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Why can’t I just order a belt based on waist size? Login/Join 
Drill Here, Drill Now
Picture of tatortodd
posted Hide Post
quote:
Why can’t I just order a belt based on waist size?
Depends on how you specify waist size:
  • If you choose the "size" of your jeans or pants you may be grossly disappointed. Apparently, both Levi and Hagar are trying to make me feel better about my girth by lying to me. I measured my waist with an actual cloth tape measure and they were undercalling by 15%.
  • If you measure an old belt and it has stretched you're going to be disappointed. I have a very expensive shark skin belt I measured this way and I've never been able to wear it.
  • This article on The Beltman's website has the best an most accurate way.



    Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

    DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
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    Posts: 24025 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Savor the limelight
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by straightshooter01:
    You have got to be shitting me. A swimsuit made out of nylon and spandex that costs $400 and last three swims?

    Oh, but the good news is it has free shipping!!

    Exactly what I thought the first time I bought one. They don’t wear them for every meet, just the important ones. The girl’s suits are $500-$600.

    On the other hand, he’s in the pool 6 days a week and I spend a total of about $500 a year on gear for him including the ridiculous tech suit. When he gets out of high school in a year and a half, he’ll also have two years of college and an AA degree. He’ll also be receiving the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship which will pay his tuition at the next college he attends. So ya, I splurge on the swim suit.
     
    Posts: 12125 | Location: SWFL | Registered: October 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Ugly Bag of
    Mostly Water
    Picture of ridgerat
    posted Hide Post
    If you are not ordering a custom-made belt, why not order two or three and return the ones that don't fit?

    Or spend the $5.50 in diesel. or take a regular gasoline vehicle.



    Endowment Life Member, NRA • Member of FPC, GOA, 2AF & Arizona Citizens Defense League
     
    Posts: 2893 | Location: Tucson Sector | Registered: March 25, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Jack of All Trades,
    Master of Nothing
    Picture of 2000Z-71
    posted Hide Post
    A story from the holster maker that I used in Denver when I was shooting SASS that explained why he insisted on an actual measurement and not belt or pant size.

    He had made a custom holster rig for a customer that was absolutely irate after receiving it that it didn't fit. The customer used the pant size of his jeans when specifying the holster rig and the belt was several inches too short. So being in the same state, my holster maker made a house call. The customer had been wearing the same jeans for YEARS and they had significantly stretched over the years to fit his stretch over the years.




    My daughter can deflate your daughter's soccer ball.
     
    Posts: 11956 | Location: Eagle River, AK | Registered: September 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Member
    posted Hide Post
    NexBelt. No holes at all.


    End of Earth: 2 Miles
    Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles
     
    Posts: 16623 | Location: Marquette MI | Registered: July 08, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Member
    Picture of iron chef
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by YooperSigs:
    NexBelt. No holes at all.

    I prefer ratchet belts and web belts for their fine tune adjustability, but a lot of people are dead set on belts w/ traditional holes.
     
    Posts: 3367 | Location: Texas | Registered: June 17, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Don't Panic
    Picture of joel9507
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by trapper189:
    I can measure him well enough to get his size right for a $350 swim suit

    $350 swim suit Eek
     
    Posts: 15243 | Location: North Carolina | Registered: October 15, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Non-Miscreant
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by trapper189:


    I know belt makers aren’t being obtuse and realize they must have a reason


    Yeah, they're crooks.

    I've had a very nice western belt I've worn for years. But as most do, I was using the last hole. No problem. It has a clearly marked "36" on the inside. So I did the logical thing, I contacted the maker and ordered a "38". It arrived and I tried it on. Same issue. So I double checked the marking and it said "38", sure as shit. So I pulled out the long used "36" and held it up to the new "38". Same exact length.

    So my conclusion holds, they're crooks They just pulled out a belt and marked "38" on it. How can they not figure out it would be wrong?


    Unhappy ammo seeker
     
    Posts: 18394 | Location: Kentucky, USA | Registered: February 25, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    His Royal Hiney
    Picture of Rey HRH
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by iron chef:
    quote:
    Originally posted by YooperSigs:
    NexBelt. No holes at all.

