TMC "BL" Crye Low Profile Belt
Sept 22, 2016 15:58:58 GMT -5
Post by triggs (SABR) on Sept 22, 2016 15:58:58 GMT -5
Full Album Review – TMC “BL” Belt
TMC Low Profile “BL” Belt
- Real Steel History
- Overview
- Accessories
- Externals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
Real Steel History
[The Low Profile Belt] Offers the same lumbar support and stable load carriage platform as our ballistic (BLAST™) belts, but with a non-ballistic insert. Designed to work in combination with the AVS™. It can also integrate seamlessly with our AVS™ StKSS Load System. Made in the US from US materials. Non-ballistic. (taken from www.cryeprecision.com )
Overview
Each time I look, TMC continues to increase their lineup of replica Crye gear. So when they recently added a “Low Profile “BL” Belt” to their list of replicas, I decided to get a new war belt after 8 years of using a standard rigger belt, which has served me well.
I really can’t say this enough, this is a China made copy, so going into the review I was not expecting CP level stitching, CP level quality, or military grade manufacturing, and neither should you. It’s roughly $40-$50 from Hong Kong, so that should be a dead giveaway of the quality to expect. TMC isn’t known for their high grade product, but for some things they will work, and until someone else makes a copy of the Low Profile Belt, this is the only option. If it falls apart beyond repair, well, at least you’re not out too much money, or you might get lucky and it lasts a good long while.
Accessories
As far as accessories go, the belt comes with quite a bit considering it’s just a belt.
Included are four Crye style foam pads like those found on the CPC I also reviewed (2x large and 2x small). They are made from a semi-hard foam that doesn’t completely form to your body, but the trade off is that it keeps the air channels open to increase breathing and heat management.
While technically not an accessory, the belt buckle is completely removable from the inner belt. Something I was grateful for since the black buckle really bothered me from the pictures on the website.
Externals Review
The Low Profile “BL” Belt is supposed to be a replica of the Crye Low Profile BLAST Belt, judging from the name. However, the BLAST belt has soft armor inserts, and the non BLAST version has just a stiffener in it like the TMC replica. Crye also makes two variants of the Low Profile belt, one for use with the CPC and their other products (or on its own), and a revised version for use with the AVS.
The two main parts to the belt are the inner belt, which is a two inch wide riggers belt, and the outer belt which combines a MOLLE battle belt and a Velcro friendly lining to stick the foam pads to.
In addition to the MOLLE, the outer belt features an internal channel for the inner belt to slip through, as well as creating a space for a non-ballistic, lightweight plastic stiffener to help support the lower back under load, and transfer weight to the hips; something that I very much appreciated while testing the belt.
The downside to the belt is that it does not feature cuts in the lining to allow the pass through of drop leg straps for things like a drop leg panels or holster. The Crye AVS Low Profile Belt has panels that split open to allow the user to mount drop leg support straps to the concealed inner belt. As the TMC belt is constructed currently you will have to run the belt on the outside of a third of the outer belt to add a drop leg on one side, if you want drop legs on both sides the belt will completely cover all of the MOLLE except for directly on the back section. There are still vertical guides on the outer belt to keep the outer belt from falling off, but you do lose valuable MOLLE on the sides for mounting any pouches.
As mentioned earlier the buckle is black like that of the original Low Profile BLAST Belt. Personally I prefer the look of a tan buckle like the one found on the AVS Low Profile Belt. It was a very simple swap over and only cost me about $4 USD.
Performance
Like the rest of the TMC gear, there really isn’t a performance test like there is with guns, but we can talk about potential performance (or early failure) based on materials and build quality.
Fabric – TMC claims the belt is made from 500D Multicam Cordura. It certainly feels light enough, and is a welcome change from the heavier 1000D Cordura that makes up most other gear. However, this is TMC, so there’s no telling if it really is MILSPEC 500D or how long it will hold up under use. So far I have been impressed with both the 2014 AVS and 2016 CPC I’ve reviewed, and feel the belt will hold up just as well.
Webbing – Unlike my 2014 AVS, the 2016 Low Profile Belt has real multicam webbing so it is spot on and not discolored at all. I really wish the AVS had come with it to begin with, as the belt now looks out of place.
Stitching – This is a replica product, this belt is still a far cry from MILSPEC gear. But the TMC AVS from two years ago has held up very well and I don’t expect the BL Belt to have any issues. Unlike the 2014 AVS, I did not find any loose or torn stitching.
Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
With no failures of the 2014 AVS I’m putting high hopes on the BL Belt. It’s great that I can now complete my AVS setup, though I did find the CPC rides too low for it to work with the BL Belt, which is a bit of an annoyance.
At the end of the day it’s no Crye Precision (obviously), but for the $40-$50 I paid I’m happy. It’s a nice upgrade from my old riggers belt, and hopefully will survive as well as the AVS has for the last couple of years.
External Score: 8/10
I’m knocking off some points for the fact that I can’t mount any drop legs without substantially changing the belt. As it stands, with my mid-ride SERPA holster in place I have lost the MOLLE on the right side altogether. Granted it’s not much use with the SERPA where it rides, but if I was using a dropleg SERPA or a dropleg panel to mount MOLLE pouches, it’s a lousy compromise. I truly wish this was a complete AVS Belt replica.
Performance Score: 9/10
Unlike the 2014 AVS, I have high expectations for the BL belt. I don’t foresee any issues, and didn’t come across any immediately, like I did with the 2014 AVS during the review.
Overall score: 8/10
8/10 seems like a fair score. It’s a nice belt, very comfortable, and looks the part of a complete Crye AVS rig. However, the fact that I can’t easily mount drop leg pieces to the belt really makes things difficult.
