Marino Mens Genuine Leather Ratchet Dress Belt with Open Linxx Buckle

I like the concept of this belt as well as the look. I believe, however, that for my waist size (31") there may be a design flaw: I began by cutting the belt down to a size 32" but that left too much of the belt end dangling beyond the belt buckle making the belt look too big for me and a little untidy as well. So I decided to cut it down to the line where it was marked "31" -- my exact waist size. That took care of the first problem -- there was only a couple of inches of belt sticking out beyond the belt buckle and easily kept in place by pants belt loops. However, that left me with just ONE last cog in the series of cogs on the inside of the belt on which the belt buckle clasp hooks onto. So if that one last cog wears out, the belt is not going to work for me -- if I tried to cinch it just one cog more, the belt becomes too tight. The designers could easily have moved the whole series of cogs closer to the end of the belt inside to provide more leeway for just such an issue. Let's hope that that one last plastic cog holding my belt together lasts a long long time of daily use!August 13, 2016This is an update to my previous three-star rating of Marino Avenue Belts, which I now rate five-stars because: Their customer service was very accessible, responsive, eager to resolve the issue, and went the extra mile to ensure my satisfaction. I did not ask for a full replacement belt, but they sent me one anyway. My waist size is exactly 31 inches and with this new belt I only cut down the leather band to the 31-and-one-half-inch mark. That left a sufficient number of ratchets to allow for minor adjustments up or down. Now my replacement belt is exactly right for me. My advice to others: do NOT cut the belt down to your exact waist size but leave at least a half-inch extra to allow for this flexibility. My advice to Marino Avenue Belts is that in any future design modification they move the ratchet strip a half-inch to an inch forward towards the end of the leather band for the reason described above.

I find this belt great for two main reason: Micro adjustments, and material endurance.Micro adjustments: Traditional belts have fixed length options (dependent on the placement of their fastening holes) so each adjustment is measured in the .75 - 1 inch range. The ratchet belt allows for much more refined (micro) adjustments which more easily allow you to adjust for pants with slightly more or less material around the waist (which helps avoid material bunching around the waist line) and slight weight gain or loss.Material endurance: I work in a suit and tie business environment, so a professional appearance is important to me. I have had belts experience wear and tear around the parts that weaves through the buckle causing cracking and creases in the material. I have also had experiences where the belt holes have expanded or stretched when the belt was a bit tighter but using the next hole would not work well. This belt takes a different approach using a ratchet-based tightening system that keeps the belt from depending on a post-in-hole design and minimizes the abuse on the end of the belt which should result in a longer enduring professional look.I did have to engage the company's customer service regarding a slight cosmetic flaw on one buckle which they responded to immediately and resolved my concern. Very appreciative of good customer service!

So I'm getting tired of buying belts just to have them look like crap after 6 months to a year (see my old brown belt with traditional buckle).I'm thinking I may be a bit late to this belt ratchet system (that does work a lot like a plastic zip tie--brilliant!) and I think it's going to be the only type I buy in the future.I LOVE that it puts all the stress of holding the belt in place on hard plastic-type ratchets on the underside of the belt; therefore (hopefully) preserving the belt material. I really like that the wearer can make quarter-inch adjustments due to the frequent spacing of the ratchets, versus the traditional one-inch spaces holes in a traditional pin buckle.I so far the simplicity of the LiNXX buckle, where simply lifting the buckle releases the tension immediately. I bought another ratchet belt from another vendor, and it's bulkier, and more importantly, a two-step process to undo the belt (pull the belt slightly as if tightening, simultaneously find the button on the bottom of the buckle and hold to release tension, then relapse the belt). So easy is nice.I find the faux belt pin amusing, so it "looks" like a conventional belt--guess it's what people are used to seeing.Anyway, a nice, classic looking, not flash, belt for dress pants with 1/4 inch adjustable ratchet and EZ LiNXX buckle to release the belt effortlessly.So far a fan!p.s.note added: I also like this Marino's spacing of the ratchets on the belt versus another brand (pix included) they seem to be further down the belt, so that when it is worn, there is less belt tongue double wrapped around the waist.

I really like the belt when I first received it. It became my favorite belt and I have worn on average 3 times a week for work for the past 4 months. I don't know if it's the quality of the belt or I got a defect but one of the sides of my belt has started wearing.I still love the functionality of the belt and it still works perfectly fine. Granted it's not a full leather belt and you can't see the edge when it's on but I'm taking off 1 star off because none of my other belts I have purchased at the same price point and worn with the same frequency have worn as quickly.