Your Friendly Neighborhood Rooftop Korean Gear Review: Wilder Tactical

Hey everyone, so this is my first gear review for The Musa Store, and I’m excited to share my experience and opinion on the Minimalist Belt Pad/Inner Belt combo from Wilder Tactical (will also be offering some quick insights on pouches, and other attachments that came with the belt as a bonus). I’ve always been interested in gear and different ways to carry what I need for range or duty use. In the past couple of years, I’ve become more and more interested in belts to help reorganize some of the gear I usually carried on a chest rig or a plate carrier.

My first experience with tactical belt systems started with a myriad of large, bulky padded “War Belts”  offered from Eagle Industries and many others that all suffered from the same problems: they were bulky, didn’t stay secure unless I cinched the belt down to the point of discomfort, chafed/rubbed everywhere, and generally seemed to trap a lot of heat and moisture which is less than ideal when you’re in the field for weeks at a time. I swore off belts for a long time before learning about double belt setups such as the Blue Alpha double belt rig which is also available at the Musa Store. I fell in love with the double belt rig idea and used it for a couple of years including some Brigade competitions and a trip overseas, so I’ll be a hundred percent frank when I admit that I was a bit skeptical when I was given the opportunity to try out Wilder Tactical’s offerings.

Straight off the bat, I was so wrong to have doubts about Wilder Tactical, and have reevaluated minimalist padded war belt setups.

The following arrived at my doorstep:

The Ultimate Operator Package, which includes:

• Wilder Tactical Minimalist Belt Pad
• Wilder Tactical 1.75 in Cobra Belt 
• Wilder Tactical Universal Pistol Mag Pouch x2
• Wilder Tactical Universal Rifle Mag Pouch x2
• Wilder Tactical Universal Tourniquet Pouch
• Wilder Tactical Urban Assault Dump Pouch

So the first thing I noticed was how slim and light the belt pad was compared to the other pads I’ve experienced in the past. The stitching looks fantastic, and the Laser cut vertical panels keep the inner belt from moving around back and forth and also allows for specific locations where you can mount your gear without having the pouches or holster slide around without anything to stabilize it. The inner neoprene pad also does a fantastic job of providing enough traction that the entire belt system stays locked on your body, but not so much that it prohibits movement. Additionally, I didn’t have to cinch the belt so tight to the point of discomfort or cutting off circulation to my nuts. Throughout my review period, I didn’t notice a lot of heat nor moisture being retained by the pad.  It was less bulky than previous types of padded war belts I have used, which made using it with my plate carrier and pack easier as it didn’t want to bind up, chafe or cause hotspots. 

The Wilder Tactical 1.75 in. belt shows really clean stitches, attention to detail, and the Cobra buckle, which is pretty much the gold standard of all tactical belts, was a nice touch. I found the belt to be a little less firm than I’m used to. Now that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I’m just so used to using stiff belts that it just felt a little unusual for me. However, when using it in conjunction with the Minimalist Belt pad I was able to keep all the pouches on the belt, and I didn’t feel any shifting or notice the belt buckling under the weight of the gear when I was using it at the range, so while it isn’t what I’m used to or something I prefer, it worked quite well.

(I know, I’m cross dominant with a long gun and Sidearm. I’m weird)

Of all the products that I received in the package, I was most excited about the magazine pouches. To be transparent, I’ve used these pouches before on my friend’s kit, and I was very interested in them. The rifle and pistol pouches work the same way, so what I have to say about one also speaks for the other. The pouches are made from two overlapping polymer halves that act almost like a jaw. Retention is maintained by elastic cords that are woven equally on each side to provide equal amounts of pressure to retain the magazine evenly. There’s plenty of slack on the elastic cords so the pouches can be adjusted to fit many different magazine sizes, or knotted in front of the barrel lock cord closure to lock the tension exactly where you need. The cords can be left as is or can be tucked out of the way if you have OCD like me and hate cords just hanging around.

On the inboard side, there are fourteen holes on the rifle pouch and six holes on the pistol pouch, so any multitude of mounting systems could be utilized. Mine came with robust polymer clips that grab hold of the belt very effectively. On the outboard side, the rifle pouch had three holes so that a Wilder Tactical Pistol pouch or TQ pouch can be double stacked on top of it. Speaking of the outboard side of the magazine pouch, it’s flared slightly to ease magazine indexing very much like some of the aftermarket magazine-wells attached to pistols to facilitate smoother reloads.  It seems like a small thing, but it did make a difference to me, especially when I’m reindexing magazines in low light conditions.

(notice the mag well type Funnel)

(Retention Cords can be tucked away or just hang loose)

The Dump pouch looks great and is well thought out; the laser cut back panels allow for it to be woven to molle webbing, though mine came with an optional Belt clip. I’ll be honest though, I rarely use dump pouches to begin with, so it didn’t see a lot of use, but while I was testing it out, the velcro didn’t fail or inadvertently open it up while I was on the range.

So yeah, color me impressed. I'm going to be using the hell out of this setup along with my Double Belt system for sure; I can easily just throw this on at a moment’s notice for an impromptu range day. It stabilized my gear, is comfortable over long periods of time, doesn’t trap heat, moisture, or restrict movement like the previous generations of padded war belts. The accessories it comes with are all extremely well made and thought out. This would be a solid purchase for anyone who is seriously considering a belt set up for an external holster and assorted equipment either as a stand-alone setup or to be used in conjunction with a plate carrier or PC. Feel free to hit me up on IG if you have any questions about my experience with this belt system or if you're just a fellow gear nerd looking to talk shop.

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About the author: Andy, is a US Army Infantryman and your local Friendly Neighborhood Rooftop Korean.  When he's not burning through his savings at the range, you can find him online sharing memes, playing video games, and writing stories about the baddest warriors throughout history.  You can follow all of Andy's NSFW content at @not_call_me_ak on Instagram.

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