My review of the new "Liger" belt from MAXPEDITION

[tire iron]

I received a “Liger” gun belt from Tim @ Maxpedition just about a month ago. Tim sent it to me to T&E. I was initially very skeptical about its use as a CCW belt after viewing pictures of it. I voiced my opinion that I thought the buckle was too unconventional looking to avoid attracting attention. The last thing I want when “carrying” is for attention to be drawn to my waist area.

Tim “put his money where his mouth is” – and “dared” me to use his belt for 30 days to see who was right – he was confident that the buckle wouldn’t attract undue attention – I was sure that it would.

There also seemed to be some “BFC’s” (Big Fat Claims) regarding the Liger belt too – such as “Ligerthane” (the material the belt is made from) being:

1. Highly abrasion- resistant
2. Totally impervious to water, mildew, rot and resistant to many common solvents.
3. Flexible along its length for comfort yet stiff along its width so you can carry holsters, sheaths, or pouches without the belt sagging or twisting.
4. A super grip interior so the belt stays put
5. A LigerDerm™ patterned exterior that gives it the look and feel of leather; it’s nice enough to wear with your BDU’s or dress pants and perfect for discrete CCW.
6. Easy-to-clean, just rinse with mild detergent and wipe dry.

This all sounded too “info-mercial-ish” to me. I thought “there is no way a belt can do all of that”.

As soon as I took the belt out of the box – I thought – “Crud – this buckle probably WON’T attract undue attention”. After thinking about it for a second – I came to the conclusion that I had first viewed the buckle on my 19” computer screen – making the buckle several times larger than it really is in real life. The buckle – even though is VERY high quality – is diminutive enough to not warrant a “second look” – even with the prominent and visible rivet heads exposed.

I wore this belt every day but one for the past month – and not ONE person commented on the belt or buckle. I wore this belt to work – I wore this belt to play – I wore this belt to the local IDPA match – I wore this belt while taking my wife out to dinner – I wore this belt to church – I wore this belt EVERYWHERE – and not one comment from anyone! Nor did I notice anyone doing a “double take” on this belt/buckle either. The “color scheme” I ordered was the “Tan belt/Grey-Silver buckle”. I ordered this color on purpose – with a couple of reasons in mind. First reason was – I am kind of “long” on black leather belts – so I thought I would “expand my wardrobe” to include a tan belt. The second reason is that I felt the “Black belt/Black buckle” was a little more “covert” – and I wanted the “worst case” belt – to REALLY see if no one noticed this belt. And – no one did – so I can say with complete confidence that the Black on Black belt would be just fine in this area too. And – I think the Black on Black belt would even work with a suit. (My tan one looks fine in “Dockers” – but I personally feel it wouldn’t work with a suit – just my opinion though.)

So – my position on the viability of this as a CCW belt from an aesthetic standpoint is this: It won’t attract undue attention to the waist area.

Now you are probably asking – “What about all the BFC’s regarding this belt?”

Let’s talk about each point – one by one.

First BFC is this: “Highly abrasion resistant”. This is a true claim. This belt is much more resistant to abrasion than either of the leather belts I have – or the “riggers” belts I have. The “outside” is sort of “slick” – it wards off abrasion better than the alternatives.

Second BFC is “Totally impervious to water, mildew, rot and resistant to many common solvents.” I know it is impervious to water – as I went swimming with this belt on. It won’t absorb ANY water (or sweat). I also rubbed on it with some gun cleaning supplies – and – nothing happened. Looks like the second BFC is true too.

Third BFC is “Flexible along its length for comfort yet stiff along its width so you can carry holsters, sheaths, or pouches without the belt sagging or twisting.” I thought – no way! I have some riggers belts that have a “plastic” stiffener in them – and some thick leather belts – and they STILL “roll” somewhat – so this belt has got to “roll” too. Well – I was the most surprised on this one. It DOESN’T roll. I wore a fully loaded Safariland 6004, a HSGI thigh rig and a G-Code SOC rig for a few days each – and there was ZERO “roll”. The belt didn’t even realize there was a “side load” on it. I TRIED to get the belt to roll – and I failed. That is what really got me to saying “Hmmmmmm…..this is some belt”.

Fourth BFC is “A super grip interior so the belt stays put”. I thought this was going to be “mutually exclusive” to the First BFC – being abrasion resistant. I thought “there is no way it can be abrasion resistant AND have a “super” grip interior”. Well – I was wrong. The bad news is – if you don’t get your equipment set “just right” before you tighten the belt – all you will do by trying to adjust the position of your gear is twist your pants around your body. At least that has been my experience. Good news is – once you DO get your gear set just right and tighten the belt – your gear ISN’T moving! It will be exactly where you put it as if you “super glued” your rig to that spot on the belt.

Fifth BFC is “A LigerDerm™ patterned exterior that gives it the look and feel of leather; it’s nice enough to wear with your BDU’s or dress pants and perfect for discrete CCW.” This is true. It does indeed look like leather.

Sixth and final BFC is “Easy-to-clean, just rinse with mild detergent and wipe dry.” True.

