kman
Well-Known Member
I was browsing these forums and stumbled across this nice comparison:
Anovos Han Solo Rig vs MP:
https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=287111
I did a somewhat similar thread about 9 months ago on the Rebel Legion forums, but reading that thread made me realize the comparison would doubtless be useful to my fellow RPFers who are not Rebel Legion members, and thus have no access to the thread there. So I'm copying the entire comparison here to the RPF. Hope someone finds it useful!
I suspect the number of people who have both the Todd's Costumes Han Solo rig, and the Anovos rig, is probably limited, so I feel this comparison may be helpful to those who are debating between these two belt setups, which are, I believe, the two most popular "high end" real leather Han Solo belt rigs sold on the retail market.
Note that both of these rigs were purchased by me, personally, through the vendor's normal website sales portals. I have no connection to either company other than as a customer, and I received no special discounts or special treatment from either company. All observations are my own personal observations, reached after directly viewing and actually handling the holsters that I was shipped. If either vendor has made changes to their holsters before or after I ordered and received mine, and you're disappointed in some way, I can't help you out beyond saying "Well, this is what they shipped to ME." Not that I have not yet done any weathering to the Todd's rig. This is pretty much "out of the box" (aside from playing dress up at home a couple of times, of course, LOL), and same with the Anovos.
So here is the comparison between Todd's Costume's Han Solo holster, and the Anovos Han Solo holster.
Note: The ANH greeblies you'll see are mine, and are NOT the ones that came with the Anovos belt. I will do a detailed comparison of the greeblies as well, once the main belt comparison is done. (I need to take more photos of the Anovos stuff, which I have not yet opened.) The droid callers pictured, however, are both the Anovos droid caller. One I already owned from some time ago, and the second came with the Anovos belt kit.
Now. Just to start off with a reference shot, here are the product photos by the manufacturers themselves (Todd's Costumes and Anovos). Note that BOTH vendors appear to have used prototype setups for their product shots, because the shipping products have noticeably different coloring (and weathering, in the case of Anovos):
Todd's Costumes: (the shipping holster is much more reddish)
Anovos: (the shipping holster is actually LESS red and has much more subtle weathering, and ironically, this color is somewhat close to the shipping color of Todd's!)
Some Initial Impressions:
Anovos certainly wins big on the packaging, for those who are into that. They have done a very nice job, as I'd expect from them by now. Todd's belt pretty much came in a big brown box (I did not bother to photograph it). This does not make a lick of difference once you're wearing the belts, obviously.
The Anovos weathering is not as extensive as pictured on the website prototype photos, but it's definitely nice. I'll likely copy some of what they did to my Todd's belt, which is pretty new looking by comparison. Simply from a "5 foot away" visual standpoint, I'd give the nod to Anovos, at least in terms of out-of-box appearance.
The Anovos buckles are very nice, but not nicer than Todd's: Pretty much a draw, visually. BUT the Anovos belt is much more adjustable, in terms of sizing (due to extra hidden snaps on the inside of the belt), and the front/back buckles can be swapped very easily (unlike Todd's), to reconfigure for a particular movie.
The "hook" hardware, on the other hand, for the holster drop panel is MUCH nicer (beefier) on Todd's than Anovos. The Anovos actually seems thin and flimsy by comparison. I feel like I could accidentally bend the Anovos hooks and the metal almost feels sharp. Notsomuch for Todd's nice solid ones. Photos below.
I don't know whether the leather on Todd's belt is simply better quality, or simply less "dried out" (maybe some leather conditioner can help?), but the Todd's Costumes belt and holster definitely feels thicker, more supple, and again, less dried out. Particularly the belt pouches. The Anovos pouches are really thin, and seem almost like they're a bit at risk of tearing.
Just to reiterate, for those who aren't as familiar with these, here's how you can tell which is which in MY photos below, of the actual shipping models: The Anovos has noticeable weathering, and is much more brown/tan, compared to the noticeably more reddish coloration of Todd's leather finish. (to which I have not yet added any weathering) For the record, I requested an ESB belt configuration from Todd. In these photos, I have swapped the buckles in favor of an ANH buckle layout (more on that later), just because that's the costume I was working on first.
