There are three types of mens leather belts; bonded leather belts, split grain leather belts or full grain leather belts. Bonded men’s leather belts consist of granules of leather that are mixed with a bonding agent and finished on one side.
Bonded belts are the cheapest and will last but when they wear out they tend to bend crease and eventually snap at the position where they are used most. Split leather belts are more durable and arise from a piece of leather that has split down the middle, they retain the natural fibres of the material and are hard wearing belts.
Full grain leather belts are undoubtedly the best quality, they are from the thigh, where the hide is thickest, they are strong and supple and the hide will take beautiful embossed design on it.
CANVAS BELTS
Of all the mens leather belts canvas belts are becoming increasingly popular. A variety of styles are being marketed. The styles are both mens canvas belts and ladies canvas belts. Their popularity is based on the fact that they are easy to use, lightweight and comfortable and more importantly for the pocket, they last! They are adaptable so can pick up on trends such as taking design ideas from gaming, cinema or even current affairs.
Canvas belt buckles can be of a variety of different types. The box buckle is a typical style that looks neat and easy to use though light it is slightly less durable. Pin and roller buckles are also popular, however, the pin receiving hole often has to be reinforced with metal grommets to protect the canvas. Clamp style buckles are becoming increasingly popular. This style of buckle lends itself to profiled images of animals, logos and emblems and can be a nice way to customise canvas belt buckles.
MENS LEATHER BELTS – SNAP ON BELTS.
There is a complete range of belts specifically designed to attach to this type of custom belt buckle, these are called leather snap on belts. They are leather and consist of a buckle with two poppers forming a loop in the end of the belt The loop passes through a similar metal loop on the buckle and the peg in the buckle locates in the hole. These snap on belt buckles are available in a variety of colours ranging from black to white and including pink. They are also available in a range of leather quality, all the way up to some of the most spectacular embossed full grain belts.
CANVAS BELTS AND STYLES
Leather belts work well with casual and more formal clothing. With the trend for more lightweight fabrics the canvas belt is increasing in popularity. Clever designs on some canvas belts mean that it can be seen right the way around the body particularly as they are often worn without a jacket. Don’t go for dark colour belts with light trousers, black can sometimes be too safe, a strip in a coloured belt can pick out the colour of the trouser. Bright colours at waist level tend to have the effect of visually splitting the person in half, so unless you are tall you might want to avoid this style There are quite a few military styles available currently in canvas belts, camouflage, khaki, taupe shades, these tie in well with fatigues. Plaited webbing belts in black or blue look good with jeans, though in some instances bright colours such as red work well if for example it matches a bright red t-shirt or polo shirt.
IS YOUR BELT SIZE?
To avoid being disappointed when you buy a belt it is a good idea to make sure that you have the right size. The length of the strap of the belt is the chief factor when describing belts and a lot of the major manufacturers are adopting these criteria when describing and labelling belts. The belt size measurement includes not only your waist but your trousers, underwear, and if you tuck your top in that as well. This will usually add about 2 to 5 cm or 1 to 2 inches to your belt size. The best way to check your belt size is to find an existing felt and a tape measure and then measure it. Find a flat surface and with the belt laid out, measure from where the buckle attaches to the belt to the hole that gets used most. Trying the belt on before you do this will make sure you have the correct hole, as waistlines tend to change with age clothing and diet! This measurement is now your current belt size. If you want to allow for increase or decrease in waist size add 2.5 cm or an inch to this measurement. The size of the new belt will be from the start of the strap to the centre hole in the belt. Most belts have five holes punched in them at 2.5 cm intervals. Measure the new size so that you the distance from the end of the built to the centre hole so that you can increase or decrease the buckle position to get maximum adjustment.
CHOOSING THE CORRECT SIZE OF CANVAS BELT
To check that the length of canvas belt is the correct size take your waste size and add 5-10 cm to allow for clothing the add another 10 cm for the overlap. For canvas belts the sizes are rarely small, medium or large but are simply specified by length which is usually from 110cm -140cm.
LEATHER SNAP ON BELTS AND CUSTOMISED BELT BUCKLES
The versatility of leather snap on belts is that it is very easy to have a unique collection off belts and belt buckles. The belts can be worn with customisable buckles or a plain pin buckle. So if you have embossed leather snap on belts, together with a plain black one and a high grain burgundy snap on belt. Then combine this with a simple plain buckle, a “Who” band buckle and a Spiderman buckle. You can go anywhere from work to a Sci fi convention or even a 70’s tribute rock band at your local venue. Multiple combinations, all courtesy of your leather snap on belts !
Mens leather belts – MILITARY BELTS
Military belts such as webbing canvas belts are a practical army belt that is not only as an army belt but also can be a cool style to be seen out and about in. There are a variety of military belts from riggers belts to tactical belts and combat belts. Whether you are using your military belts combined with fatigues and a tee shirt or outdoors as part of an activity these military belts are simply something every guy should have.
The smart military belt or riggers belt style inevitably has colours that not surprisingly tend to be greens and browns, with dark green and khaki breaking up the outline of the well recognized army belt. They have a variety of buckles, some which can carry weight and some, which are simply used for supporting clothes. The army belts often carry pouches for torches, water bottles, batons knives and even and you wish ammunition.
Mens leather belts -RIGGERS BELTS
A rigger was originally a sailor whose job it was to climb the rigging of sailing ships hauling in the heavy sails particularly if they were wet!
Today a rigger’s job is to work at height moving heavy objects perhaps steel beams in the construction industry. Because of the need to secure themselves and work with ropes a riggers belt has a D ring incorporated into it, which is usually held flat by an incorporated Velcro attachment. The riggers belt is a military belt. It is a webbing belt and is designed to take the weight of the individual. The D ring and belt combination can be used for rappelling so this army belt has to be strong and secure in its construction.
Riggers belts are used by police forces around the world, the military and rescue organisations and are a professional mens leather belts. The military belts are made of nylon webbing and reinforced to make them stiff. The rigidity is important so that the belt pouches and tools attached to the webbing belt sit in position and function correctly. They are designed to hold equipment such as pistols knives, batons, handcuffs, and a variety of rescue tools.