    I prefer ratchet belts and web belts for their fine tune adjustability, but a lot of people are dead set on belts w/ traditional holes.


    Same preference here. You don't get the set of using the same hole. It looks neat and you can adjust as needed.



    "It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
     
    Posts: 20311 | Location: The Free State of Arizona - Ditat Deus | Registered: March 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    thin skin can't win
    Picture of Georgeair
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by trapper189:
    I can measure him well enough to get his size right for a $350 swim suit with no trouble.


    Congrats on the most controversial line ever; and most detailed responses.



    You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

     
    Posts: 12897 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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    Picture of sourdough44
    posted Hide Post
    Sizing partly depends on who you order from. Measuring an old belt is often listed, some offer the ‘2 inches’ beyond pants size.

    https://www.bullhidebelts.com/...sual-belt-sku-204-18

    I put a link to Bullhide Belts, lots of offerings, sales at times. One of my favorites is a sturdy 1.25” belt, lite dress or casual use. I was on a belt fetish a few years ago, have a handful, including 1.5” & ‘double-belts’, thick.

    The link shows sizing methods for their site. Yeah, kinda a 1st world problem, though I’m enough of a snob where a belt from K-Mart won’t meet the grade.
     
    Posts: 6595 | Location: WI | Registered: February 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Alea iacta est
    Picture of Beancooker
    posted Hide Post
    Have him put on your belt. Pull to where the pin of the buckle would go through. Make a small mark.
    Take off belt and measure.

    I have a Ryan Grizzle belt. He punched holes very close so it has awesome adjustability.

    $350 for spandex shorts that last three swims, and you’re sweating $7 in diesel?!?!?



    quote:
    Originally posted by sigmonkey:
    I'd fly to Turks and Caicos with live ammo falling out of my pockets before getting within spitting distance of NJ with a firearm.
    The “lol” thread
     
    Posts: 4546 | Location: Staring down at you with disdain, from the spooky mountaintop castle.  | Registered: November 20, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    I Am The Walrus
    posted Hide Post
    Willing to spend $350 on a swim suit that's used 4 times but not willing to spend $5 on diesel to get a belt.

    I know he has a good rep but I didn't find Belt Man to be friendly at all. Asked him for a picture and he said look at the website and provided little feedback. I'm sure he won't miss my measly money I spent at Armor.


    _____________

     
    Posts: 13379 | Registered: March 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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    Picture of holdem
    posted Hide Post
    I have one of these;

    https://missionbelt.com

    They only come in one size and you trim them to fit.
     
    Posts: 2377 | Location: Orlando | Registered: April 22, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Savor the limelight
    posted Hide Post
    To be fair, I'm not willing to spend time or money to buy a piece of junk Chinese belt which is all we have available to us within 50 miles. Especially not when I can get a good, made in the USA belt delivered to my door.

    As of 30 minutes ago, that's what's happening now curtousy of The Beltman. I talked to I believe Dennis and a double stitched, 1.25", shrunken American bison belt in dying ember with an antique nickel roller buckle should be showing up at my door in a few weeks.
     
    Posts: 12125 | Location: SWFL | Registered: October 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Savor the limelight
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by Georgeair:
    Congrats on the most controversial line ever; and most detailed responses.

    I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention, but you can tell which members didn't read the first post. Smile

    quote:
    Originally posted by RichardC:
    Don't forget to add an additional 2" to belt size if you intend IWB holster carry.

    I think I'll wait to get my own TYR Venzo Camo Highwaist Jammer Tech Suit until it goes on overstock discount sale at Beall's. Eek

    He's 16, so it'll be awhile before he can CC. If I knew what size he was going to be next year, I buy one on clearance now at $200.
     
    Posts: 12125 | Location: SWFL | Registered: October 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Member
    Picture of RichardC
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by trapper189:

    He's 16, so it'll be awhile before he can CC. If I knew what size he was going to be next year, I buy one on clearance now at $200.


    ohhhh, OK.

