Vertx has a new belt that will shortly be available. It uses contour webbing that tapers down from 1 3/4″ to 1″ and the American made side-release Raptor Buckles from JBC Corp instead of the more common Cobra buckle. The Vertx Raptor belt (may not be the actual title) is not a rigger’s belt, rather more of a range/shooter’s belt, though they do intend to eventually make one with a rigger’s harness. It provides sufficient platform for duty carry without providing too much for EDC or CCW/off-duty work.
Vertx chose to taper the webbing in once piece the way they did so there’s no attachment point (as there is in some belts where two different sized pieces of webbing are sewn together) and to allow the 1″ metal Raptor buckle (which is lower profile and lighter weight than a Cobra buckle, can be threaded through typical pant loops without removal and has a 2,000 lb. rating (assuming you wanted to lift a minivan or whatever).
The belts will initially be available in Black, OD and Earth (the Vertx coyote)–and there may be a few at SHOT if you want to swing by their booth.
The Raptor buckle, if you’re unfamiliar with it, has an interesting back story. It was developed by a male nurse in Iraq who was having to deal day to day with inadequate three-pronged buckles on the litters they were using…more on the Raptor buckle and why Vertx chose it in a future article.
No word yet on how soon the new belt will be available for purchase but expect it soon.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for a good article.
While we welcome any comparison drawn to our COBRA products we do ask that in the interest of fairness, it be accurately represented. On that note, the raptor buckles most certainly are not ‘lower profile’ than our COBRA buckles. It is true that the 1″ version is 0.1 oz lighter (not so for the other sizes) if that is of any consequence.
If you are interested, here is a link which compares both products side by side: (http://www.austrialpin.net/products/cobra/documents/1inchcomparisons.pdf)
Also, for the record, testing (both JBC’s and other independent labs) show the 1″ raptor has a breaking strength of well below 2000 lb. Caveat Emptor.
Thank you for your great site and we wish you well.
Sincerely – AustriAlpin
Yes AustriAlpin, please include a link to a completely unbiased side by side comparison, conveniently hosted on your own site.
True the Raptor Buckles may not have an overall lower profile than Cobra Buckles, however, I did notice one important detail. The one part of a Cobra Buckle that protrudes beyond the buckle, are the actual releases that detach the buckle. That doesn’t make me feel to safe. I much prefer the Raptor buckle design, since the release buttons are recessed inside the dimensions of the actual buckle. Add to that, the fact that the Raptor is significantly cheaper. Perhaps your site could offer a side by side comparison of the price difference with a nifty graph.
You want us to believe the comparisons you made, and yet you ignore the truth of even the most basic facts. You suggest that Raptor Buckles are made of a mysterious, and implied inferior, “Unknown Aluminum Alloy”. Surely you had access to the Cobra Buckle’s manufacturer’s website and the packaging of the product that was so called compared, which states it is made of the same 7075 Aluminum Alloy as your Cobra Buckles. It makes me question some, or rather all the other comparisons you made.
Raptors are available at MissionSpec.com http://missionspec.com/products/raptor-buckle/
RAPTOR buckles are random lot tested by a US government approved, 3rd party test house as part of our standard quality control procedures. Recent testing is posted on our site: http://www.raptorbuckle.com for your review. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at (757) 697-0019 or at ocazares@jbccorp.com Thank you.