© Copyright triggs 2016
TMC Low Profile “BL” Belt
- Real Steel History
- Overview
- Accessories
- Externals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
Real Steel History
[The Low Profile Belt] Offers the same lumbar support and stable load carriage platform as our ballistic (BLAST™) belts, but with a non-ballistic insert. Designed to work in combination with the AVS™. It can also integrate seamlessly with our AVS™ StKSS Load System. Made in the US from US materials. Non-ballistic. (taken from www.cryeprecision.com )
Overview
Each time I look, TMC continues to increase their lineup of replica Crye gear. So when they recently added a “Low Profile “BL” Belt” to their list of replicas, I decided to get a new war belt after 8 years of using a standard rigger belt, which has served me well.
I really can’t say this enough, this is a China made copy, so going into the review I was not expecting CP level stitching, CP level quality, or military grade manufacturing, and neither should you. It’s roughly $40-$50 from Hong Kong, so that should be a dead giveaway of the quality to expect. TMC isn’t known for their high grade product, but for some things they will work, and until someone else makes a copy of the Low Profile Belt, this is the only option. If it falls apart beyond repair, well, at least you’re not out too much money, or you might get lucky and it lasts a good long while.
Accessories
As far as accessories go, the belt comes with quite a bit considering it’s just a belt.
Included are four Crye style foam pads like those found on the CPC I also reviewed (2x large and 2x small). They are made from a semi-hard foam that doesn’t completely form to your body, but the trade off is that it keeps the air channels open to increase breathing and heat management.
While technically not an accessory, the belt buckle is completely removable from the inner belt. Something I was grateful for since the black buckle really bothered me from the pictures on the website.
Externals Review
The Low Profile “BL” Belt is supposed to be a replica of the Crye Low Profile BLAST Belt, judging from the name. However, the BLAST belt has soft armor inserts, and the non BLAST version has just a stiffener in it like the TMC replica. Crye also makes two variants of the Low Profile belt, one for use with the CPC and their other products (or on its own), and a revised version for use with the AVS.
The two main parts to the belt are the inner belt, which is a two inch wide riggers belt, and the outer belt which combines a MOLLE battle belt and a Velcro friendly lining to stick the foam pads to.
In addition to the MOLLE, the outer belt features an internal channel for the inner belt to slip through, as well as creating a space for a non-ballistic, lightweight plastic stiffener to help support the lower back under load, and transfer weight to the hips; something that I very much appreciated while testing the belt.
The downside to the belt is that it does not feature cuts in the lining to allow the pass through of drop leg straps for things like a drop leg panels or holster. The Crye AVS Low Profile Belt has panels that split open to allow the user to mount drop leg support straps to the concealed inner belt. As the TMC belt is constructed currently you will have to run the belt on the outside of a third of the outer belt to add a drop leg on one side, if you want drop legs on both sides the belt will completely cover all of the MOLLE except for directly on the back section. There are still vertical guides on the outer belt to keep the outer belt from falling off, but you do lose valuable MOLLE on the sides for mounting any pouches.
As mentioned earlier the buckle is black like that of the original Low Profile BLAST Belt. Personally I prefer the look of a tan buckle like the one found on the AVS Low Profile Belt. It was a very simple swap over and only cost me about $4 USD.
Performance
Like the rest of the TMC gear, there really isn’t a performance test like there is with guns, but we can talk about potential performance (or early failure) based on materials and build quality.
Fabric – TMC claims the belt is made from 500D Multicam Cordura. It certainly feels light enough, and is a welcome change from the heavier 1000D Cordura that makes up most other gear. However, this is TMC, so there’s no telling if it really is MILSPEC 500D or how long it will hold up under use. So far I have been impressed with both the 2014 AVS and 2016 CPC I’ve reviewed, and feel the belt will hold up just as well.
Webbing – Unlike my 2014 AVS, the 2016 Low Profile Belt has real multicam webbing so it is spot on and not discolored at all. I really wish the AVS had come with it to begin with, as the belt now looks out of place.
Stitching – This is a replica product, this belt is still a far cry from MILSPEC gear. But the TMC AVS from two years ago has held up very well and I don’t expect the BL Belt to have any issues. Unlike the 2014 AVS, I did not find any loose or torn stitching.
Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
With no failures of the 2014 AVS I’m putting high hopes on the BL Belt. It’s great that I can now complete my AVS setup, though I did find the CPC rides too low for it to work with the BL Belt, which is a bit of an annoyance.
At the end of the day it’s no Crye Precision (obviously), but for the $40-$50 I paid I’m happy. It’s a nice upgrade from my old riggers belt, and hopefully will survive as well as the AVS has for the last couple of years.
External Score: 8/10
I’m knocking off some points for the fact that I can’t mount any drop legs without substantially changing the belt. As it stands, with my mid-ride SERPA holster in place I have lost the MOLLE on the right side altogether. Granted it’s not much use with the SERPA where it rides, but if I was using a dropleg SERPA or a dropleg panel to mount MOLLE pouches, it’s a lousy compromise. I truly wish this was a complete AVS Belt replica.
Performance Score: 9/10
Unlike the 2014 AVS, I have high expectations for the BL belt. I don’t foresee any issues, and didn’t come across any immediately, like I did with the 2014 AVS during the review.
Overall score: 8/10
8/10 seems like a fair score. It’s a nice belt, very comfortable, and looks the part of a complete Crye AVS rig. However, the fact that I can’t easily mount drop leg pieces to the belt really makes things difficult.
© Copyright triggs 2016