Buying a belt shouldn't be this difficult

[wmc1000]

OK, I bought a belt yesterday.

I've never been in a Duluth store. DW hates their rude commercials, so I avoided them. Turns out I like their stuff. It is, uh, rugged. I'm going to wait for a sale to get some work pants. DW may just have to hold her nose when I decide to buy something there.

What she doesn't get the importance of ballroom pants? Also my DW loves their no-yank tanks!

 

[upupandaway]

Because you mentioned trying to wade through some of the garbage on Amazon I thought I would turn you own to fakespot.com

It will analyze the quality of the reviews and give the product a trustworthiness letter grade. It has helped me a million times to determine if something is actually good or not. Also if your not in a hurry to buy something camelcamelcamel.com is great to see what the lowest price that product has been in the past and setup an email alert when it drops to that price again. This has saved me a bunch of money for items I want but don't need right now. It's amazing the price fluctuations for some products on amazon when you see them in a graph format.

As for belts I'm in the same boat and I'm checking out some of the suggestions made above. Thanks

 

[street]

Interesting topic and the same type of topic was talked about on another site. The one thing that was brought there was to make sure it is real leather. I guess there is a man made fabric/leather but doesn't last and look poor after a short time.

 

[gamboolman]

I recommend a real belt made for carrying a gun
Ranger belt
Tuckerandbyrd.com
Made in Texas by Texans
I use/wear these daily
I expect you will be satisfied
gamboolman

 

[Jerry1]

This thread is interesting to me. I’ve never seen or bought a belt that wasn’t real leather. Didn’t know there were fake leather belts. Of course I guess some of those that I never really checked out could have been fake or manufactured leather, but I’ve always been drawn to real leather belts. Even my dress belts were basically just a strip of leather. Kind of sad to think they’ve even gone cheap on a belt. With all the beef eaten in this country, seems like the leather would be pretty inexpensive. Maybe it’s the tanning that increases the cost.

 

[JoeWras]

With all the beef eaten in this country, seems like the leather would be pretty inexpensive. Maybe it’s the tanning that increases the cost.

Part of the problem is most are made in China. Export the hides there for processing?

The other problem is they don't necessarily tan any leather, they paint it.

I've had some cheap belts I bought that had a kind of bonding of some thin leather to some cardboard substrate. But those were the true cheapies. They appear to shave the leather into layers (probably like they do for human skin grafting) and glue it to substrate, and call it "leather."

Then there is true counterfeit items that have a name, but are simply fake.

 

[troutnut1]

I buy a new CC Filson belt every decade or two. Higher initial purchase price, lower cost when you consider how long you’ll have one. Love their double belt with two layers of leather. Takes a while to break in. Our estates will sell them used on ebay and they will still be worth something.

 

[Al18]

I've found this thread very informing. I've been looking for a leather belt that lasted more than a few months for awhile. I received a Mont Blanc belt as a gift about 2 years ago, and it has held up well for 2 years and is nearly worn out. Mont Blanc is made in Italy and too pricey - they were over $100 and now see they sell for more than $200!


I'll be shopping at a Duluth Trading store next week, based on the favorable mentions here and on their web site. If I don't find a belt there, the Daltech Force belts on Amazon look interesting.

 

[JoeWras]

For those of you buying high quality belts, here's what crappy belts look like when they wear. Besides this mess, my last cheap belt's buckle simply broke in two. That's one failure. The other failure is pictured below. Just junk.

In the photo below, the top belt is simply listed as "genuine leather", made in Guatemala. Yeah, painted genuine leather. The bottom belt is listed as "lining leather filler" made in China. Filler? What's that? Little chips of leather?

Don't buy cheap belts.

 

[braumeister]

I find myself wondering whether this thread shouldn't be incorporated into the "It's Wednesday weigh ins!" thread.

 

[WestUniversity]

I would also try Northern Tool. I’ve had good luck with the things I’ve bought from them so far...

 

[Drewskers]

Redwing shoe stores also carry good quality leather work belts. In fact I bought a new one just a few weeks ago. They last me 5-7 years minimum (but I don't hang stuff on them, I just like a sturdy real leather belt).

 

[Sunset]

Cabela's also has real leather belts.

I'm so glad I found a small shop (since gone) in FL at Tarpon Springs that was selling real leather belts for $5. Still using it every day after 5 years !

But I've been keeping my eye open for another good belt.

 

[JoeWras]

Cabela's also has real leather belts.

I'm so glad I found a small shop (since gone) in FL at Tarpon Springs that was selling real leather belts for $5. Still using it every day after 5 years !

But I've been keeping my eye open for another good belt.

That's something I miss about FL, at least the FL of a few decades ago... You'd get these retired craftsmen retiring there and they'd open up shops as a hobby. They were always reasonable. Nothing fancy. I got the best haircuts and shoe repair work ever, all for great prices. Sounds like that is going away too. Too bad.

 

[davebarnes]

https://www.mesfire.com might be a good source

 

[eytonxav]

Unless you are looking for something stylish, I opt for a tactical belt. There are dozens of choices.

 

[timbo]

For a heavy duty belt that can carry gear and still look nice it's tough to beat "thebeltman". They are pretty expensive but are top quality.

For a cheaper belt that works great, is infinitely adjustable, and is a good deal I'd recommend the Wilderness Frequent Flyer belt.

 

[papaof2]

Interesting that no one mentioned lehmans.com because they're in Amish country and cater to those with an "only buy it once" outlook ;-) I've never bought a belt from them, but everything else I've bought has been excellent.

Or maybe llbean.com - I've not purchased a belt from them but I can't wear out some of their jackets and my wife and I both like their flannel sheets.

 

[TN_INVEST]

Gun belts are reinforced to hold holsters. That might work?

 

[LFOD]

I've used a Daltech synthetic belt for years and expect it to last the rest of my life. It is impervious to chemicals and moisture (unlike even the best leather) and looks "normal" with jeans.


https://www.daltechforce.com/collections/superbio-gun-belts/products/superbio-black

 

[brewer12345]

I've taken up leather crafting as a hobby (number 746) and am still learning. My next project is going to be a basic belt after which I will probably try a heavy duty gun belt. Should be interesting to fool around with.

 

[Winemaker]

https://www.mechanicsurplus.com/pro...IJ1oJ3qiGVHmIeg2Y7ywdOm6ouHuCc3QaAmEMEALw_wcB

Just saw this thread; sorry I'm late to party. I used one of these belts for over 25 years. Suspenders are optional. Of course it is worn over your normal belt, but will carry about anything, mine carried about 20# gear; instruments, rock hammer, self rescuer, spads, electrical tape, tools, cap lamp, flame safety lamp. While the big battery cap lamp and flame safety lamp went the course of the dodo bird, I preferred wearing a cap lamp with a cord, as 6'5" tall, losing one's hardhat and having it blow down an entry, was unsafe in my opinion.

 

[Al18]

I bought the Men's Lifetime belt (brown) from Duluth Trading. It's thick (about 1/4 inch) but very pliable and impressive looking belt. Normal cost is $69.95, but there was a 25% off sale, so it only cost $52.46 when purchased in person. I originally was going to get the Men's Gets Better with Age belt at normal price of $44.95, but the store stock had visible scratches on the surface of the belt.


If you want to build your own belt, Tandy Leather is good source. My father still wears one of their belts he made years ago.