Enough blather. Onto my side-by-side comparison photos:
Left belt (wearer's perspective). Note the difference in weathering, slightly different shape to the button pockets, and wildly different placement of the droid caller mount. I believe the Anovos placement is closer to screen accurate, FWIW, although I could slide the droid caller (again, both droid callers pictured are from Anovos) forward a bit more to minimize this. From a "wearability" perspective, the end hardware is flipped: The Todd's clip is open towards the front (reach the end behind the buckle, hook the loop, and done). The Anovos clip is open towards the body, so some contortions are required to get the clip in position to hook the loop behind the buckle. This definitely makes the Todd's belt MUCH easier to clip on. Hard to explain, but really obvious as you're trying to put the damn thing on. Both are fine once you're wearing them, however.
Right Belt (wearer's perspective). These two are much closer, although there are still some differences. The Anovos pockets are spread out a bit more, and end much closer to the disc as a result. The Anovos disc is a bit taller than the Todd's disc (ANH style?). The 4th (usually unused) pockets have a bit different shapes to each other. Not really easy to see in photos is how incredibly thin the Anovos pockets are, and how dry and papery the leather pockets feel. I really worried about tearing them, just by putting in the greeblies! The thread used to stitch on the pockets is pretty white on the Todd's, but a bit of colored weathering would knock that down nicely.
The thinner pocket leather is visible here ... but much more dramatically different in "feel" than the appearance would suggest:
Here's the back of the same right side belt, showing the stitching. Quite similar, overall, despite the minor differences. The buckles are nearly identical, although the hoop size is a little tighter on the Todd's, especially on the front buckle, which is why it's a struggle to swap configurations. (not impossible, exactly, but still. More on that later.) Also note the extra rows of male snaps on the back of the Anovos belt. This allows more size customization, unlike Todd's. Less screen accurate, but very nice, and not visible while wearing.
Holsters: The two holsters are pretty close, but again, there are differences. The blaster cutout has a subtle difference that affects how some blasters fit into the holster. And the retention strap is mounted in a slightly different place, which affects how it lays across the blaster. The difference in weathering is quite obvious here. Todd's holster is slightly more squared off where it runs from the barrel down the front to under the magazine compartment... I think it's a little wider. This might affect the fit of some blasters.
The holster back is quite similar, again, although you can see the cut of the Y drop is a little more generous on the Todd's belt. You can also see the extra snaps on the Anovos version, again, allowing for some extra size customization. You'll note the keyhole connector is quite similar on both. I haven't tried, but I have a strong suspicion that I could mix and match parts between the two, if I was inclined. (and if the leathers were a closer match)
Speaking of the connecting hardware: Above I mentioned how thin the metal connecting hardware is on the Anovos. This photo shows it pretty clearly. Again, though, the difference is much more dramatic to the hand than the eye. I'm sure both are plenty strong, but I feel the risk of accidentally bending the Anovos hardware is MUCH higher than the Todd's hardware.
The holster front cap: One difference worth pointing out: The cap (front plug?) on the tip of the Anovos holster is actually a bit funny looking. The Todd's cap is recessed which looks better. The Anovos cap sticks out entirely, placed flat on the outside/bottom edge of the holster tube, showing the raw edge of the leather all the way around. This bugs me quite a bit, personally. Possibly my biggest complaint, given the price. The edges are also exposed on the screen-used originals, based on the source photos I've viewed, but the construction method and wear patterns makes it far less obnoxious looking.
Blaster fit: My Denix-based ESB and AW airsoft ANH blasters both fit into either holster, although there is a slight difference in how the snap for the retention strap is pushed out.
ANH AW Airsoft in Todd's holster:
ESB Denix in Todd's holster:
ANH AW Airsoft in Anovos holster:
ESB Denix in Anovos holster:
Coming in the next post: Greeblies.
