In short, the belt is great. I have three left. The material is strong and the ratchet/belt tooth design is amazing. However, the black finish on the buckle is paint only. It is not durable and started scratching as soon as I put it on. My old Vans and Levis belt buckles never had this problem. You could probably put a dab of nail polish on it, but the black marker rubbed off right away. A pity!