One of the most important aspects of military belts are their buckles. If you are wearing a canvas webbing military belt, but not carrying a new load, then the belt could come with a fashion element to it. However, if your belt is going to carry pouches, supplies, water bottles and weapons then you need a belt with some strength. Remembering of course that it is futile to have a strong webbing belt without a decent buckle.
Increasingly popular are -riggers belts- these have an attachement point for a carabina or descender. You can use a rigger belt to emergency rappel or if necessary or as an anchor point for a layard for static work. These are for emergency situations and manufacturers will suggest its use as a backup for a full rappel harness.
If you’re looking for a quality military belt buckle there are 3 primary buckles to choose from. The Nexus classic 2-inch belt buckle, the Cobra 50 belt buckle or the Raptor buckle.
THE NEXUS BELT BUCKLE.
nexus buckle is made of ‘acetal’, a type of plastic, and it has a traditional styling is the least expensive of all the military belt buckles they are available form many different suppliers.
They are the least strong of the buckles but are quite simple to use, though if the click sound when you close them is important then they are the loudest of the 3 examples described here.
COBRA BELT BUCKLE.
next buckle in common use is the Austrian 2 inch Cobra 50 buckle. These are slightly smaller and made of 3 good quality metals, aluminium, brass and stainless steel. They look very stylish and have strength around about 2000 lbs. Loved by many this is a good looking belt buckle. However, its popularity means that you pay for it and it is also the most expensive.
The Cobra belt buckles are a little heavier than the others, which might be seen as a disadvantage. Interestingly, the extra weight was found by many users to be reassuring and an additional indicator of quality.
RAPTOR BELT BUCKLE.
raptor buckle is an inch and three-quarter in size. Again made of aluminium, brass and stainless steel they are really easy to use and adjust and they look nearly as good as the Cobra 50 buckle and as strong supporting at least 2000 lbs. perhaps more depending on the test conditions.
They are not as expensive as the Cobra buckle and are made in Austria.
STUBAI BELT BUCKLE.
A belt buckle of a similar style is the Stubai Belt Buckle. This is a tempered aluminium buckle with black anodized finish and steel adjustment plate. For belts up to 45 mm width, popular for outdoor use and lightweight is has a similar design to the belt buckles above.