Anovos Han Solo Rig vs MP:
https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=287111
I did a somewhat similar thread about 9 months ago on the Rebel Legion forums, but reading that thread made me realize the comparison would doubtless be useful to my fellow RPFers who are not Rebel Legion members, and thus have no access to the thread there. So I'm copying the entire comparison here to the RPF. Hope someone finds it useful!
I suspect the number of people who have both the Todd's Costumes Han Solo rig, and the Anovos rig, is probably limited, so I feel this comparison may be helpful to those who are debating between these two belt setups, which are, I believe, the two most popular "high end" real leather Han Solo belt rigs sold on the retail market.
Note that both of these rigs were purchased by me, personally, through the vendor's normal website sales portals. I have no connection to either company other than as a customer, and I received no special discounts or special treatment from either company. All observations are my own personal observations, reached after directly viewing and actually handling the holsters that I was shipped. If either vendor has made changes to their holsters before or after I ordered and received mine, and you're disappointed in some way, I can't help you out beyond saying "Well, this is what they shipped to ME." Not that I have not yet done any weathering to the Todd's rig. This is pretty much "out of the box" (aside from playing dress up at home a couple of times, of course, LOL), and same with the Anovos.
So here is the comparison between Todd's Costume's Han Solo holster, and the Anovos Han Solo holster.
Note: The ANH greeblies you'll see are mine, and are NOT the ones that came with the Anovos belt. I will do a detailed comparison of the greeblies as well, once the main belt comparison is done. (I need to take more photos of the Anovos stuff, which I have not yet opened.) The droid callers pictured, however, are both the Anovos droid caller. One I already owned from some time ago, and the second came with the Anovos belt kit.
Now. Just to start off with a reference shot, here are the product photos by the manufacturers themselves (Todd's Costumes and Anovos). Note that BOTH vendors appear to have used prototype setups for their product shots, because the shipping products have noticeably different coloring (and weathering, in the case of Anovos):
Todd's Costumes: (the shipping holster is much more reddish)
Anovos: (the shipping holster is actually LESS red and has much more subtle weathering, and ironically, this color is somewhat close to the shipping color of Todd's!)
Some Initial Impressions:
Anovos certainly wins big on the packaging, for those who are into that. They have done a very nice job, as I'd expect from them by now. Todd's belt pretty much came in a big brown box (I did not bother to photograph it). This does not make a lick of difference once you're wearing the belts, obviously.
The Anovos weathering is not as extensive as pictured on the website prototype photos, but it's definitely nice. I'll likely copy some of what they did to my Todd's belt, which is pretty new looking by comparison. Simply from a "5 foot away" visual standpoint, I'd give the nod to Anovos, at least in terms of out-of-box appearance.
The Anovos buckles are very nice, but not nicer than Todd's: Pretty much a draw, visually. BUT the Anovos belt is much more adjustable, in terms of sizing (due to extra hidden snaps on the inside of the belt), and the front/back buckles can be swapped very easily (unlike Todd's), to reconfigure for a particular movie.
The "hook" hardware, on the other hand, for the holster drop panel is MUCH nicer (beefier) on Todd's than Anovos. The Anovos actually seems thin and flimsy by comparison. I feel like I could accidentally bend the Anovos hooks and the metal almost feels sharp. Notsomuch for Todd's nice solid ones. Photos below.
I don't know whether the leather on Todd's belt is simply better quality, or simply less "dried out" (maybe some leather conditioner can help?), but the Todd's Costumes belt and holster definitely feels thicker, more supple, and again, less dried out. Particularly the belt pouches. The Anovos pouches are really thin, and seem almost like they're a bit at risk of tearing.
Just to reiterate, for those who aren't as familiar with these, here's how you can tell which is which in MY photos below, of the actual shipping models: The Anovos has noticeable weathering, and is much more brown/tan, compared to the noticeably more reddish coloration of Todd's leather finish. (to which I have not yet added any weathering) For the record, I requested an ESB belt configuration from Todd. In these photos, I have swapped the buckles in favor of an ANH buckle layout (more on that later), just because that's the costume I was working on first.
