Safariland ELS belt help

[Butterpuc]

Being that I have primarily shot IDPA, I have never investigated purchasing a “belt system” like the Safariland ELS system. I will continue to shoot IDPA as my primary pistol competition, however I want to add some multi-gun into the mix this year. Then next year, hopefully shoot some Production and / or Single Stack.

My goal is to have aholster, 1-2 pistol, 1-2 rifle, and 2-3 shotgun ELS positions. I figure 6 positions for ELS attachments should be ok for local matches, right? From what I have understood the local matches don’t normally run nearly as high in round count, especially not high round count and multiple guns.

From the research online I see that I need the following (and assistance for what I don’t know I need):

The inner and outer belt – part 030 and 032. How do you really size these? The website refers to a “order a belt” instructions page, still haven’t found that webpage…  I measured my casual wear belt which does not fit “tight”, and from the buckle to the hole is 36.5”, so order a 36” belt?

Pistol mags. Order 2, 771 or 773? Do these come with the ELS attachments?

Rifle mags. Order 2, 774? Do these come with ELS attachments?

Shotgun. Leaning towards the Carbon Arms backbone with 8 SSLs (16 shells) across the front of the belt. It appears these can attach to 2 ELS forks on each end of the backbone??? Am I right?

Holster? Haven’t figured this one out yet… the Safariland website mentions a 5198 holster, but they don’t make one for the Glock 34/35, I guess because they don’t think anyone competes with a Glock 34/35… or am I missing something? They do have a 5198 for a Glock 17/22, do shooters cut off the tip of the holster? Or is there a better option?

QLS attachment for the holster? I have read that you should use a QLS attachment, but also have read if you can figure a way to attach a Tek Lok to an ELS then you should use that… confused, and keep in mind, I don’t use Tek Loks on any of my current gear, it's not necessary for IDPA gear.

Then recently I have read you should purchase 2 CR Speed Keepers to keep the outer belt more secure?

ELS-kit1-2, get 3 of these for the belt. If the mag pouches don’t come with a set of ELS forks and recievers.

[StealthyBlagga]

I run a BladeTech holster attached via an ELS accessory clip (NOT the QLS holster clip)... I just unbolted the TekLok and bolted on the ELS fork with longer screws from Home Depot. This approach lets me remove my holster and substitute a shotshell caddy when needed for high round-count shotgun stages.

I run Safariland pistol and rifle mag pouches - they work fine.

I just use the regular ELS belt keeper - it's secure enough for me.

Get more accessory fork/receiver sets than you expect to need... you will accumulate extra equipment and will want to vary its location. For example, you will want ways to carry shotshells other than just the Load 2 system. For some stages they won't give you the needed capacity, and for some stages you will be going prone and losing shells. A couple of traditional caddies will come in very handy.

Edited January 26, 2014 by StealthyBlagga

[usmc1094]

For belt size I read that it should be your pants size or the next size up if you want more overlap. I ordered my pants size and it has 3-4 inches of overlap.

[larry weeks]

I don't like the ELS keeper so I cut it off and use a CR speed keeper. Really like the system. You can never have too many forks, backing plates. Safariland sells a kit with 2 each + screws and t-nuts: Brownells #797-000-266WB, Safari # ELSKIT12

[jon49erfan]

I don't like the ELS keeper so I cut it off and use a CR speed keeper. Really like the system. You can never have too many forks, backing plates. Safariland sells a kit with 2 each + screws and t-nuts: Brownells #797-000-266WB, Safari # ELSKIT12

I feel the same on both. The ELS keeper is a pain compared to the others.

[Dan Sierpina]

I left the Safariland keeper on the belt, just to hold the belt closed when I loop it through the handle on my bag. I have a CR Speed keeper sewn onto the belt so it's always in the right place.

[bishop414]

+1 to the above, along with my 2 cents.

1. Get a Bladetech holster. I had the same questions you did and found a BT here in classifieds while debating which to get. Bolt pattern matches ELS forks where the Safariland is for their QLS system.

2. 771 or 773 is personal preference. I shot production so I have 5 total, 2 of the short ones, and 3 of the longer.

3. Normally the mag pouches do not come with the forks unless it says they do.

4. Buy more backer plates and forks than you think you need. They go fast when you start buying more stuff.

[Dan Sierpina]

Brownells has 2 packs of forks with hardware.

[alma]

I bought a QLS but it didn't work for me with my blade tech. I couldn't see how to use the ELS so I originally had my holster on a tec-lock, TMMS, and DOH attachment. The ability to remove the holster when you don't need it is really great.

Unfortunately this combination isn't even close to the 2" USPSA rule.

Last night I took off the tec-lock and attached the TMMS directly to the belt. This works even better than using the tec-lock and saves some distance but I might still have to modify the DOH attachment to see if I can get the whole thing closer to 2"

[Dan Sierpina]

I use a Blade Tech DOH holster, and the ELS fork bolts on, maybe not in exactly the position you want, but, it fits.

[SevoTT]

You may want to consider the 832 duty belt. It's a little wider than the comp belt and it has holes for ELS and QLS mounts.