Ares Gear Ranger Belt – The Original Design

Ares Gear Ranger Belt - Coytote

It’s been a while since my last post, so I figure I’d get back into this with a post of the highly acclaimed Ares Gear Ranger Belt. I picked up this belt in Coyote with a black Cobra QR (Quick Release) Buckle from Weapon Outfitters. They were the only ones that had them on hand during my search. I wear a size small, since I am a smaller guy. I opted for some color to break the generic black and brown leather belts I currently have. This is not the “enhanced” version they offer. This is the standard Ranger Belt, the original.

After using this belt almost daily for over 3 months now, I feel like I can give a fair and accurate review. The Ares Gear slogan is “Stiffer is Better”, and like most things in life, it stands true for gun belts. My favorite feature of this belt is the Cobra QR Buckle system. It makes putting the belt on, and getting it off a snap, literally. It locks in securely and does not loosen or unbuckle. At the same time, when you want to unbuckle it, you simple give it a light squeeze and the buckle pops open with no snagging or dragging. The design of the Ranger Belt ensures the BEST fit. It is adjustable by pulling on the webbing portion and is adaptable for a tighter or looser fit depending on the situation, and/or the belt-worn accessories you happen to have on.

It’s a low-profile design and doesn’t bind or pinch like other gun belts I’ve tried in the past. The stiffness of the belt really makes a difference if you are indeed using this as a gun belt. I’ve used this with my Comp-Tac M-TAC holster as well as various OWB holsters. In every case, the results were that there was a noticeable difference from the draw compared to a standard belt. The added stiffness of the Ares Gear Ranger Belt prevents the belt from collapsing on itself, or deforming and tugging during the initial drawstroke. The variable adjustment really comes into play when adding holsters, mag pouches and other belt add ons.

I’ve run the Ares Gear Ranger Belt during a close contact / intermediate distance class. It was a very high round count class and also required a lot of drawing and re-holstering, often times very quickly for the former. The belt held up and did not loosen a bit during the course. It did its job and did it well.

Another great feature of this belt is that it is aesthetically pleasing. It just looks cool. Its also low-profile enough to wear with a pair of jeans or khakis. I wear this belt nearly 7 days a week. It doesn’t scream tactical, which is a tactic in itself, and it is very functional. I expected the stiffness to go away after some time, but to my surprise, it did not. It retained its initial stiffness regardless of how long I have been wearing it. The Ares Gear Ranger Belt is probably my favorite belt to date. I will continue wearing it until it fails, which will probably be never.