THE GOOD
Well, it's the same width around the whole belt, 4 inches. So at least the size is right. It's not one of those stupid Valeo belts that are like 2 inches in the front and then widen up in the back. The lever system is nice as well. It's so much easier to take off than a double prong belt. You don't have to fight with trying to get the belt on and tight before a heavy set so all your energy can go toward lifting the weight. Just lock it down and get under the bar. Though to be fair we're not even talking about things specific to this belt but rather general technology of belts in general. It's a 4 inch lever belt. Unfortunately that's really all I can say in terms of "the good" with this belt. And before we move on, know that I've had this belt for months and have done all I can to break this thing in, including the unothadox techniques of strapping it down rolled into the tighest coil possible and throwing it in the washing machine several times. I'm sorry, but you can't really break in plastic. Plastic? yeah, read on.
THE BAD
This belt is not all leather. It's two layers of leather with a plastic stiffener sandwiched in between. This obviously makes the belt very stiff, and it makes it so that no amount of working it is going to get it as broken in as a normal all leather belt. Now you could argue that this is the purpose of such a belt but this is my biggest complaint then. WHERE ON THE DAMN WEBSITE DOES IT MENTION THAT THIS IS A PLASTIC STIFFENED BELT? Nowhere, that's where. I would not have bought it if that was the case, and perhaps I should have sent it back straightaway. But this isn't a review about my sense as a consumer.
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| Perhaps in Ohio "same" means "different." |
In contrast to that, here's the text off the Inzer website: "All Inzer Forever Belts ™ are one solid thickness of the finest, select, exclusive leather. It is not layers glued together cheaply to make thickness as some other brands." You know what else it is not? It's not made of plastic. At $40 I wouldn't care if the belt was layers of leather glued together. But why don't you just say it's plastic stiffend on the website EFS?
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| Inzer Forever Lever Belt. Look ma, no plastic! |
Now it's possible I'm just a small guy. Maybe the proportions of my torso are smaller than average. Maybe I don't have enough room between my ribs and hips. Or maybe they shouldn't even bother selling these belts in anything less than XL. I bought Large, if I remember correctly. This worked a lot better when I was 25 lbs. fatter. Even though I still had bruises from the belt and that isn't just a right of breaking it in because you can't really break this damn thing in. Sure to an extent. You can get it to the point where you can actually use it. It doesn't come that way. But after that it's just not going to get more broken in, and that sucks when you weren't expecting such a belt. Despite the fact that the belt can be adjusted small enough to fit me now it's just nowhere near flexible enough to fit the way one would want it to. And without the fat to cushion things it's even worse.
THE UGLY
This thing isn't ugly actually. It looks nice enough. The fact that EFS doesn't list the proper information on their website is pretty ugly though. And the bruises it leaves on a leaner guy, well those kinda look cool to be honest.
IN CONCLUSION
This seems like it might be okay for a fat lifter moving a ton of weight. Someone who wants a super stiff belt that will stay that way. But for the average guy I would say skip this and go for a normal belt that gets good reviews, like an Inzer Forever. I defenitely reccommend the lever style of belts. Or failing that, a single prong. But I'd steer clear of EFS for belts. Pay your $80 like everyone else who's smart and get a proper belt. Unless of course you want a plastic stiffened belt. But the fact they don't list this on their site just pisses me off. A good belt is probably going to last your entire lifting life anyway so why try to save $40? In the end it just means you're wasting $40 because you'll end up buying a good belt eventually, assuming you're going to use a belt at all.
Disagree with me? Have the EFS belt and think it's awesome? Post your comments below. (just don't be an asshole about it). You're entitled to your opinion just as I am mine. Sorry if you think I'm being harsh but this is just how I feel about the matter.
- Carl
