The USMC Sub Load Belt

Gear is pricey. Good gear is expensive, but often worth it without a doubt. If you’re struggling to find an affordable kit, it might be time to look at the surplus market. A lot of GWOT kit is hitting the market at great prices. It might be a little dated, but not all that much. Stuff like the USMC sub load belt allows you to have a very capable battle belt at very little money.

The USMC Sub Load Belt hit the fleet after I left; seeing that it’s now surplus makes me feel old. I got a firsthand look at the USMC’s move to belts. When I was in Afghanistan, we switched to plate carriers from the old IMTV vests. The new vests had less room for gear, and the Afghan countryside meant we were often walking through water up to our waists.

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We didn’t have issued battle belts; we had ancient tri-color load-bearing vests. Part of these vests included attached belts. Marines quickly detached the belts from the LBV and started wearing them as belts with their plate carriers. It spread like wildfire and became a fairly standard practice.

Sometime after that, the USMC saw the need for belt-mounted options and began issuing the Sub Load belt. Those belts have hit the surplus market, and a good example costs about $50 with suspenders.

The Sub Load Belt In Detail 

The Sub Load Belt comes in three sizes: small, medium, and large. Following the scale, I needed a medium belt, which is the first time since I was 14 that I purchased anything in a medium size. It turned out it fit, but only when I extended the belt. It’s for a 35-inch waist, and mine is 38 inches.

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This put some of the MOLLE panels a bit out of reach. Luckily, my plan is to shrink, so the belt should fit a bit better. I can still reach my magazine pouches, but I’m a bit limited as a person of calorie. (For now anyway.) 

The belt is 4 inches wide and offers three rows of PALS with 20 columns total on the medium belt. The small has 16 columns, and the large has 24 columns. The belt features a ½-inch pad that’s super comfy and keeps the gear pushed away from the body.

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The belts are often sold without suspenders, but spend a little more money and get the suspenders. The suspenders are a 3-point system: one point at the rear and two points up front. The Y-shaped suspenders are flat and can be worn under a chest rig or under a plate carrier.

The suspender straps are 2 inches wide, and the attachment points are 1 inch wide. You can use a comfier four-point suspender system thanks to two extra D-rings at the rear.

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Is it stylish? Minimalist? No, but it’s functional and easy to work with. 

Run and Gun With The Belt 

I’m working on my setup for this belt. I’m not sure where I’ll take it, but I’ll likely just strap it up with surplus gear and keep it as such. I currently have it outfitted with three magazine pouches: two on the left and one on the right. That’s 180 rounds of 5.56. I have an IFAK pouch at the rear and plan to add a dump pouch in the future.

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For fun, I attached a FSBE weapon catch that holds my Mossberg Compact Cruiser AOW nicely. Six mags of 5.56 and a mini 12 gauge shotgun are a lot of weight for a belt. Too much if I wasn’t using the suspenders. However, with the belt tight and the suspenders adjusted correctly, it is perfectly stable. 

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The weight isn’t pulling down, and the belt isn’t flopping around. Is a mini shotgun silly? Sure, but it turned out to be a good way to test the belt’s ability to support your gear. The suspenders don’t feel uncomfortable or as if they are digging in. The belt doesn’t have an inner belt, but it’s not moving as I shoot and move. 

I can run, dip behind cover, and go in and out of the prone. Admittedly, I’m careful not to scratch my expensive Mossberg, but the belt holds up to the use. 

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The Sub Belt works exceptionally well, and while I have to stretch a bit to reach my right-side pouch, I need to stretch more anyway. My ultimate plan is to make this a basic infantry belt: some magazines for both pistol and rifle, an IFAK, dump pouch, and butt pouch. Something I could don, run to the end of the driveway, and engage the zombies.

Surplus gear isn’t fancy or high speed, but it’s functional, affordable, and damn sure durable.