Tuesday, 21 June 2011
A Little Too Much
I don't know if you have done a lot of shopping for a quality all leather belt lately but they are expensive. Yes you can find belts for this price but most are NOT all leather even though they might look like it. I know since I have 2 of them now that are starting to fall apart in just 4 or 5 months. I do have a quality dress belt that I paid over double the price of this one, but it has lasted for quite a few years now with hardly any sign of wear.
This is a all leather belt, I could not find any indication that it is not. It's extremely attractive for casual wear and looks like it will last quite a while. The buckle is fairly heavy with a pewter finish and well made. The belt felt a bit stiff at first, but seems to be softening up the more I wear it. Although it is all leather " probably cow hide " it is not as soft and attractive as some of the leather used on the expensive or designer belts that are out there.
This belt had a treatment called oil tanning or chamoising , where stiffer leather is infused with various oils to soften it. The early Indians used this type of treatment for the clothes they wore to make them soft and wearable. You can feel the oily texture on this belt, but fortunately nothing has come off to stain my clothes.
Amazons photo is deceiving as to the color of the belt and the buckle. After you finish reading this review and hopefully give me a thumbs up on it, go to the product page and check out my photo under customer images. That is the actual color of the Belt and buckle.
Also the width of the belt is wrong. They have it at 40 MM wide when it is actually closer to 38 MM which translates into 1 1/2 inches wide. I don't know why they cant give us this in inches to start with. Who the heck knows or even wants to know what a MM " Millimeter " is. I had to look it up.
As to the stated length:: My belt is 4 inches longer than the actual stated waist size, enough to go through the two loops with a inch or two to spare. The fit for me could not be any better.
When I first bought it I thought the name Columbia indicated it was possibly made in South America, but no it's just the company name. This belt is made in " You guessed it " CHINA.
I hope I don't have to eat my words of praise for this belt 6 or 8 months down the road. I guess time will tell. I'll keep you posted if anything goes bad on this belt.
I recently purchased this Columbia Men's 32mm Oil Tan Guatemalan Belt which is thinner " 1 1/4 in wide " and a little dressier. This is also an excellent belt. Please check out my review on it, Thanx Columbia Men's 40mm Oil Tan Leather Edge Belt,Brown,36
I had to buy this belt in a larger size and was pleased with its quality and durability. The leather is thick (to hold in my husband's gut), the buckle seems sturdy, and the finish on the leather makes it appear high quality. Recommend.
The belt that I received is a very nice belt but as far as the color goes it doesn't look anything like the picture, and if I had known this before hand I wouldn't have purchased it. The belt is actually quite a bit darker and not at all shiny. I only wish Amazon was selling a belt that actually looks like the one in this picture; then again they might be if the other advertised belts' pictures are off as much as this one is.
I bought this for my boyfriend as a gift. As a size 42, it was a little over the normal 40 he wears, but I got it just to be safe. It's a good quality belt for a good price but even the 42 barely fit. I would recommend getting a couple sizes bigger. Maybe it stretches a little over time, but I'd still order a size or 2 up.
This is a nice casual belt for jeans. It oiled finish makes it look older than it is... which is ok if that look is what you want. If it gets too beat up looking, just wipe it with mineral oil (like horse tack) to clean it up a little and bring back the original look.'
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