Belts have long been a utilitarian piece of gear that went mostly unnoticed and underappreciated. Recently, however, they鈥檝e experienced a renaissance driven in large part by a handful of startups dedicated to reinventing the genre. I鈥檝e been impressed with the results and wanted to see how the newbies stacked up against some of my old-time favorites.
Arcade 国产吃瓜黑料 Belt ($26)
Best For: Skiers and mountain bikers
from Lake Tahoe鈥揵ased Arcade is all about the stretchy webbing that creates a tight, body-hugging fit without any uncomfortable pinching. All 国产吃瓜黑料 belts鈥攖here are dozens of designs, from the ultra-loud to the totally muted鈥攚ork just fine with pants (and go through metal detectors unnoticed), but we liked them best for holding up ski pants or mountain bike shorts, because the flexible material and low-profile plastic clip stayed out of the way and never dug into my waist or thighs. (Pro skier Cody Townsend co-founded Arcade, so the belts had to work with Gore-Tex pants.)
Abl聽B19 ($40)
Best For: You everyday go-to
The has less stretch than the Arcade 国产吃瓜黑料 belt but isn鈥檛 rigid by any means, so it works great for adventure sports. It鈥檚 also a little heftier鈥攖he webbing is taller and thicker鈥攕o it pairs a bit better with jeans. During the testing phase, I never once had to adjust my Levi鈥檚, and the belt never dug into my waist while I sat at my computer or ran around town. It also has the an extremely intuitive carbon-reinforced plastic clasp with a simple hook that threads into a loop at the other end of the webbing: Once you set your belt length, the clasp can be attached or taken off the loop in under a second. ABL doesn鈥檛 offer as many color or design choices as Arcade (at least not yet), but I dug the three current understated options. Plus, every B19 is molded, sewn, and packaged in the United States.
Patagonia Tech Web ($30)
Best For: Passing down to your kids
I鈥檝e owned a for nearly a decade. During that time, it鈥檚 held up my pants and my wife鈥檚 ski pants, and it鈥檚 been down numerous rivers and up numerous mountains. The leading edge did fray over time (simply fixed with scissors and a lighter), but the rest of the belt looks like new, minus a few stains. Credit that durability to 1.5-inch polyester webbing that鈥檚 similar to what you鈥檇 find on a backpack strap, just thicker. The webbing has no stretch, so the belt isn鈥檛 as comfy when out adventuring, but that lack of stretch is part of the reason this belt has help up so well over time. I鈥檓 sure the Tech will be going strong when the Arcade and ABL are dead and gone. Bonus: The self-locking aluminum buckle, which is also quite sturdy, doubles as a beer opener.
Arc鈥檛eryx Conveyor Belt ($40)
Best For: Tying up a horse
You get the idea. is absolutely bomber. It鈥檚 built with a stitched 1.5-inch nonstretch nylon webbing that鈥檚 even thicker than what you鈥檒l find on the Patagonia Tech, and it also comes with an aluminum nonslip buckle. The buckle was not designed to open beers, but it has a slightly lower profile and was therefore more comfortable when sitting. I also really liked the plastic leader on the belt end that helped me feed it through my pant loops and will prevent fraying over the years. The only downside: That plastic leader prevents you from cutting the belt to size, so try one on before you choose a small, medium, or large.