something i never thought about while hunting. my belt.

[pointysticks]

sorry for such a benign and mundane topic such as our pant belts.

my recent epic backpacking trip was to shake out equipment bugs as well as test my body, and have a great time catching fish.

my gear was okay. i still have some money to spend what shocked me was my belt. i wore some cheap belt from REI. got it for my southeast asia trip. it is canvas strap with leather at the ends for the holes and the buckle. it was awesome on my travels. backpacking? not so much.

first i didnt anticipate dropping so much weight. i'm normal build..could lose a few pounds. my belt got all sucked in and i ran out of holes, twice! my last hole, was stabbed thru the canvas because i ran out of leather room. (i gained a hole since i've been back )

second, it sucked hanging a knife from. the 1" canvas strapping wasnt that great at it.

if felt fine under my hip-belt tho. on that particular pack i wore the hip-belt on the high side. well, i went back to REI and bought this. Bison, "last chance belt". it is awesome. i am wearing it full time. if i guzzle a bunch of coffee, i have to anticipate the "urge"..if i wait to last minute, the buckle can be difficult to undo in a panic situation. haha.

here:

[Vanish]

I don't wear a backpack with hip belt and a belt at the same time due to conflicting pressure points. However, the pants I wear pretty much have a built in belt, but I don't attach anything to it.

[Freebird134]

That's a good looking belt for sure. I've over thought every piece of equipment I own, including belts. I too prefer a belt that is continuously adjustable--belt holes never work well for me.

As a penny- and ounce-pincher, I've found the best belt for hiking and backpacking a few years ago. I mentioned this in the gear tip thread too. Just a cheap nylon webbing strap (it's either 3/4" or 1") with buckle ends from REI. I really do love it, but everyone poos on it because it's not terribly stylish. But it's super practical, since I can use it as a strap too. Light, cheap, useful.

[dotman]

I have two belts for backpacking, a Kifaru that is 3/4" nylon webbing with d rings and a Kuiu that is 1" nylon. When hauling heavy loads the Kifaru is best but daily I wear the Kuiu now.

[dotman]

http://store.kifaru.net/mobile/garment-belts-p102.aspx

At $14 it is a good option.

[pointysticks]

http://store.kifaru.net/mobile/garment-belts-p102.aspx

At $14 it is a good option.

yea. i looked. the website never offered any info..like the width of the webbing. i moved on

[RockChucker30]

I've got a bison designs viper and last chance. They're good belts. They are also rebranded and resold by several different makers.

For backpacking, and especially for heavy loads I prefer fitted pants with some elastic in the waist. Belts interfere with hip belt fit to some degree or other for me.

[ctdad]

strapworks.com

You can pick which material, width, color and buckle you want. Mine cost about $7 and that included shipping. I have the double d ring plastic buckle. Like the old football belts from high school. I wear it everyday.

[>>>---WW---->]

So far, the best belt I have come up with is those black.brown, and green braided nylon ones than K-Mart And WalMart sells. If you need an extra bit of cordage, just clip a strand off the belt and you are all set.