Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/12/20/these-belts-deliver-a-perfect.html
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no major breakthroughs…
You realize this is a belt we’re describing? Not, say, a mass spectrometer for your kitchen?
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I’ve tried various kinds of friction belts over the last couple of years. They work, but the ratchet-based ones tend to be a bit bulky. In the end, I settled on the simpler version exemplified by Grip6. Doing and undoing it takes a tiny bit of getting used to, but they’re secure and very flat - flatter even than a traditional belt buckle. I don’t think I’ve worn anything else for the past year, unless it was once or twice at formal occasions.
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Ratchet belts are the Greatest Thing Ever, and I wish I had learned of them long ago. The only downside I can see is that tightening them can sometimes be conspicuously noisy. (The next best alternative I’ve seen is web belts, which offer some of the durability and even more adjustability, but tend to slip too much.)
Of course, you can probably find something just as good elsewhere for substantially less than $40.
Can I wear my vintage belt buckles from my collection with this?
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Sometimes if the design of something hasn’t changed for that long, it’s because there is no change required, because it’s simply good enough. And sometimes it did change, and it grew better and more simple and more robust. Only very rarely will a new innovation to something that has been around for hundreds of years actually improve upon it.
Having said that, those Grip6 belts @Obdurodon mentioned look like they have a shot, the over engineered monstrosity from this post, not so much.
That they need a explanatory video for how to put the belt on, that is not a positive sign though.
If you sell something different you may have to put up a video like that just to convince people that it works. It may not take that long to figure out how to use the belt, but would you buy one before knowing?
Interesting, thanks for that. It kind of looks like if you were working at something physical while wearing the Grip6, having anything poke you in the right spot would completely release it. (Don’t let any practical joker friends see this video!)
The motions to tighten the Grip6 are pretty much the same as soviet-era Red Army belts, despite the very different mechanism.
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Rich. Corinthian. Leather.
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In the kitchen my sense of taste and smell acts as the “mass spectrometer”.
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Totally agreed! It was the first thing I went looking for when I found their site for that exact reason, so I’m glad they had it! Still if it is immediately clear how something works just by looking at it, that is better imo.
That looks cool!
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The Red Army belts of that pattern are infinitely adjustable and very sturdy, but too wide for typical dress pants. The older they get, the more they tend to slip, but you can use a file or sharp knife to roughen up the back of the leather every five or six years and it will counteract the tendency.
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I fancy that should wear unwell 
I got one at a craft show a couple of years ago and it was a tightly woven design with no holes. You can just put the prong through the belt. Completely adjustable and comfortable and a lot cheaper at $20 Canadian.
These are pretty good- I’ve had a few similar belts. I will say, like any ratchet mechanism you need to take a bit of care with them. The first one I owned I knackered within about 6 months because I would just pull it through without pulling back the clasp. (As in, just letting it go clackclackclack as I pulled it.) Wouldn’t hold in place as well. This current one I treat with just a little bit of care and it’s great.
Might be useful for me.
Part hilariously off manufacturer sizes, part i’m actually losing weight thing:
I was skinny enough that no-one would ever call me overweight, then i started my new job…
The belt was two sizes too big, (Belt was labled 32", but i think 34-36") I started in march, i missed the first two notches then had to add more, heres where i am now 
I now need the very final belt buckle 
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Probably a bad photo, that last [added] belt notch fits perfectly 
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My dad says doesn’t matter the technology, as long as you can lay a good deserved beating on a child, any type will do.
Unrelated, I would LOVE to have a belt/buckle that isn’t made of metal (skin allergy).
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There are plenty of metal-free belts. Personal favorite is the SWITCH brand, you can swap out buckles and belts, they’re colorful, they run $20.
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