So I’m not exactly a beginner but I’ve never used a belt and I’m starting to think it’s time to buy one.
Just wondering what kind of belt (lever, 1 prong, 2 prongs) and what thickness I should be looking at. I’m a bit smaller frame at 5’6 ~180lbs. Will mostly be using it for gym PRs and strongman comps if I feel it helps
Single prong is the way to go. Levers are ok. Absolutely do not buy double prong. They are trash. I personally have a cheap 50$ rogue one and it suits my needs just fine but elitefts, rogue and a few others all make good ones. Mine is 13mm i think. Could be wrong.
Most pioneer belts feel great, I only have 1 but have used friends belts before. They arent as expensive as the Inzer or SbD belts too.
For a first belt-
Leather , single prong, I’d go 10mm. 13mm is real deal. 6.5 is general gym work. 10 is a nice between to start.
Double prong is not good.
Get the best you can afford.
Pioneer cut!!
The Pioneer double suede 10mm belt is like around $80 bucks. Others might be around $100-$150.
Why are double prong belts hated so much?
They are the devil to get on and off when tight.
I have the pioneer cut 13 mm. It is the best belt I’ve ever tried. Took about 3 weeks to break in.
I use different tightness for different lifts, so lever was not a good option.
For some reason you can’t get stained leather on the 10 mm belts on the pioneer cut.
I was wondering why lever wasn’t suggested because that seems to be all I hear about, makes sense if you want different tightness for different lifts.
Was thinking 10mm thickness is what I would try, are most belts a fairly similar width or can that vary quite a bit?
I’m a HUGE fan of lever for strongman stuff. It’s quick on and off, which is awesome when doing carry medleys with different implements. You WANT a belt for yoke, and most likely farmers, but it gets in the way on kegs and sandbags. Seen people lose events fiddling with their belt during a medley. Also a blessing when you’ve just hit 34 reps on a car deadlift and need to breathe NOW.
Someone somewhere musta released a bad batch of levers somewhere though, because all I hear about is what a pain they are to adjust, but I’ve owned 3 and all of them took about 30 seconds.
I’ll put in a vote for 13 mm inzer forever lever belt. Best I’ve owned.
I’ve used double prong and single prong and I think they’re both good. Never had an issue getting it off. But then again, this is also for powerlifting.
I have a single prong now, and I’d use it for strongman if I do a meet.
Harder to get on and off. 2nd prong adds nothing.
I’ll sign off on the lever belt for strongman as well.
I’d also consider a rehband strongman soft belt. I use that on at least as many events as my leather belt. I won’t say it’s as important as a leather belt. It’s not. But it has a ton of value, so if you can afford both, get both. I use the soft belt by itself on front carries, stones, and other miscellaneous events. I use it under my leather belt on log and axle clean and press.
as far as leather belts go, like I said, I like the lever, but there’s nothing wrong with the single prong. I use a lever now, but used single prong for a long time with no issue. 10mm is sufficient, 13mm isn’t needed for most people.
Update, went with a 10mm inzer lever belt. 1st session added 30lbs to my trap bar pr followed by 10lbs to my squat 5RM and only semi struggled on the last rep. Used it again today and felt a noticable difference on yoke front carries.
The bruises though…
Not seeing a problem.
I want to get the quick adjusting SBD lever but I can’t bring myself to spash that sort of cash haha
I currently own a single prong leather belt and a giants pro soft belt. When I picked it up, I thought what is this flimsy piece of crap gonna do? but it is very good. Doesn’t support like a leather belt but adds a bit. Shame they don’t make those anymore.
I have a strong(er) lever belt 13 mm I think can’t rememebr off top of my head. It’s pretty great and super convenient if you’re doing a bunch of dead or squat sets
Hasn’t been mentioned yet, but the Spud Inc belts with ratchet straps are amazing. My wife has an Inzer lever belt and loves it, but you’d be hard pressed to get me away from my Spud Inc belt.
Do you have a particular recommendation? My shitty RDX from Amazon has served well enough but I’m due an upgrade.
