These belts look good, are comfortable, and seem to hold up well to normal wear and tear. The only downside is the release for the gripping mechanism: It hangs down from the buckle, which sometimes causes it to release "spontaneously". On the other hand, it also tends to be hard to find when I WANT to release the buckle, and sometimes is hard to release when I do find it. I have other belts, having similar gripping mechanisms, but whose buckles release by simply pulling out slightly on "free end" of the buckle. I find these buckle mechanisms to be a lot more "cooperative": easy on, and easy off.