Blue Alpha reviews are ALL over RU-vid and gun sites. Wilderness belts have a long proven history but very little content. Let's compare the two! This is my best attempt at a fair review.
Love my Blue Alpha, but yeah, they can improve in some areas. The velcro is fine in my experience so far. I dont have the "loop" problem you are showing, and the simplicity of being able to adjust the belt by just pulling it open to tighten is one of the benefits in my opinion. Simple and elegant. Never comes loose.
Thank you for an excellent, practical, review. Wilderness is a tough act to follow. I got my first one back in the late 80's. It appears they're still the same, high quality, that they were then.
Wanted to come back here and say thanks for the review. I bought a LowPro 3 stitch 2 weeks ago because of this review and has a made a huge difference in my edc. I had previously been running a Kore Essentials and although it is a good tough belt, it was just too rigid for my body type and would cause discomfort and printing for aiwb. Now that I’ve been using the LowPro I don’t even notice when it’s on me. I only needed my belt to do two things; move with my body and hold my gun. And it does those 2 things just great.
Good honest review. I love my lowPro edc from the wilderness. I started with a 5 stitch it works well. But I wanted a stiffer belt still so I bought a polymer lined one just recently. Love it!
Nice, I did try a 5-stitch first but I found it to be too stiff for me. I have a really active job and found the 3 works well to bend and flex with you during the day. I bet the Polymer one is really nice for a range specific setup. Appreciate your comment!
Blue Alpha must have seen your review on this belt, because I bought one about three months ago and it looks a lot like yours. I paid $70 bucks for mine and it’s holding up pretty well. Bought one on Amazon from fox tactical and paid forty for it and it’s very much like blue alpha. Next one will be where you got yours, very impressive!
That triglide doesn't lay flat. By its design it is forced to be at an angle that will focus pressure at a single uncomfortable point. By contrast when you pull thr blue alpha snug that gap you showed disappears.
Well naturally its not completely flat since it is a triglide - but it is more secure. I've not personally experienced that pressure point you are referencing - If Blue Alpha works for you, glad you found it.
For EDC I picked up a KORE, and honestly it's super nice. Rigid, comes on and off easily, can let the belt out easily in situations where I need a little more room and cinch it up easily in situations where I don't. I did consider a more expensive option before I went with KORE but honestly 99 USD for a belt wasn't something I was trying to swing at the moment. Would I change some stuff about the belt if I was making it? Probably, but I'm assuming it would increase the cost. I've seen people saying their KORE is still running strong after 3 years so I'm interested to see how it holds up long term.
Yeah that is my main curiosity as well. My initial thought is that anything with a plastic ratchet system like KORE will break with daily use. I dont have one so please report back on your long term findings. Thanks!
The easier adjustment ability of the blue alpha is not a quality issue, it’s a design decision which I want it to be Velcro dependent. It makes it easier for me to adjust depending on me standing or sitting or leaning
I too noted the total dependency on Velcro (which, will deteriorate like all grades of Velcro over time) to secure the belt. Also, what I realy found especially troublesome were the deceptive pictures on their site. Every picture of the Blue Alpha, Low Profile EDC Belt give the appearance that the lead portion of the belt that is fed through the buckle, and has the "hook" section of the Velcro, is "mated" just short of the buckle and all the way to the end of the webbing. But look closer and you can see the Velcro stitching begins much further down from the buckle. You demonstrated this large 'loop' in this video. UNSAT.
Thanks for spotlighting that, I actually didn’t know they came out with a belt. I am a huge fan of Tenicor. I own their Certum holster. Long story short, I believe in everything they put out so I’m sure it would be great too. If you look at the fine print, wilderness is actually the manufacturer - “Sewn by Wilderness Tactical Products”. It’s probably awesome!
I would say more than adequate - its ideal. For me and others, flexibility (3 stitch) in a belt for appendix is very comfortable. A super stiff belt did not allow the belt or gun to move with me, but was very rigid as expected. Stiffer is probably better for 3 -5 o'clock I would guess. Go watch the video on Active Self Protection about appendix carry.
Excellent! Glad to hear. Yes, like a lot of products (holsters, sights, etc) there can be too many choices. I find its best to stick with a 'tried and true' so to speak if you are new to an area.
You think for appendix carry the frequent flyer would be a good option? I’m worried about the two rings printing. Figure I can move them to the side but not sure how thick they are together. With tucking in shirts I’d like to have the better looking buckle than the edc belt.
I think they are both great options, you can't go wrong. Also, according to Wilderness, the Frequent Flyer is a stronger belt overall. Meaning, the two polymer rings take more of a load than the EDC Low Pro tri-glide. So if you want the use a belt for other more intense things (think weekend gun courses, etc) FF might be good choice.
KD4 wears a Frequent Flyer for appendix. I copied him. I'm right handed. So, I wear the belt with the velcro to the left side. G19 on Tenicor Certum LUX. All good.
