Men's 30mm Glazed-Top Braided Belt Black/36 AD

I like these belts. I bought first one few years back and it is still good. But I thought to get a black and a brown one before my first one is not usable any more. So ordered them and yes got them well in time.

I purchased this same size belt maybe 5 years ago at a Dockers store in a mall; and I've worn it an average of one day per week. It is now starting to fray along the edges, so I ordered a replacement belt from Amazon. This replacement is more flexible than the belt I got from Dockers, and that addressed the only concern I had about the first belt. This belt allows me to adjust tightness around my waist for many events, such as: When standing up I can easily tighten the belt so it stays over my hips, and when sitting down I can loosen the belt for added comfort. When putting on a quilted shirt (say if the weather cools off) I can tuck it in my trousers and loosen the belt; when removing the shirt (say if I'm being more active) I can easily tighten the belt. I have a braided belt that does not have actual buckle holes all along it's spine like this Dockers belt has, yet I can adjust tightness with the braided belt; however, it is tricky getting the buckle rod (?) through the webbing and centered on the braided belt; plus, the braided belt looks frayed along the area where the buckle rod has gone in and out many times. The Dockers belt does not show wear around the holes where the buckle rod is placed. Of course, you can always adjust the tightness of a belt with holes every inch or so; however, each pair of trousers has a different thickness of material between the belt and your body; therefore, this belt with holes every quarter inch along its entire length provides maximum adjustability for every pair of trousers.

I own two of these in different colors. A brown one that I have had for about 3 years and a black one that I have had for about 2 months. I bought the black one because despite heavy use the brown one held up very well. The black one however has shown issues almost immediately. The leather loop you put your belt through after fastening has inexplicably become so worn it looks more worn than other belts that I have used on an almost daily basis. The rest of the belt is however very well made.

I've always liked latigo braded belts, but these are constructed extremely well! The less expensive ones don't last very long at all, these will usually last over two years with daily wear - they're really sturdy. Very affordable - but I believe these hold up better than Coach which are substantially more expensive.

This is somewhere around the 8th time I've purchased this particular belt (in both black and brown) since it was introduced over a decade ago. Obviously I've loved it. This time around there are some changes to the design. First off, the belt itself is wider. I imagine that's to stick with fashion, but I personally don't like it. It isn't extremely wide, but wide enough that it won't fit or is tight in the belt hoops of some pants/shorts. Also, the belt is softer than previously. It actually feels like higher quality leather. At first, I thought that was great. Now, just one month later, I'm starting to see fraying on the belt. Normally I get a little over a year from these belts (it's my go-to about half the time, so it will see upwards of 200 wearings a year) and it takes 6-9 months to start seeing signs of wear. I'm really bummed that I'll have to find a replacement to what was hands down my favorite belt.