I provide honest ratings and reviews on tech, toys, and consumer home goods that I've purchased and used. Reviews are based on hands-on testing and personal observations. All opinions and comments are my own.
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Takeaway: These ratchet belt buckles are easy to use, solidly constructed, and provide a perfect fit; full-grain/genuine leather is easy to shorten. The belts came packaged in a drawstring bag and includes a sizing card to help you shorten the belt properly. The belt buckles arrive detached from the belt, so you can customize the length to best suit your waist size. The Trakline belts don't have holes in them and that's because the end that goes into the buckle has a 10" plastic ratchet along the inside that allows you to find your exact fit down to the ¼" rather than the traditional 1" spacing for ordinary belt holes.
I got two of the Kore belts, one in brown and one in black with two buckle styles: the Intrepid and the Express. The two belts have slightly different edge styles on the leather. On the black one which comes with the Intrepid buckle, the edge is burnished and finished with double stitches so you'll two neat little rows of stitches on each edge. Then the brown belt that came with the Express has a simple finished flat edge. The Intrepid buckle is a bright shiny brushed stainless steel. It's a medium sized buckle measuring 2.25" across and 1.5" tall. The Express is the same size but looks like a traditional belt buckle complete with a false prong in a gunmetal finish.
The belts are 1.25" wide and are delivered at the factory length of 51.5" which is long enough to accommodate a 44" waist. You'll see sizes indicated long the inside of the belt towards the buckle end. To properly size the belt, start with your pant size then add 3-4" and cut along that line. In my case, I have a 28" waist, but decided to cut the belt closer to 30-31" for a shorter tail past the buckle. That's just my personal preference. If cutting for the first time, err to the long side and remember that you can always make the belt shorter, but not longer. Once cut, take the belt buckle and open the belt receptacle, the part that says 'Trakline' with the teeth on the inside; insert the flat end of the belt until it's flush with the inside of the receptacle and then close the clip. You wear the belt in the regular fashion, feeding from left to right and then insert the end of the belt into the buckle and tighten until it is comfortably snug.
Typically the end of the belt to runs about 3-4" out from the end of the buckle. The ratchet system creates a perfectly fitting belt that's neither too loose, not too tight. Loosening and removing the belt is easy too. Squeeze the release lever towards the bottom right corner of the belt and pull the strap out of the buckle. Trakline also has a special hanger you can use which can hold up to two belts and utilizes the same ratchet system to hang the belts up by the buckle.
The leather in the belts consist of a few layers of blue leather. The black is supposedly dyed full-grain leather while the brown is merely genuine leather with a finished surface. Time will tell whether or not the belts will last or crack and fray with consistent use, so I'll update this review sometime down the road after I've had a chance to use it more frequently. Although KORE isn't the first nor the only company to use this technology in their belts, they have a nice selection of buckle styles and the belts overall appear to be well-made.
Takeaway: Wasn't sure I was going to like this money belt, but it actually turned out to be quite comfortable. Due to its thin profile it conceals really well, even under just a t-shirt. The material on the front of the pouch is a nylon fabric like what a rain jacket would be made of. This makes it water resistant in wet or humid weather. It's also washable! The back has a thin foam layer as padding and a wicking material layer, like a soccer jersey, to draw sweat away from your body while wearing it. The waistband is elastic and soft, comparable to the waistband on most modern men's boxers in weight and texture. The belt should fit comfortably on waist sizes from 24" to 40".
There are three pockets in the inner pouch so you can separate your bills and cards and it's roomy enough in both the front and back zipper pouch to stow your passport. Even though passports tend to be rigid and stiff, you can barely feel it through the belt's padding and it's comfortable to go about with your usual activities without even remembering that it's there.
I don't recommend putting anything hard or bulky in it like your phone. You'll definitely feel it, and it may impede your comfort and movement. Plus there's no way to keep it inconspicuous when there's something thick in it, so that would defeat the purpose of using it as a discreet place to stow your items. The last thing to note is that, while water resistant, the money belt is not waterproof, so don't try an go swimming with it and expect the contents to stay dry!
All in all, this money belt is everything that I was hoping for in the product: comfortable, discreet and affordable.
