I have wrote about Grip 6 minimalist wallet and this time I will have a look at the Grip 6 belt. It is actually the belt which how the company started and grow until the present day. All their products are 100% made in the USA.
The packaging is simple with the box made from recycled material. The belt is neatly rolled inside the box.
The belt consists of 2 parts; the buckle and the strap. The buckle is CNC laser cut and is built with brushed T6061 aluminum. It weights around 25g.
The classic series is the most basic design Grip 6 has to offer and it cost USD 35. The webbing strap is 1.5" wide made from high tensile nylon fiber wave. Both the buckle and strap come in different colors. I opt for a ninja black buckle with black strap. What make this belt fun is that it can be interchange with other Grip 6 buckles and straps of different color to suit the occasion.
The strap has a breaking strength of over 2000 pounds. When ordering, just measure your waist and pick the size according to your waist size in inch. In my case, I ordered a 38" strap size and Grip 6 will add another 8" to the strap and hence the total length of the given strap will be 46" in this case.
At one end of the strap is a flat surface stopper which is to terminate at one slot of the buckle.
The belts working principle is through friction between the strap and the buckle. Grip 6 called the locking mechanism as "Badgerbite" as when locked, it is as tight as a badger bite.
To use the belt, the other end will now enter the other buckle slot. When the strap is slid in vertically to the slot, there is no friction and can slid in easily.
To lock it, the strap just need to be placed at an angle to create a friction with the buckle and hence the tight grip.
The belt will take some practice to get used to. Once you get your hand on it, fit up is pretty easy and fast. The belt felt really light and secure. The flap is not visible as it is tucked behind the buckle.
The buckle is shaped slightly curve to the contour of our belly. It is quite light and I barely notice that I was actually wearing it.
These are currently the belts I am using; from the traditional tongue buckle and auto lock buckle with leather strap. With their metal buckle and leather strap, they are way heavier compared to the Grip 6 belt.
Continuous use of the tongue buckle belt will leave a permanent mark on the leather strap and aggravate the holes in the long run.
The auto lock type belt will have some wear and tear underneath the belt after long use.
I been using Grip 6 belt almost 5 days a week for about 2 months now and there ain't any wear and tear sign on the strap although kink will develop at the strap in way where it grips to the buckle. The kink is not a big issue as it can return back to the original shape after stretching the area a few times.
Grip 6 gives unlimited lifetime warranty to the belt against any malfunction and all possible wear & tear as it is designed to last a lifetime. This is probably the only belt I need for the remaining of my life and could even pass it down to my next generation.
