Buying a leather belt

[Azure]

I go through leather belts like crazy, mostly because its hard to find a good quality one.

I've paid up to $100 for a so-called genuine leather belt, and they last about 3 months, where a $50 belt can last about twice as long.

I've been looking through ebay, and I found a couple listings.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/MENS-GENUINE-...#ht_750wt_1163

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2011COOL-Dres...t_11758wt_1397

The 2nd one looks pretty good. Is there any way to ACTUALLY check the quality?

[peter12]

Both of those look like they are made from corrected grain leather. That is, imperfect hides that have been heavily buffed, and then glossed over with a smooth plasticky finish. They are cheap, and very prone to cracking.

Try Brooks Brothers, or look for Allen Edmonds belts on eBay. Those are a pretty high quality entrance belt.

[FlamesAddiction]

You might also want to check out some local farmers or flea markets. I bought a nice one from a farmer at a flea market. Some of those guys seem to pick up metal and leatherworking hobbies.

[Sliver]

So Azure, are you a FlamesAddiction-type guy, or a peter12-type guy? Two very different ways to go here...

[You Need a Thneed]

How does a belt only last for 3 months? Honestly, I don't understand. What breaks?

The cheap belts that I've had that I've worn virtually every day last for many years.

[Northendzone]

i have found that over the last few years, i have outgrown belts..... ):

[Cecil Terwilliger]

My mumu doesn't even need a belt!

[Azure]

Originally Posted by peter12

Both of those look like they are made from corrected grain leather. That is, imperfect hides that have been heavily buffed, and then glossed over with a smooth plasticky finish. They are cheap, and very prone to cracking.

Try Brooks Brothers, or look for Allen Edmonds belts on eBay. Those are a pretty high quality entrance belt.

So when they say genuine leather, they're lying? Makes sense, because lots of the genuine leather belts I've had are pretty crappy.

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

You might also want to check out some local farmers or flea markets. I bought a nice one from a farmer at a flea market. Some of those guys seem to pick up metal and leatherworking hobbies.

Good point actually. I didn't even think of this.

Originally Posted by Sliver

So Azure, are you a FlamesAddiction-type guy, or a peter12-type guy? Two very different ways to go here...

Well I'm not going to pay $200 for a leather belt when I can probably get a good one from a local leather shop. I just want something that doesn't tear apart everything 3 months.

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

How does a belt only last for 3 months? Honestly, I don't understand. What breaks?

The cheap belts that I've had that I've worn virtually every day last for many years.

Honestly, I have no idea. They just tear and rip.

[rd_aaron]

I was sick of my belts wearing out so easily, so I bought a $60 Michael Kors one, and it lasted maybe 3 months before it fell apart on me.

Bought a Perry Ellis one at Winners for $15 and it's been going strong for the last 6 months with no indication of wearing out.

It's a belt like this though:

I find that it doesn't have the pressure point at the buckle(which is wear mine wear out) of a typical belt like this:

[Azure]

Yeah sorry Peter, but I'm not paying $110 for a belt.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Allen-Edmonds...ht_2209wt_1139

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yeah sorry Peter, but I'm not paying $110 for a belt.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Allen-Edmonds...ht_2209wt_1139

A high quality leather belt with any kind of work into it will run in at over $100. You might be able to find a plain band for as cheap as $70. A true leather belt should last years and look better as it ages.

The other option is to pay $40 for a belt that will begin to look weathered after a few months and need to be replaced at least once a year.

[Azure]

The pressure point, or the hole is what rips for me as well. One of those clip belts lasts about 1 week for me. I've pretty much tried everything.

[Azure]

Whats wrong with buying a belt from a place like this?

http://www.warkov.com/leather/belt_leather.htm

[bizaro86]

If you're considering spending $100-$200 on a few belts, put that money into a plane ticket to Buenos Aires, and buy a bunch of belts from a vendor at the Recoletta market. Hand cut leather belts, great quality, last forever, and because of the currency they're ~$20.

[Misterpants]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yeah sorry Peter, but I'm not paying $110 for a belt.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Allen-Edmonds...ht_2209wt_1139

And those are just "entry level" belts!

[Hack&Lube]

Stop buying leather belts with traditional buckles/holes or fabric belts with snap-on covers/clips.

That's why they wear out. I only buy belts with ratcheting action now. They are fantastic. I will never go back to a traditional belt again. One of the best inventions ever and have been popular in Asia and Europe for 2-3 years.

It's like a continuously variable transmission for your pants!

You are no-longer restricted to holes with fixed distances, I can adjust to any size I want in the day in tiny intervals, they slide in and out, are incredibly secure, great at airports (buckles can detach from belt), I can cut any belt to size easily because the other end clamps into the buckle, etc. and some of them slide the long portion behind the top portion so it's invisible and you don't need to worry about tucking it into a loop.

There are hundreds of designs and styles, they last forever!

http://www.jingdongleather.com/product.asp (see ratchet belts down the page a bit)
http://missionbelt.com/ratchet-belt
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Leathe.../dp/B005HDNX36

I bought a brown leather ratcheting belt the other day for $10 and it's probably the best belt I ever owned and it's going outlast belts 10x the price that I have owned in the past.

[Misterpants]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Stop buying leather belts with traditional buckles/holes or fabric belts with snap-on covers/clips.

That's why they wear out. I only buy belts with ratcheting action now. They are fantastic. I will never go back to a traditional belt again. One of the best inventions ever and have been popular in Asia and Europe for 2-3 years.

It's like a continuously variable transmission for your pants!

You are no-longer restricted to holes with fixed distances, I can adjust to any size I want in the day in tiny intervals, they slide in and out, are incredibly secure, great at airports (buckles can detach from belt), I can cut any belt to size easily because the other end clamps into the buckle, etc. and some of them slide the long portion behind the top portion so it's invisible and you don't need to worry about tucking it into a loop.

There are hundreds of designs and styles, they last forever!

http://www.jingdongleather.com/product.asp
http://missionbelt.com/ratchet-belt
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Leathe.../dp/B005HDNX36

I bought a brown leather ratcheting belt the other day for $10 and it's probably the best belt I ever owned and it's going outlast belts 10x the price that I have owned in the past.

That just blew my mind. Calgary source?

[Azure]

Can you buy them online in Canada is a better question.

[Hack&Lube]

The best part is that you can easily change the belt size during the day to let it out or tighten it without people knowing because of the mechanism. With a finger's touch on the switch it can go in and out. You don't need to take the belt out of the buckle. It just slides and locks back and forth!

As far as Calgary sources, sorry I haven't seen any locally except one weekend at Bianca Amor's Liquidation Supercentre in their belt rack. They were actually real leather belts and were very high quality and classy. I took the last two ones and haven't seen them since. Prior to this, I bought one in Hong Kong.

[Stay Golden]

nm