Love these. I have three of these and have worn two of them quite a bit in the past few weeks. They're not perfect, and they're a different style of buckle than most of us are used to, but they hold up great, aren't too stiff and not too brittle, and the buckle isn't flat enough to get in the way or get in the way press belly. The buckle is Delrin/YKK plastic and I can't imagine it breaking without major snagging or mishandling. So far I haven't been able to get it to slip or disengage under all sorts of bends and pressure on it when carrying heavy objects and leaning over railings and low walls. I also think the diamond weave looks great and is a bit easier to cut and melt because it doesn't fray as easily and poorly as most plain weaves (or loosely woven webbing). Understanding the mechanism is not difficult, and for it to become second nature, regular use is enough. It's no problem to quickly undo it when needed, and it's only slightly slower than a traditional buckle style that uses holes. I have a 38" waist and the 28-42 version is actually barely long enough but still sheds a few inches at the trailer tip. I'd say if you're 40 inches or taller, definitely go for the next larger version. The other two I received were the same size and I just had to trim them down a bit to my liking. In the list of the two packs for them there is a video of a guy grabbing a belt in his hands and somehow undoing the buckle - I don't know how he managed it but I can tell he's actually wearing a belt all kinds of situations are not canceled.