I'm so glad I bought this belt! Perfect. It does everything it was designed to do. There is no exposed metal, you can tell that there is a metal plate sewn into the skin that contains a metal pin that sticks out towards you instead of a traditional buckle. On first donning it appears to be the exact opposite, as instead of allowing the extra strap length to run through the strap into the loop after fastening, in this case you slip the extra strap through the loop and then snip it if that makes sense. If not, you'll know what I mean when you get the belt, which isn't a bad thing either way, it just feels different at first. The best part for me is that this belt will NOT set off metal detectors as I have to go through one every day at work. This is the only real reason I bought this belt so I'm very happy to confirm that it doesn't irritate you. A big added bonus is that thanks to its design, this strap is probably the most comfortable strap I've ever had. no metal buckle directly at the waist. I have to lean and lean a lot at work, and sometimes a buckled belt can pinch or otherwise be uncomfortable; not so with this belt, it eliminates all of that completely. The size is great too. I have a 33 waist which means I usually have to find 34 pants/shorts and wear a belt. For reference I got the size medium 34-36 and it turned out to be perfect for me. There are seven notches on the belt, and I'm on the fourth/middle right now. Finally, what is the price? 12 dollars? And Dickies, a great brand known for their workwear, so I know they're going to last. Excellent! UPDATE: I ended up going back and buying a small size of this belt. I must have lost some weight because I started needing a 5th hole and sometimes a 6th hole in the middle. The problem is that this adds a lot of extra strap and makes it a bit uncomfortable so I figured Small was bigger than my size. First I mentioned that I paid $17 this time as I think the price fluctuates but in my opinion it's worth it. It looked too small when I got it but if you line up the straps side by side the holes line up where the 6th hole on the medium is only the 2nd on the small meaning it's very little There is "excess" to thread the belt, so whether I use this hole or go a little looser on the 1st hole, I'll be more comfortable anyway. I added some photos. The small one is 40 inches long, the medium one is 44 inches long.