General Leathercraft 10mm Lever Belt First Impressions/Review

[snova031]

I had been contemplating replacing my 10mm single prong Best Belt for a month or so now, as I've lost a good amount from my midsection and have needed to add some additional holes to my belt. I initially planned to order another Best Belt, however their long lead time/order availability and the recent praise of General Leathercraft from cmarti063 (his great write up is here http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=167704551) lead me toward their belts.

I decided quickly that I'd move forward with a 10mm lever belt, and reached out to Matt @ General Leathercraft via email with a few questions, primarily regarding color/embroidery. Matt responded to my emails very quickly (within minutes/hours) and provided some pictures that answered my questions. I also wanted some additional holes added to the belt as I was on the lower range on a size large, and he said no problem just add it to the comments field when ordering, which I did.

I placed my order on Wednesday, July 1st for a 10mm lever belt in lime green, with custom embroidery as well as an image @ $149.90 shipped. I received shipping confirmation on Tuesday, July 7th, and my belt arrived yesterday, July 9th, which is an extremely quick turnaround for a quality belt, nevermind a customized one.

At first glance, the belt looks to have every bit of quality my Best Belt does. I didn't break out the caliper, but the GL belt seems to be a hair thicker than my Best Belt (GL advertises theirs at 10mm, while Best Belt's has their Athlete belt listed as 9-10mm), and a few mm taller. The craftsmanship, stitching, embroidery and lever all seem to be very high quality.

I threw on the belt, which happened to come with the lever on the perfect holes for me, and snapped closed the lever. I've never used a lever belt prior, and I found the lever to lock down the belt to my desired tightness much easier than pulling closed the single prong. I can't say that the lever design is better than a single prong, so YMMV, but on first impression, I'm very glad I chose the lever over the prong belt.

I haven't used this yet as I just received yesterday and did my arm workout this morning, so I have no feedback as far as the belt's performance. I'll update this thread when I put it to use next Tuesday for my deadlift session. However, my first impression of this belt is very positive.

Here are the pics:

Out of the box



Embroidery and image came out great







Not the best pic, but you can see the GL belt is slightly thicker than the Best Belt



Another crappy pic, but shows the GL belt is slightly wider than the Best Belt





As I said, I'll update this when I put it to some use over the next week or so.

[dragon360]

Congrats - nice looking belt! The image came out well too.

[pioneerfit2014]

Thanks for the kind words! Let me know if you ever have any problems with it.

[Synthetickiller]

Wow. I really like what I'm seeing here. 2 Days!? That's almost ubelieveable! That custom hulk logo is just amazing. It's a great looking belt!

[hope27]

Awesome looking belt! I just bought, and I don't think anybody needs a picture a plain fuschia belt from General Leathercrafters and received it within a week. I posted in the other thread so I won't repeat the situation, but I will say Matt is awesome and provides excellent customer service to fix any issues you might have. I have squatted in my belt and there is a world of difference between squatting with this belt and with my old Schiek velcro belt. It was definitely worth the money and because I didn't get anything fancy it really wasn't expensive. I think it cost me $107 dollars which is well worth it. I can't wait to deadlift in it. I am happy with my choice and glad I went with the Lever as it really fits well as I have a naturally arched back and usually I can fit my hand in between the belt and my back. Not with this belt, it fits flush against my back. Seeing the "Hulk" I'm kinda sad I wasn't more creative. Enjoy your belt!

[rpark]

Question, as the pics are very blurry.... Does it appear as if the total belt thickness is more or is the leather portion smaller with a thicker outer material? Can't tell if its the angle or distorted pic, but kinda looks like the yellow is thicker, but the leather might or might not be any thicker. Just curious.

[hope27]

Question, as the pics are very blurry.... Does it appear as if the total belt thickness is more or is the leather portion smaller with a thicker outer material? Can't tell if its the angle or distorted pic, but kinda looks like the yellow is thicker, but the leather might or might not be any thicker. Just curious.

I think it is the picture. I just checked my belt and the outer suede layer is very thin and the leather is the bulk of the belt. Does that help? I understand your question because it looks like the outer material is thick, but again when I just went to look at my belt that is not the case. I can try and take a picture and post it but I am not sure if it will be any better.

[themaddemon]

Nice belt! Congrats!

Placed my order July 4th...I can't wait for my Red Hulk belt

[rlundregan]

LOVE the Hulk embroidery--reps on spread.

Please let us know how you like the belt once you have used it for a short while. I've been wanting to order a single-prong Best Athlete, but I might reconsider...