Enough blather. Onto my side-by-side comparison photos:
Left belt (wearer's perspective). Note the difference in weathering, slightly different shape to the button pockets, and wildly different placement of the droid caller mount. I believe the Anovos placement is closer to screen accurate, FWIW, although I could slide the droid caller (again, both droid callers pictured are from Anovos) forward a bit more to minimize this. From a "wearability" perspective, the end hardware is flipped: The Todd's clip is open towards the front (reach the end behind the buckle, hook the loop, and done). The Anovos clip is open towards the body, so some contortions are required to get the clip in position to hook the loop behind the buckle. This definitely makes the Todd's belt MUCH easier to clip on. Hard to explain, but really obvious as you're trying to put the damn thing on. Both are fine once you're wearing them, however.
Right Belt (wearer's perspective). These two are much closer, although there are still some differences. The Anovos pockets are spread out a bit more, and end much closer to the disc as a result. The Anovos disc is a bit taller than the Todd's disc (ANH style?). The 4th (usually unused) pockets have a bit different shapes to each other. Not really easy to see in photos is how incredibly thin the Anovos pockets are, and how dry and papery the leather pockets feel. I really worried about tearing them, just by putting in the greeblies! The thread used to stitch on the pockets is pretty white on the Todd's, but a bit of colored weathering would knock that down nicely.
The thinner pocket leather is visible here ... but much more dramatically different in "feel" than the appearance would suggest:
Here's the back of the same right side belt, showing the stitching. Quite similar, overall, despite the minor differences. The buckles are nearly identical, although the hoop size is a little tighter on the Todd's, especially on the front buckle, which is why it's a struggle to swap configurations. (not impossible, exactly, but still. More on that later.) Also note the extra rows of male snaps on the back of the Anovos belt. This allows more size customization, unlike Todd's. Less screen accurate, but very nice, and not visible while wearing.
Holsters: The two holsters are pretty close, but again, there are differences. The blaster cutout has a subtle difference that affects how some blasters fit into the holster. And the retention strap is mounted in a slightly different place, which affects how it lays across the blaster. The difference in weathering is quite obvious here. Todd's holster is slightly more squared off where it runs from the barrel down the front to under the magazine compartment... I think it's a little wider. This might affect the fit of some blasters.
The holster back is quite similar, again, although you can see the cut of the Y drop is a little more generous on the Todd's belt. You can also see the extra snaps on the Anovos version, again, allowing for some extra size customization. You'll note the keyhole connector is quite similar on both. I haven't tried, but I have a strong suspicion that I could mix and match parts between the two, if I was inclined. (and if the leathers were a closer match)
Speaking of the connecting hardware: Above I mentioned how thin the metal connecting hardware is on the Anovos. This photo shows it pretty clearly. Again, though, the difference is much more dramatic to the hand than the eye. I'm sure both are plenty strong, but I feel the risk of accidentally bending the Anovos hardware is MUCH higher than the Todd's hardware.
The holster front cap: One difference worth pointing out: The cap (front plug?) on the tip of the Anovos holster is actually a bit funny looking. The Todd's cap is recessed which looks better. The Anovos cap sticks out entirely, placed flat on the outside/bottom edge of the holster tube, showing the raw edge of the leather all the way around. This bugs me quite a bit, personally. Possibly my biggest complaint, given the price. The edges are also exposed on the screen-used originals, based on the source photos I've viewed, but the construction method and wear patterns makes it far less obnoxious looking.
Blaster fit: My Denix-based ESB and AW airsoft ANH blasters both fit into either holster, although there is a slight difference in how the snap for the retention strap is pushed out.
ANH AW Airsoft in Todd's holster:
ESB Denix in Todd's holster:
ANH AW Airsoft in Anovos holster:
ESB Denix in Anovos holster:
Coming in the next post: Greeblies.