    I still have my Philmont Boy Scout Ranch leather belt and bronze buckle from when I was about 16. It doesn't fit anymore. Frown

    Shoulda upsized back then. Smile


    ____________________



     
    Posts: 16338 | Location: Florida | Registered: June 23, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    "Member"
    Picture of cas
    posted Hide Post
    I went through this with a well known holster maker. Had a great belt from them, wore it many years and wanted another. Placed my order telling them exactly what I wanted, duplicating the one I had. They wouldn't make it unless I followed their odd method of measuring it. So I started fighting with them. I want a belt X inches from the looped end to the tip, no holes. They kept giving me all sorts of reasons I couldn't do that or go by the old one. "The old one fits! It's not too long, it's not too short. If the new one stretches, even a lot, it still won't be too long. My weight goes up and down. Fat, thin, winter summer, gun, no gun... this is the length I need." I stood my ground and so did they. Eventually they refunded my payment and canceled the order. I'd bought a lot of holsters from them, and never another after that.


    _____________________________________________________
    Sliced bread, the greatest thing since the 1911.

     
    Posts: 21545 | Location: 18th & Fairfax  | Registered: May 17, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Member
    posted Hide Post
    The clothing industry has engaged in "vanity sizing" for many decades. Very few people actually know what their waist size is.

    I wear size 34 waist trousers. My belts measure 37.5" from buckle attachment to the tongue hole in use. I have known many others also wearing the same size 34 trousers, but needing belts from 36" to 39" or so.

    When I started making leather belts in 1972 this was the first rule that I learned; always get the customer to measure a belt currently in use. Second lesson was that buckles vary in size and attachment points; a belt made for a specific buckle is unlikely to fit properly when another buckle is installed.

    At one time I found myself with about 4 dozen new belts in the shop, all returned by customers due to the sizing. A good two-layer gun belt, layers cemented together and stitched, consumes about the same amount of labor time as a holster, so 4 dozen returns meant that I had quite a lot of time invested for no return (actually, negative return when all costs are considered). Maybe those belts will find a customer wanting that exact style, finish color, etc, maybe not.

    By the way, the belt I am wearing right now is one I made in 2008, 14 years ago. Still as solid and serviceable as it was when new. Not very many mass produced mens' belts will last more than a year or two in daily use, and even fewer will support the weight of a holstered handgun comfortably or securely.

    The belt is the foundation of a carry rig, every bit as important as the foundation of a house in providing long-term service. Get it right the first time and be satisfied for years; or take short-cuts and live with the results.

    Best regards.


    Retired holster maker.
    Retired police chief.
    Formerly Sergeant, US Army Airborne Infantry, Pathfinders
     
    Posts: 1119 | Location: Colorado | Registered: March 07, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
    Savor the limelight
    posted Hide Post
    quote:
    Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
    The clothing industry has engaged in "vanity sizing" for many decades. Very few people actually know what their waist size is.

    I appreciate the response and completely understand why ordering based on trouser size or the number on an existing belt does not work, but that wasn’t my question.

    My question was about actual waist size measured with a tape measure which is the reason I included the blurb about $350 swim suit in my first post.

    To order a suit for my son, I take two measurements with a tape measure and look those up in the manufacturer’s sizing chart to find the correct size suit to order. Every single suit I’ve ordered him in the last six years has been the correct size. That’s three different manufacturers with each manufacturer having two different sizing charts depending on the type of suit. The tech suits are made in 1” increments. I’m literally laughing out loud right now thinking about if Speedo, TYR, or Arena’s instructions for ordering a suit were to measure an existing suit that fits and order that. Completely ridiculous. It couldn’t be done. Big Grin

    Imagine buying different size wheels for your vehicle, then while buying tires for it, the tire guy says go find tires that fit your wheels and vehicle and tell me what size they are.

    I’m just realizing now that the true reason I can’t order a belt based on measured waist size is because none of the belt makers have provide a chart that says if your waist is X, then order Y size. There could be a couple extra rows taking into account dress pants, jeans, IWB, etc.

    This message has been edited. Last edited by: trapper189,
     
    Posts: 12125 | Location: SWFL | Registered: October 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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