Having done a ‘Light Order’ post during the summer, you might wonder why I am now doing an ‘ultra-light order’ post. After all, my main excuse for changing down to a light order rig was to placate the warm weather and to gain the extra ventilation. So, shouldn’t I be going back up to full rigs or at least chest rigs now it’s winter again?

Well, the British weather being what it is these days we are now in the ‘rainy season’ (that passes for our late autumn/winter). At the moment it is more likely that I will be caught out with sudden stormy rainfall than frost or snow. That being the case I want to be able to don a lightweight waterproof jacket quickly (and remove it again when the rain stops). Doing so is a bit of a bind if you have a full rig on – unless you get a voluminous rainproof poncho.

This is where the ULO belt comes in. It is much easier just to take off a belt and then put a rainproof on and then put the belt back on than start stripping off a full assault vest.

Belt rigs, what’s out there?

I touched on belt rigs in my original post on Light Order, from MOLLE belts to ‘battle belts’ to the famous Allen Belt (which is almost like a mini-chest rig worn around the waist). So while there is a variety of belt rigs out there the main issue that the user should be aware of is stability.

In short, load up your belt with too much equipment and you could soon find yourself wearing the rig around your ankles instead of around your waist!

For this reason you should either be looking at a medium sized belt rig with very good stability, or a small belt and pouch system that is light enough not to require hitching up every five minutes (simply tightening the belt is not a option that I would recommend for reasons of comfort).

Above: The Bulle duty belt and ammo belt combination rig. Both of these items can be purchased from Flecktarn.co.uk - the total cost is £24.50 (ex. postage).

Stability can be gotten in several different ways; a good stiff belt, a nice wide belt or the adding of US style ‘suspenders’ (that’s braces to you and me). In my case I chose to go for a nice stiff belt, the new Bulle US duty belt to be precise. Unlike normal duty belts - which are a thin strip of nylon or webbing - the new Bulle US duty belt is a double lined and stitched cordura strap that is very stiff and inflexible. It is designed to fit closely around the waist of the user and to almost mould itself to the wearer’s particular physique. In this way it remains in place snug and secure.

This belt does not have load-carrying pouches itself, so for this I added the Bulle Kit & Ammo Belt Pack (KABP). This ‘belt’ (it’s actually a belt attachment) is a wide MOLLE cummerbund with belt loops though which you thread a duty belt.

It has two integrated ammo poches mounted horizontally at either end of the belt, and is constructed in the form of a tube with zips at either end by which means you can store a lightweight kagool inside - very clever.

The system is light and flexible as several different combinations of equipment can be attached both to the duty belt and to the ‘ammo belt’ via its MOLLE loops. Because of the stiff Bulle duty belt you can actually get away with wearing a reasonable load, and I have additionally attached a holster to mine and am considering fixing a canteen pouch to the other side.

Above: The integral ammo pouches on this belt attachment are non-removable (not MOLLE). Each of the two pouches is adjustable enough to take 3 x 5.56mm (M4 type) magazines, and I have even got a couple of my long AK74 mags in each. The horizontal orientation of these pouches is unusual, and I have yet to see how practical they are in actual field use.

As well as this belt I have also invested in a Snugpak Response Pak for times when I really want to run with the minimum amount of kit.

The Response Pak is basically – and I hate to use this term – a ‘bum bag’. However, it has – apparently – favoured by the US Marine Corp. It is a surprisingly capacious little pack, with a plethora of internal pockets. It also has the advantage of being wearable both by means of its own integral belt, or with the belt folded away you can clip it to any MOLLE equipped item.

Above: The above picture shows a typical load for my Pak, but it does change depending on what other load-carrying kit I am wearing. By the way, as well as wearing this pack around the waist you can also wear it bandoleer style over the shoulder.

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Useful links:

> My original 'Light Order' post: Milgeek - ‘Light order’ options – summer load-carrying rigs
> Retailer link for the Bulle Kit & Ammo Belt Pack (KABP) - Flecktarn.co.uk (£19.50)
> Retailer link for the Bulle US Duty Belt - Flecktarn.co.uk (£15)
> Retailer link for the SnugPak Response Pak - Polimil.co.uk (£11.75)