Belt Kit And Yokes

[jelkel25]

Hello there,

I'll be hiking in bear/mountain country in the near future and have seen advice to wear belt kit with your backpack in case of separation from said backpack and to spread the weight around you body in these more challenging environments. I haven't seen the locals do this beyond those waist packs (or fanny packs in the North American parlance) or maybe the odd water bottle on a belt. So my first question would be, Is this belt kit advice really worth looking into? If I was to take the answer as 'yes', I don't like to look too military and maybe a military set of webbing would be too much in that direction for my own tastes, Is there a yoke and belt out there that looks more civilian that is strong enough to take the weight of at least, say two litre water bottles comfortably without jangling about? Many thanks!!!!

 

[SCOMAN]

This thread may provide some inspiration for you

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131441

 

[sandbender]

Do what the locals do, ask what they keep on their person.

I have often used a shoulder bag with a thin but wide strap that I can wear with my rucksack, above or below the rucksack straps, that works for me.

 

[tedw]

I find a belt kit interferes with the comfortable carrying of a modern rucksack with a hip belt and that's always my priority before the unlikely possibility of getting separated from the ruck. A yoke would be even worse. I do always have a SAK, firesteel, whistle and minitorch in my pockets and usually a small first aid kit and space blanket too. Are you thinking you might have to dump the bag while running away from an angry bear?

 

[jelkel25]

No, I know if you just run they'll chase you out of instinct, I wasn't thinking of a for instance. You have a good point about the hip belts though I've avoided using them till very recently. These things tend to offer their own solutions after just getting out there, so we'll see.

 

[janso]

As in other threads, a chest rig would be preferable. Ribz fills this gap and amazing for weight, carriage and comfort

Best photo I've got to hand of mine in action, but used exactly as you're planning for


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Rabbitsmacker]

Ribz. Very good. I have an older type that even though seen as having inferior straps i think the opposite, they are a lot less obstrusive to the padded type and sit under rucksack straps with little issue.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

I used to travel with a full set of PLCE webbing and a Berghaus Vulcan. I wouldn't recommend it.

If I wanted something similar now, I think I'd investigate RIBZ. Alternatively, a couple of Maxpedition Rolly Polly dump pouch on my belt would be under consideration.

That said, if it was just some water, the pockets on my Paramo Quito jacket are large enough for a OS active map, so I would guess a platypus soft bottle would fit...

Anyway, I'm waffling. Avoid webbing.

J

 

[jelkel25]

Yes, a chest rig is something to look into and definitely would spread the weight, Thanks!!

 

[Will_]

It's definitely worth looking into. If you're doing river crossings etc. loosing a pack can be a very real possibility.
The hip belt on rucksacks is the problem when it comes to belt kit. If you were going down the belt kit route, it would mean getting the belt kit lower than your hips (which defeats the spreading the weight aim). I think 2 litre water bottles may be too heavy to have hanging lower than a belt. A decent survival kit and a smaller water bottle might be doable though...
My wilderness expedition days are on hold but here's what I would carry with me on my belt if I was going on one again:
Small knife & firesteel (Small knife and firesteel always on belt/around neck.)
On a 2nd, PLCE style thick belt: Big Knife (John Nowill Survival Knife), survival pouch containing Sawyer mini water filter, 2L platypus, survival bag, lighter, knife sharpener, paracord, whistle, documents, money, phone?, keys?
Pouch containing steel water bottle/plastic bottle & metal cup
It's a tough call. There's always something else you want to add (a decent amount of water, first aid kit...), but if it gets too heavy or bulky, you won't wear it...
Shoulder bag & ribs sound like good options too though.

 

[jelkel25]

River crossings are going to happen at some stage and unless I stick to established hiking rout's there are few bridges, though I do have the sense to be very cautious during spring and the rivers rising through snow melt. Can't fault your emergency kit list at all, very well thought out. I saw a webbing harness made for airsoft that would be quite unobtrusive but probably not made of strong enough material for the real world. It could be fairly easily recreated in stronger materials and with a little tweaking might be a good alternative, I'm going to ponder on that for the present and I like the idea of turning the tables, 'borrowing' a cheaply made Chinese design, making it locally and better quality.

 

[Rich.H]

If you are willing to splash the cash then most of Maxpeditions packs tend to have a high waist strap, I am guessing this is mainly due to most of them being fairly short in height packs more than careful design. Even with something like the vulture II you can easily have a small belt kit without any type of interference from either.

 

[jelkel25]

With Maxpedition stuff I get the impression it would be much more cost effective to wait until I was in North America and it gives me a great reason to trawl around out doors shops, not that I don't like the ones here, they're almost the only shops where your guaranteed to get friendly staff!!

 

[Laurentius]

I have made my own, not the best of leatherwork as I use screws, rivets and glue rather than stitching because I am not very good at stitching, but it does not look military at least not in the last hundred and fifty years or so of what looks military.

 

[bradleybuckman]

I'm not sure how much weight you'll be packing or how far you'll be traveling, but I have a Maxpedition Condor II and I would recommend not using it if you're going to be carrying a lot of gear, a decent amount of weight or traveling very far. I've found that it's best used as a day pack when you're not carrying a lot of gear, otherwise, it gets very uncomfortable quickly.

Unless there is a need to really need access to items frequently, then I've always found it more comfortable to load the bulk of items inside the pack and maybe a few lightweight things in my pockets. However, you mentioned the desire for something in case you had to ditch your pack. As previously mentioned, I think the RIBZ or one of the Hill People Gear chest pouches would be best. https://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Products/tabid/762/CategoryID/1/ProductID/37/Default.aspx. I think the RIBZ would be better for several reasons as it looks much easier to access if wearing a pack and set up not to interfere with the wearing of the pack, lighter, and significantly cheaper than the Hill People Gear. The RIBZ looks like it would be perfect for a photographer to store and easily access different types of lens, etc.

 

[rg598]

For me the answer is No. I keep all of my gear in my pack, except for a few items I have in my pockets. I used to carry a belt kit but it was more annoying than anything else.