Does everyone's belts do this?

March 03, 2023, 01:02 AM

maladat

Some thoughts.

Part 1.

When a person sits or bends over, their pants try to pull down in the back.

This is made worse by:
- looser fit at waist
- tighter fit through butt, crotch, or thighs
- stiffer fabric
- fewer belt loops (when worn with belt)

How do your pants fit at the waist? Will the waistband hold them up without a belt (doesn’t count if the waistband is loose and the pants are held up by being tighter on your upper butt)?

How roomy are they through the butt/thighs?

My WAG is that your pants are relatively loose at the waist and/or relatively snug in the seat, probably a fairly stiff fabric, probably have five belt loops rather than seven, and you spend a good amount of time sitting or bending down.

This combination would mean the middle belt loop in the back gets pulled down hard a lot and put a lot more stress on your belt where you are seeing the deformation.

You do landscaping work, right? A lot of inexpensive jeans and work pants are cut where when the fit right everywhere else, the waist is too big (because it makes it easier and less expensive to cut the fabric panels and sew the pants together).

Part 2.

Leather stretches and breaks in. Thinner, softer, and/or cheaper leather does this more and faster.

Getting leather wet also makes this happen a lot faster. Back to landscaping, if you go work one place and sweat through your belt and then hop in your truck for a drive to another place, that’s the worst possible scenario - the belt is wet so the leather is even softer, you sit, which kinks it when the back belt loop pulls it down, then you lean back into the seat and really iron in the kink.

A heavy enough belt made out of good leather will still stand up to that kind of treatment, at least for a lot longer, but if that’s what’s happening with your belts, you might be better off just using synthetic belts for work (either heavy nylon webbing or fake leather like Maxpedition Liger) and saving the leather belts for casual wear.

TLDR:

I suspect either your pants don’t fit quite right or you’re wearing thin leather belts in situations they just aren’t going to stand up to or both.

March 03, 2023, 05:57 AM

mark123

quote:
Originally posted by marksman41:
When I started getting heavier (as in overweight and out-of-shape) my belts started to look the OP's. I'm not saying anything about anyone else, just what I noticed in my life.

This company has come up with a help for the problem:

https://www.abetterbeltusa.com...uto-contouring-belt/

I have two of these belts and while mine still deform somewhat (I'm still overweight), I've found the belts with the pivoting middle section to work quite well.

It must be a body mechanics thing. This happened when I was a sub-100 pound lanky/tall kid in high school and it happens today.

March 03, 2023, 06:06 AM

mark123

quote:
Originally posted by maladat:
Some thoughts.

Part 1.

When a person sits or bends over, their pants try to pull down in the back.

This is made worse by:
- looser fit at waist
- tighter fit through butt, crotch, or thighs
- stiffer fabric
- fewer belt loops (when worn with belt)

How do your pants fit at the waist? Will the waistband hold them up without a belt (doesn’t count if the waistband is loose and the pants are held up by being tighter on your upper butt)?

How roomy are they through the butt/thighs?

My WAG is that your pants are relatively loose at the waist and/or relatively snug in the seat, probably a fairly stiff fabric, probably have five belt loops rather than seven, and you spend a good amount of time sitting or bending down.

This combination would mean the middle belt loop in the back gets pulled down hard a lot and put a lot more stress on your belt where you are seeing the deformation.

You do landscaping work, right? A lot of inexpensive jeans and work pants are cut where when the fit right everywhere else, the waist is too big (because it makes it easier and less expensive to cut the fabric panels and sew the pants together).

Part 2.

Leather stretches and breaks in. Thinner, softer, and/or cheaper leather does this more and faster.

Getting leather wet also makes this happen a lot faster. Back to landscaping, if you go work one place and sweat through your belt and then hop in your truck for a drive to another place, that’s the worst possible scenario - the belt is wet so the leather is even softer, you sit, which kinks it when the back belt loop pulls it down, then you lean back into the seat and really iron in the kink.

