfere with my shooting or movements. See,

I even went and had a little fun. I stuck the 32 round mags that I use in my AR9 into the mag holsters and with my pistol it distributed the weight well and I never felt like my belt was fighting against me. The belt worked perfectly for what I needed it to do. I have some changes that I will be doing on my own. I will be changing my belt out for an easier clip and go such as a Raptor. I will also be getting a different holster that will work directly with the MOLLE webbing.

My final thoughts, the ESS Sidewinder is a fantastic belt to start and when used with the correct belt, it will distribute the weight well and is a great addition to anyone’s range gear or SHTF set up.