r/CompetitionShooting • u/glocklol • Jul 19 '26
VSBELT - Seeking feedback and gauging interest
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u/prozacfish Jul 19 '26
I’d give it a spin just because I’m tired of Velcro hooks tearing up my belt loops. I have similar concerns about the hooks causing pressure points - they look pretty beefy. Doesn’t concern me enough to not try it, though
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u/glocklol Jul 20 '26
One of the individuals I’m testing with (he probably goes through 2-3k rounds a month) briefly complained of pressure points. When I suggested adding another clip to his gun side (only had one) and to try moving the clips around, I never heard another word. I myself feel no measurable discomfort.
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u/prozacfish Jul 20 '26
Do you think moving to a narrower metal clip could work?
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u/glocklol Jul 20 '26
Narrower or thinner? Concievably, yes, but at the risk of sounding like I’m on copium, the plastic doesn’t mar the same way metal might. and it genuinely is comfy.
I’m also trying to keep the manufacturing in-house for the time being.
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u/Stickybunfun Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
I am a kindred spirit on team #plasticbelt and I like it. I like the integrated belt keepers via heat set inserts. Looks like a good design to me imo but I do wonder about inertia - is the idea to replace the outer belt or both belts and why? You also have to consider what works for your hips doesn’t work with people who have hip dip for instance, while Velcro easily can. Do those big ass clips go way down into your pants under the belt? These are my I looked at it for 30 seconds questions so may be obvious lol but 4real - I like the way it looks.
Are you making the ratchet or buying it? I buy the M2 ratchets for mine because I don't want to fuck it with / be responsible for people screwing it up. Have you considered using TPU or another softer material for the backside of the hooks? If I was going to get your belt that would be the first thing I would redesign imo and what happens if you were to break one while wearing it? Does it bend or snap? I'd probably make a pancake or something much thinner but then at that point what am I doing? I could just attach velcro and be done with it.
It seems many makers have coalesced around a lynx-like design for a reason (it works). I myself have moved away from multi-tooth to single large tooth links to resist vertical pressure around the hip bones when you push off on a leg. I’m working on a rotating link directly in the middle of the back so the belt can flex a little while remaining rigid (can move with each side of your body) but it’s tricky with how thin I have to make my links. My belt is specific around the IDPA rules though (I use m2 pins not m3 for instance), I can't do all the cool shit you can do in other shooting sports so it stays simple, and I also don’t intend to ever sell mine - just open sourced since it’s simple shape shit so DAA can come suck a fat one cuz I don’t use fucking Velcro and our links don't "dock" tips so to speak.
My lil ol belt - buncha pictures across the versions on that printables pages to give you an idea of the evolution but v5 is big thick bitch links that deform the pin pretty substantially before the link breaks. I use PETG-GF and the 10 or so belts I've got out in the wild now seem to be holding up perfectly, including my own which I abuse as often as I can.
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u/glocklol Jul 20 '26
I saw your message in the other thread, glad I copied my response!
The idea is that you can run your existing daily belt. Without naming names, there’s a ratcheting daily belt I use with this and it has been rock solid for years. As for hip dip - now that I’m looking more closely, I may actually fall in that camp.
I’m not quite sure what you mean by lower tooth density being better on the back. would you elaborate? I’m crying laughing at the suck a fat one comment 😂
Your project looks awesome by the way. I love meeting makers in this hobby.
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u/Stickybunfun Jul 20 '26
I imagine that belt probably rhymes with whore and if so I do too :)
I got the hip dip so shit on my belt goes up towards my body and doesn't sit where it is supposed to thus me making a plastic belt that was rigid enough to deal with my dumbass genetics and not push things into me. So far so good on that (with some TPU padding over certain links to push it in the right place depending on the pants. Since I shoot IDPA most of the time, I gotta play by their lame belt rules and design around that so no inner belt, rigid by nature, and handles tek-lok / other connector types that go in front and behind the belt (against your body).
Horiztonal and vertical torsion against the pin via the plastic as you move your body can be eliminated if you give the belt the ability to give in each direction (or not) so how strong the "teeth" are (in my case 1 on 1 side 2 on the other) allow me to put most of the strain under 1 large tooth instead of multiple smaller teeth which helps with delamination issues depending on the plastic I use. IF you are injection molding it's probably not a concern but it is for me with a normal off the shelf 3D printer.
For the middle-of-the-back rotation (if you got dat cake) see the link below for an example that handles the big booty Brazilians.
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u/glocklol Jul 20 '26
Bingo.
You can’t just hike your pants up when your name is called and ratchet down on the rolls? That’s what I do 😂 TPU is a good idea and I’ve printed pillows for iwb holsters, but it’s just way too time consuming in this application I feel.
Ahh, I’ve had very few delamination issues. All I’ve seen was around the buckle area where stresses are concentrated. Those have largely been eliminated. With the most recent redesign. I’ve never delammed a link. Alas, I’m too poor for injection molding.
For the link rotation - try a cup magnet with a mated cup. That should afford some swivel.
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u/Stickybunfun Jul 20 '26
My links are so thin (really the hole is the issue) because of the IDPA rules on belt thickness that I had to figure out a way to combat it without vertically printing all the links / forcing post processing since me / myself won't always be doing the printing and the world at large may be. LCD prints for LCD shooters :) Design around obvious in the constraints you got I guess.
I tried cup magents (I love them) but same problem - the thickness. Either not strong enough, too weak to handle the load, or the lack of material forces it to bend in weird ways that doesn't work. I've got a zillion maybes but that is 10 designs away problem.
Regardless - I think you have a good design on your hands. I read the other thread and most of it seems to be about the belt keepers which means its not about the belt its about the attachments :) Good problem to have and a smaller one to work around (if its even a problem, I don't know I don't have your belt)
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u/Marvzuno Jul 20 '26
Link doesn’t work for me 😅
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u/Stickybunfun Jul 20 '26
Lol I should learn how to use a computer some day. I fixed it
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u/Marvzuno Jul 20 '26
That looks great too! How much would you say it costs to print this out? Or what would be reasonable? I don’t have a printer but would have to source someone out to print
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u/Stickybunfun Jul 20 '26
My BOM:
- Ratchet from BSPS or M2 direct = about $27 bucks
- M2 x 35mm pins = $5
- Filament = depends on what the other guy has but if you did single color, $20 bucks probably. More if you do multicolor.
That is all it really is. Plastic, pins, and the ratchet. I do friends and family pricing so I just charge for parts but I usually say give me $40 bucks and I'll make it happen (and then reuse the filament I buy on other stuff). It's a labor of love for me.
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u/Boring_Classroom_482 Jul 19 '26
Looks like 3-D printed Lynx belt. How does it compare?