Leather Belt single vs double -

[RandomIndividual]

Hello,

Im in the market for a leather gym belt... may not be related to anything here but some principle I would like to have some sort of educated opinion on.

Im looking at buying a 10mm belt. One company uses 2 pieces of leather (I assume around 4.25-4.5mm thick) and then a single piece of suede on the inside (the part thats touching your body) thus they get a 10mm thickness. Another company on the other hand said if they use suede on both the outside and inside (so the part visible to you and the part touching the persons body) then the belt is made from 1 piece of Sole leather. The sole leather is 7mm thick, and then a 1.5mm suede is applied to the outside and inside of the belt then stitched etc.

If I go with 1 piece of suede on inside only and leave the outer side leather or even get the whole belt inside and outside leather without the suede then the belt will be made of 2 pieces of leather, I assume 5mm thick if its leather inside/outside to achieve 10mm or 4 (point something)mm x2 to bring it up to around 8.5-9mm thick with the 1 piece of suede on the inside to finish the 10mm off.

Anyway - is there any concept as to what would be more rigid, what would mould better to the body, what would provide better support and what would be more durable... is it better to just gte a single piece of sole leather at 7mm and then just add the suede on inside and outside or is the belt going to last longer, provide more support for bracing etc if you make it out of 2 pieces of leather instead?

I assume suede on inside or no suede on inside would be personal preference... I can only think that this would provide more grip during lifting as opposed to being leather... 

Anyway thanks again for the help 

[kgg]

11 hours ago, RandomIndividual said:

Im in the market for a leather gym belt

I would go with someone who makes a Veg Tan leather belt that is made of two pieces of 12 oz or 13 oz that is glued and sewn together. I would forget about how thick the belt is and be more concerned with the strength / durability of the belt. I would suggest looking at something similar to the Rogue Oly Ohio Lifting Belt  https://www.roguecanada.ca/rogue-oly-ohio-lifting-belt . A good belt is not going to be cheap and then again you only got one back. I was at my mechanics yesterday who has a bad back and he was using a cheap weight lifters belt that was made of " Genuine Leather " which is basically code for junk maybe leather. He paid about $50 and he was complaining about it as it was falling apart. You get what you pay for.

kgg

[fredk]

I would go with two layers of veg tan leather sewn together with a third layer of suede leather sewn on the inside 

[RandomIndividual]

Thanks for the feedback.

I live in Australia, and am looking at either a Pioneer Pal 2 lever belt or a SBD lever belt.

The SBD works out to $425 here and the Pioneer just shy of $300. I'm not looking for cheap and nasty... its just Pioneer have 1000 options you can make. I can get suede inside and outside on a 10mm, I can get suede just on the inside of the 10mm, or I can get full leather both inside and outside with no suede.

All 3 options would be 10mm.

Option 1: single 7mm Sole leather, 1.5mm Suede inside and outside - Total 10mm.

Option 2: 2 pieces of leather glued together and stitched around 4 (point something) thick each piece, the leftover Suede on inside - Total 10mm.

Option 3: 5mm of leather x2 pieces both on inside and outside, no suede - Total 10mm.

I feel Option 3 may be actually like getting a 13mm lever belt as they would use about that much leather, so a 10mm raw leather is more like a 13mm (with suede on both sides) +/-... 

 

so wanting the pliability of a 10mm belt... I assume its either option 1 or 2.

Recommend which one, and if you can explain why you would choose which one? The idea behind it, what would you be trying to achieve/receive for what purpose etc option 1-2 or 3?

Thank you

[AlZilla]

Strength and function in that belt are coming from the leather. The suede is just for looks and/or comfort, as far as I can tell. So, 10mm total thickness without suede is going to be stronger than 10mm that included some suede in the mix.

By "Sole Leather", I'm guessing they mean horse butt.  10mm thickness of horse butt would be a pretty strong piece of leather!

[DoubleKCustomLeathercraft]

I have a customer that ordered a gym belt from me a few years ago. He tried a couple new styles and he wasn't comfortable so he asked me to reproduce a "classic" style from when he was a body builder (40 years ago) The belt itself is even older than that. It was his dad's and made in the 60's I guess. He liked it enough to order a second one with a full western theme carving on the back support. And I liked the feel of it (two lower back surgeries) that I made myself one as a core and back support I use when felling trees, splitting wood, anything that's going to require strain on my back. And some days I just wear it because it is so comfortable and supportive. Ok, now that I've explained all that I have a couple questions. 

Is there anything else in the construction of these belts? I used a stiffener in all 3 that I've made to help add extra support. You can keep it "thinner" without compromising support. 

Do you really want suede? It's soft and comfy at first bit it can absorb more sweat and become kind of rough to the touch over time. Full grain will still soak up sweat but if softens it a bit over time. Almost like oiling a baseball glove.  

 

My recommendation is to get it full grain veg tan. Double layer will always reduce stretch and sag over a single layer. Thicker isn't always stronger or better. You want tight full grain, no mushy stuff. It's hard to shop for something like this online. Getting your hands on them and feeling the difference would really give you a better idea of what you want. Of course these companies do have a reputation to uphold so I'm sure they use great quality stuff. I probably didn't help much but maybe there's a couple things I mentioned to get you thinking. 

[RandomIndividual]

Thanks.

Well I am eliminating the suede on the outside.

So that leaves me with 2 options:

1: Veg tanned leather x2 pieces stuck etc together and stitched with a single piece of Suede 1-2mm thick on the inside.

2: Have 2 pieces of leather only, outside being finished leather and inside unfinished.

From what I read the 'main' reason for the suede in a lifting belt is it adds some grip/friction so it doesn't slide around when you try to bend to grab a bar (for a deadlift) etc. 

Would an unfinished piece of leather on inside do the same job? If so, I could just get the whole belt from leather then and not use any suede, just have the finished piece on outside and unfinished inside to provide grip. I believe durability will be better too than a 1mm piece of suede and probably easier to clean off from sweat etc as an unfinished piece of leather?

[AlZilla]

6 hours ago, RandomIndividual said:

Have 2 pieces of leather only, outside being finished leather and inside unfinished

I would do 2 layers with the inner layer having the grain side in. Like a lined holster or belt.

But that's just me 

[DoubleKCustomLeathercraft]

Rough out might solve your slipping problem, but it will polish and become smooth like top grain over time. There's pros and cons to everything. I would do rough out before suede personally. Rough out is basically flipping the leather. Instead of the top grain being facing out it will be the "flesh" side of the leather. Nice thing is it can be sanded without damage to bring back the "roughness" if it does start to get too polished and slip.