Review on Men'S Top Grain Leather Belt - Kolossus Belts For Men by Brian Mendoza

I needed a new belt. I saw this. It looks like the kind of belt I like to wear, so I decided to order it. I have ordered belts online before, but web belts that you cut to fit. You can't really mess up the size. I was a little hesitant in ordering this, but they had a sizing chart so I thought, I couldn't really mess up. All I need to do is follow that.Before I get into that though, let me first just talk about the belt. It came in simple packaging, which I always appreciate, as I am just going to throw it away anyway. The belt itself is nice. It looks durable.It is about 1.4 inches tall.The leather itself is 0.15 inches thick.The buckle is 2 inches tall and 2.25" long.I like the double row stitching on the top and bottom. It looks good.I like the black buckle too. It is really a nice belt. I would probably give it more than 4, less than 5 stars. That is good coming from me. I could see myself wearing this on a daily basis no problem.Now on to the sizingI am not a small guy. I looked at the sizing chart and at first. I was thinking I am a Medium because I wear a 34 inch pant and medium is 34, 36. After look at at the sizing chart for awhile, I figured, that just can't be right, so I thought I would be clever and got out the tape measure. Maybe they are talking about your actual waist size and not your pant size. That makes sense right? That would be a more accurate way to measure for a belt is to measure your actual waist size? Are your pant size and waist size the same? I never really thought about it before. I guess I always presumed if I wear a 34" pant, my waist is about 34". Like I said, I have never ordered something like this online before. So this is where I got confused a little bit. The tape measure put my waist size at about 40". Back to the sizing chart. 40" puts me clearly in a large size. Not only that, but the upper end of a large size. Also, the overall length on the medium was only 43" So if my waist is 40", that only leaves 3" to loop the belt under the belt loop. What I forgot to take into account though, was there is the buckle. That buckle adds 2 inches to the length. That makes that 3 inches turn into 5 inches and the overall length of the medium in that case would actually be a little over 45".So, since I measured my waist and it was 40" and the sizing chart says a 40" waist size is a large, I ordered the large. Once it arrived, I put it on, and. it fits, but I am using the second notch from the inside. I am definitely not on the high end of a large. Distance from the end of the buckle to that second notch is. You guessed it, 40". Makes sense because that is exactly what I measured with the tape measure when I measured my waist. Another thing to note is, while the diagram shows 5 holes, the belt actually has 7 holes.So, on the large size belt. the first hole is about 39" from the front edge of the buckle. The holes are spaced about an inch apart, which makes them at 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 inches. Again, note that there are 7 holes, not 5 holes as depicted in what I now realize is the not so great sizing chart. So based on that logic, you would think the belt should be a 39/45, not a 38/40, because it will fit people with a waist size between 39-45 inches. The last hole is 4 inches from the end of the belt. The full length of the leather part of the belt is 47" just like the drawing shows in the second box. If you think about it having two numbers in the length column in the sizing chart actually makes no sense whatsoever. One belt size isn't going to have two different lengths because of your waist size. Use the second length, because that is what it is. There is no 45" long belt.So the size given for the waist is your pant size. The belt I got is actually stamped 38/40 in the leather and my waist measured 40 with a tape measure, but I wear a 34 waist in my pants and my other belts are labeled 34/36. So, my initial inkling to get the medium was the correct one.What this means is, when I am wearing the belt, it fits, but I have 9 inches past the hole that I am using. 5 more holes, each an inch apart and 4 inches from the last hole to the end of the belt. That makes it a bit floppy. It would be perfect if it were about 3-4 inches shorter.Taking a very similar belt I own, marked 34/36 stamped into the leather, it also has 7 holes. The first hole is at 34". The holes are spaced 1 inch apart, placing the holes at 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40. Based on that logic, you would think this belt would be a 34/40. I actually use the second to the last and the last hole on that belt, which leaves 4" between that hole and the end of the belt to stick under the belt loop.So Measure your waistMedium (educated guess based on another belt I own)1st Hole = 34"2nd Hole = 35"3rd Hole = 36"4th Hole = 37"5th Hole = 38"6th Hole = 39"7th Hole = 40"Large (based on this belt which I have in my possession)1st Hole = 39"2nd Hole = 40"3rd Hole = 41"4th Hole = 42"5th Hole = 43"6th Hole = 44"7th Hole = 45"I am going to chalk this up to online belt buying 101. I will still wear it, but I wish I had ordered the medium.That doesn't take anything away from the belt though. It looks to be good quality. I am happy with it.Hope all of the above helps someone else order the right size.