Webbing Belts Simple And Sturdy By Joan Young on Jul 15, 2010 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

I've been looking for a belt to wear with some walking shorts for a long time. I finally found this set of two at Meijer. I've worn one quite a bit already and it is holding up well.

I have a pair of walking shorts that I like, but they are really too big, All last summer I held them up with a piece of finger-braided rope. It looked ok, but was a pain to untie the knot. So I've been looking.

Lo and behold, I found this set of two webbing belts for only $6.99 in the boy's department at Meijer. They don't seem to have a brand of their own, but are made in the Dominican Republic. They are marked One Size Fits All, but of course, this wouldn't be exactly true. Each belt is 35" long. For me, that is perfect, because all the other belts I've found have been too large. I can slide the end through with enough slack to tuck the end under the first front belt loop.

Webbing belts usually fasten with a self-locking, slip-through buckle, and that is what these have. It's simple and effective, and contributes to the OSFA designation. You slip the free end through the buckle and draw it to the tightness you want plus just a little bit. When you release the free end it causes a bar to slide backwards and bind against the webbing, holding it secure.

The free end of the webbing is covered with a metal tab so that it won't ravel.

I wore the khaki one quite a lot while hiking this summer. It got completely soaked as we walked in the rain a couple of days. As you can see, it is deformed a bit where it binds on the back belt loop, but any webbing belt will do this. It did not stretch, or run, or shrink. I think it's 100% cotton, but I'm not sure because there is no fabric content tag. The metal doesn't seem to be anything special, but it hasn't tarnished or discolored.

I haven't used the black one yet, but expect to this winter with some black long pants.

For casual wear, these are really great.