About our USA Made Cartridge and B.A.R. belts
Our USA Made cartridge and BAR belts are the best available, period. They are assembled by our staff, each of whom has 20+ years experience making US WWII fieldgear, using the best materials available. The webbing and canvas are matched to original fabrics, and professionally finished and color-fasted. The hardware is made by a combination of three US companies, all of whom made it during WWII. We have multiple quality control checks throughout production, and each pocket or pouch is test fitted with the clip or magazine it was designed for. The quality difference between the US made belts and those from Asia is enormous.
We do offer one of the cheap imported belts as well, for about 1/3 the price. Which to choose? There are times when the cheaper product will do the job nearly as well. This isn't one of them. Cartridge belts are like tools- the cheap ones often fail the first time you use them. This is not a sales pitch, it's the truth. If one only intends to use the belt for display, as a costume or light duty, the imported one will do. Be prepared to lose a snap or grommet after a short time. Should one plan on realistic, combat/ field use with a full load of ammo, water in your canteen, and more than styrofoam peanuts in your backpack, then the better belts may end up saving money in the not-so-long long run.
Of over 3,000 US made cartridge belts sold, we cannot remember the last time one was returned for any sort of failure. And if one ever does, we can usually fix it. People complain about the cheap ones every week.
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The question with no answer. Which color is "correct"? The roll of original webbing we used as a sample, a roll of our webbing made from it, and some original, mint condition cartridge belts. Neither roll matches the belts perfectly- but none of the belts match each other so...
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Setting snaps with the press. Each belt requires over 120 steps just to install snaps & grommets.
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This is what the little black marks on US gear are for- yes, they are intentional. The marks indicate the corner of each fold so the pockets are the correct size and all parts align properly.
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Sub-assemblies ready to be joined.
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Sewing the main panels together. Pocket size is checked repeatedly.
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Belts ready for grommets and final checks.
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Test fitting each and every pocket with a charger clip.
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