A heavy enough belt made out of good leather will still stand up to that kind of treatment, at least for a lot longer, but if that’s what’s happening with your belts, you might be better off just using synthetic belts for work (either heavy nylon webbing or fake leather like Maxpedition Liger) and saving the leather belts for casual wear.

TLDR:

I suspect either your pants don’t fit quite right or you’re wearing thin leather belts in situations they just aren’t going to stand up to or both.

It’s been a long time fight for me to find pants that actually fit my body. I can’t usually find anything off-the-rack. Work pants are usually bought a size larger because the length is close and then held up with a belt. I’m a 31-32 waist but wear a 34. Without a belt they will fall off.

31 waist usually comes in a 29-30 length and I need a 34. 34 lengths usually come in 38-40 waist size.

March 03, 2023, 07:19 AM

redstone

I gave up on leather of any kind (after spending some good $$ on belts) and switched to a wilderness belt (nylon). I have been wearing them for 20 years and the only reason I am on my third belt is because I have lost 100lbs and they are too big now. My 3rd one I have had about 10 years.

I am 6'2" 300lb. with a 46" waist
I carry a Glock 23,or Glock 43 IWB
Crossbreed IWB holster
Crossbreed IWB mag holster
I have worn the Wilderness belt without distortion for 20 years (belt one 5 years, belt two 5 years, belt three 10 years).

March 03, 2023, 09:59 AM

ShouldBFishin

I've been wearing a belt made by R Grizzle for more than 10 years and it doesn't look like that.

It has a very slight bend in the same area as the picture 6guns posted.

March 03, 2023, 02:31 PM

cparktd

I refuse to buy pants with fewer than 7 belt loops. They just wear better.
How many do yours have?

March 03, 2023, 02:51 PM

stoic-one

Having used belts from both Beltman and Armour, I actually give a slight edge to the Armour, but either is very high quality. None of my belts have that huge divot in the back, they will curve to your shape some, but not like that. Probably because I mostly wear Duluth Trading Firhose Flex pants, which have a rather wide, ~4" wide rear "loop".

March 03, 2023, 06:51 PM

Rey HRH

Quit pulling up your pants into your ass crack and it will stop that bending.

I think over time most belts unless they're stiff enough give in and mold themselves to where they're getting pressure.

"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.

March 03, 2023, 07:29 PM

honestlou

I’ve never had a belt do that. I have gotten the general curve others have mentioned, and at one point I made a practice of reversing my belt direction occasionally to minimize that curve.

I have a belt from Saddleback Leather, about ten years old, which I wear daily, and it literally looks new. 100 year warranty from Saddleback.

March 03, 2023, 07:45 PM

MikeinNC

I’ve used a 511 1 1/2” trainer belt for over a decade, it has a stiff plastic inner section that prevents that. It’s very durable. The only issue is that after some time the Velcro gives out on one side or the other.
I use it for everyday use and it supports holsters and guns of all weights

https://www.511tactical.com/tr...-belt-1-12-wide.html

March 03, 2023, 07:46 PM

mark123

I found two other belts that both have the same warping over the rear belt loop area. One is too small, must be Marky’s. The other is too big for me, must be from when I was 235.

March 03, 2023, 11:00 PM

Kept Bum

Check out www.bullhidebelts.com/ they have belts with a steel core. I have several, they don't loose their shape for years. Also good quality

March 04, 2023, 06:49 AM

hudr

quote:
Originally posted by cparktd:
I refuse to buy pants with fewer than 7 belt loops. They just wear better.
How many do yours have?

This. I have bought work pants at Tractor Supply because they were super cheap. Good material, very tough. But only 5 loops. They “fit” terribly and sagged horribly, especially with a pistol on my waist line. I had two more loops added in the back and it mitigated nearly all of the sagging.

For what it’s worth I am:
6’1”
210lbs (about 25 lbs heavy for my frame)
Little bit of a gut.
34” waistline.