So – is this belt perfect?? No – it is not. What is??

Here are my “wishes”. I wish there was some other way to “fasten” the belt – like a “riggers” belt. I just don’t like “holes” on a belt. I feel it limits me to a series of “compromises”. However – all of my leather belts share this same dilemma too – and I still wear them…

This belt will not absorb any sweat – so it may seem a tad “warmer” than a leather or nylon belt that will absorb sweat. However – sweat will deteriorate leather – and isn’t good for riggers belts either. I wore this belt in temperatures over 100 F – and I really didn’t recognize any heat build-up – but some may. However I LIKE the idea that it is impervious to sweat.

So – what is the bottom line you ask??? It is my opinion – won through experience – that this belt is the BEST “CCW” belt on the market today. If there was a way to buckle this like a riggers belt – I would be so bold as to say that this would be the best belt on the planet for any and all tactical uses – be they CCW or for use by SpecOps units in lieu of a riggers belt. I am REALLY impressed with this “Liger” belt. The next $59 I can free up from CINC House and I will be ordering a Black on Black one – and these two Liger belts will replace ALL of my leather belts. I am not easily impressed – in fact I am very skeptical regarding claims made by most manufacturers and gear sellers – but this is one fine belt.

Tim – you won the bet! And – I am glad you did – as this belt is really something!

The Liger belt can be ordered here: http://www.maxpedition.com/product/p...er_belt150.htm

cheers

tire iron

[TarpleyG]

Great review...fugly belt. Any idea when they will be offered for sale?

Greg

[VaughnT]

My opinion? Very ugly belt. I'm impressed with your review, and wouldn't mind owning one as a GP belt. But, I think they need to reconfigure the buckle so all corners have the same radius and there should be a false rivet on the opposite side to balance the aesthetics.

That's just my opinion. Will I buy one? No. My wilderness belt is plenty servicable at a loadbearer and my leather belts have better looking buckles.

Thank you for the honest input regarding the functionality, though.

[tire iron]

TarpleyG,

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for the post!

They are currently selling them. Call MAXPEDITION.


VaughnT,

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for the post!


To both:

Yeah - its an ugly belt - but I carry Glocks - so I can't really comment on the looks or I'd be a hippocrit!

cheers

tire iron

[tire iron]

Here are some pictures of my “Liger” in two different pant styles and colors.

First one is tan dress slacks:


Next up is “blue-ish/grey” Cabela’s pants:


Here is a shot of the “Liger” under side load of an Safariland 6004 – note the total absence of any “roll” (besides the “roll” that is above the belt! LOL):


cheers

tire iron

[Monty]

Great review tire iron. I recently published a similar review here
http://www.tacticalgearreview.com/wo...n-belt-review/

It's a good belt but I think you liked yours a tad more than I did mine.

Appears we had similar areas of concerns given the benefits I think you were more willing to live with than downsides than was I. Think we both agree they have a pretty good product they will do well with although they may have trouble getting rid of those last few USN belts

[GunGoBoom]

It's pretty much my favorite belt.

[tarrigoni]

Too bad the owner of Maxpedition/Liger is scum.

[Joelk]

What is the width on these belts? The web site really doesn't have any info.

[tire iron]

The belt is 1 7/16" wide.

cheers

tire iron

[mr_dove]

I was unaware of the owner being scum. Additional information on this claim might be interesting.

the benefits of the belt sound great. I'm not too keen on the looks but I might get one anyways.

[Mtn_USPc]

This belt is showing up everywhere and It escapes me as to why. The Wilderness belts are great and yet many of them are probably finding a home in the closet for this latest and greatest pseudo innovation.

[Commander Crusty]

I own a Liger gun belt and people DO stare at it. I thought at first my fly was down. Now, I'm convinced they think it's a great looking belt and wish they had one.

I DON'T like the stickiness of this belt--hard to slide a holster on, hard to push the end under the belt loops--but it does work great with guns up to 40 ounces. It has a nice, understated and elegant look. It's affordable and it ships today!

[Gordon]

I have 6 ligers now(in all the colors) since I got the first one 4 yearsago. They don't wear out as far as I can see. They support even More than 40 oz guns as it will never roll and the stickiness keeps the holster from sliding. They are pretty stiff feeling until you get used to it, about like an 1 1/2" wilderness with the plastic stiffener option.However they are much thinner and go into pants loops easily. Best dang everyday non dress belt and absolutely much superior to any other CCW belt, and I am comparing to Milt Sparks contour belts ect.You have to try one for a week to know , otherwise you will never know.

[W.E.G.]

[TimboKhan]

There is a great deal of controversy regarding Maxpedition's business practices over at EDCForum. THR really isn't a place to sling mud, and so I won't go into detail or even provide a link, but if you are dying for some Maxpedition related drama, feel free to go find it yourself.

[waterhouse]

The Wilderness belts are great and yet many of them are probably finding a home in the closet for this latest and greatest pseudo innovation.

The review is almost 4 years old. Hardly latest and greatest. That probably also explains the lack of pictures.