The Distilled Man - Essential Skills for Gentlemen
Let’s face it: belt technology has not changed much in the last hundred years.
Heck, even the last thousands of years…
The first belts were nothing more than rope or cloth tied around the waist.
And today’s standard belts have not evolved much beyond that: a piece of leather with some holes, a buckle, a pin…
But now things are changing.
More and more men are switching from the standard “holed” belt technology to a new breed of belts without holes.
And the old system of pin and holes has been replaced with a hole-less, micro-adjustable system that changes the way you think about your belt.
Here are 4 reasons men are switching to belts without holes:
This post was brought to you by Anson Belt & Buckle, which offers micro-adjustable, hole-less belts with a lifetime guarantee.
1. Your Waist Doesn’t Change in One Inch Increments
Photo Credit: Bernardo Ramonfaur via Compfight cc
Your waist expands and contracts throughout the day. While your belt may fit perfectly in the morning, by the evening sometimes you wish you had a little more slack.
Unfortunately, the typical holed belt doesn’t really care.
The standard belt has just 5 holes, set at a whopping 1 inch apart. One inch!
That means even if you had a perfect fit with one belt hole, the moment you want to make a change, you’ve got to make a BIG change.
You’re stuck with two choices: (1) if you pull it too tight, you’re uncomfortable…or (2) if it’s too loose, you risk your pants slipping down or your shirt coming untucked…
Right about now, all you guys with who got a Leatherman for Christmas are thinking, “No problem, I’ll just make a new hole with my leather punch.”
Sure, you can do that. But if you’re like many guys who have lost or gained weight over time, that approach can leave your belt looking like Swiss cheese.
With micro-adjustable belts, you don’t have to jump from one hole to another distant hole—you can make tiny adjustments in ¼” increments. Which means not only can your belt expand and contract when you’ve lost some lbs over time, but it can also help when you just need a little breathing room after dinner.
Best of all, instead of having to completely unbuckle your belt to make a change, you can discreetly make adjustments with a flick of a lever—in a meeting, at the dinner table, walking down the street…without looking like you’re about to flash someone.
2. Standard Belts Wear Out Unevenly
With standard belt straps, even if you’re not jumping from one belt hole to another, you have another problem:
Uneven wear.
Look at any of your old belts, and what do you see? One or two belt holes that are way more worn than the others—because they’ve been doing all the work.
The other belt holes look all relaxed and pristine, while these holes…they looks like they need a vacation, and maybe surgical reconstruction.
With the standard belt system, the way a pin goes through the strap, you get this mark on the leather. It ends up cracking and creasing, and eventually there are all these signs of fatigue—from the buckle lines to the worn out holes.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter at first, since the belt buckle and pin can conceal the wear for awhile.
But…if your waist size changes, and you have to jump to another belt hole…your janky belt hole is suddenly exposed for all to see.
For some guys, you can see their life story in their worn-out belt holes: here’s where they got married, here’s where they had kids, here’s where they lost a bunch of weight after doing a marathon…The belt holes don’t lie.
Instead of relying on a hole and pin system, a micro-adjustable belt like the one from Anson Belt & Buckle uses a track system on the back of the strap that gives you a secure fit without any pulling, stretching or tearing…and your belt stays looking sharp even if you wear it every day.
3. Belt Shopping Doesn’t Need to Be So Complicated
For most guys, the belt shopping experience is far from ideal:
You go do to a big box retailer or department store and the belts are stuffed in the corner…usually overflowing off the rack.
As you start digging through the mess, your challenge now is to find your size. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as simply picking a belt that matches your waist size—no, that would be far too logical!
Instead there’s some sort of voodoo math involved where you need to pick a belt that is 1 or 2 sizes bigger than your waist size. But even that isn’t always a sure bet. Belt sizes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so there’s no way around trying every single belt on.
With micro-adjustable belts you don’t need to worry about size. With Anson belts, every single strap fits waist sizes up to 50 inches—so one size fits almost everybody. And when you get your belt, you just use regular scissors to trim off the excess material…then you put the buckle back on the “raw” end to conceal the cut.
4. Life’s Too Short for Only One or Two Belt Styles
Belts are often just an afterthought for guys.
We might spend several minutes picking out just the right shirt and pants combination…but afterwards, we just throw on one of our few belts without giving it much thought.
It’s ironic, since a belt almost literally ties your outfit together. Just like the way a tie becomes a focal point on your torso, a belt cuts right through the middle of your body—it’s impossible to miss.
Yet if you’re like most guys, you may have one or two belts—a black and a brown…maybe a dressy one and a more casual one…
And maybe…just maybe, you’ve got one of those nifty reversible belts that gives you two strap colors in one—even if it is just the same belt buckle.
Beyond that, there’s not much flexibility with the typical belt. The style you buy is the style you’re stuck with.
But with a micro-adjustible belt that allows you to remove or swap out the buckle, suddenly a whole world of choices opens up. Selecting a belt for your outfit now becomes a deliberate choice.
As one Anson customer wrote:
Belts are sometimes an afterthought. They should not be! I now have 6 straps and 4 buckles from Anson, and every morning, along with deciding on a shirt, shoes, tie, and jacket, I think about the perfect Anson belt/buckle combination. It is not only fun, but really “completes” the process of looking great for each and every day!
My Experience With Anson Micro-adjustable Belts
I have been very impressed with the belts from Anson Belt & Buckle. Full disclosure: they sponsored this post and I did receive a free belt. But I am particularly fond of this company, and here’s why:
First of all, their belts look and feel great, and the technology is really impressive. But I also love the way this father-son company does business.
The word that comes to mind? Integrity.
Not only does Anson offer a lifetime guarantee on the functionality all of their belts….they also offer outstanding customer service with a genuinely personal touch:
As of this moment, when you contact Anson, you will get a personal follow-up from one of the founders—either Frank or his son David.
To say that they stand by the quality of their belts is an understatement. David and his father personally field each and every customer service email.
Also, while other companies have been trying to take advantage of the new micro-adjustible belt trend, these guys are the real deal: they launched Anson Belt & Buckle in 2009. And if you look at the glowing reviews, you can see that many of the people who’ve purchased their belts will be customers for life.
SPONSORED
Why Limit Yourself to 5 Holes, 1 Inch Apart?
Every man can relate to being stuck “in-between holes” when wearing a 5 hole belt. It’s too tight, it’s too loose, never just right. Anson Belts are micro-adjustable up to a quarter inch. Visit AnsonBelt.com to shop our collection today.
To view this post on The Distilled Man website, visit 4 Reasons Men Are Switching to Belts Without Holes
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