I like to cut the ribbon to the right length. Prevents excess belt from protruding through the buckle and doesn't look weird when wearing dress pants. The only thing I didn't like was a small piece of material protruding from the frame of the buckle, mimicking the look of the buckle pin. I sanded it down and found that it gives the buckle bezel a much more minimalist look without trying to give the impression that a buckle pin is going through the leather strap (kinda defeats the purpose of a ratchet strap). This was the only downside. The ratchet works well, as does the trigger mechanism.