Review on Stylish and Versatile: Mark Fred Genuine Leather Reversible by Jay Chowdhury

I received a set with 2 different color combinations so I can test the brown/cognac and gray colors and see how they look live. Both grays and browns are slightly darker than they appear in their on-screen photographs. The leather is very soft and supple and the belt is very light. I'm concerned about the long term durability of the belt, how soft and light it is. The "black" buckle isn't actually black, but it's much darker than the silver buckle. I think the word "black" is appropriate to describe it. The seed is coiled into a fairly tight spiral, gray and brown sides out, and its covering is protected by a paper sheath. This gives the end of the belt a fairly strong curve towards the black side. You either have to flip it over if you want to wear it black side out, or deal with the tip resisting a bit when you try to slide it in and out of the buckle at the front. I've just started struggling with this and after a few days the tip came loose and became smoother so I don't have a problem with it now. The leather of the belt is very easy to cut with ordinary sharp scissors. Since the buckle only has a few inches of ratchet, I highly recommend cutting it four inches longer than you think you'll wear it so you don't cut it too short. They recommend just two inches longer. Then cut it off about an inch at a time, maybe switching to half an inch as you get closer. Do this until the buckle fits in the center of the ratchet strap and is comfortable. This way you can tighten or loosen it as your waist size changes. They say they offer a full replacement if you accidentally cut it too short, but who wants to go through the trouble of getting a replacement? One problem is that it is not easy to open the jaw on the buckle, which digs into the end of the belt and holds it on the belt. Luckily you won't have to open it more than a few times as this is the part that holds the buckle to the belt. It's probably a good thing that it doesn't open easily, otherwise you'll likely have trouble pulling the buckle off your belt. As in normal operation, the strap slides easily into the buckle (once the initial flex at the tip releases) and the buckle lifts slightly, releasing the ratchet. I really liked these ratchet buckle straps as they give you a near perfect size for your strap. You don't have to worry about the strap being too tight or too loose like traditional straps do. I love how much easier it is to open and remove this one. My other ratchet models have a small lever that you have to squeeze to release the ratchet. The ease of use of these Mark Fred belts is superior to other brands. I've only had one of these Mark Fred straps on for a week now and it's too early to tell if the ratchet will hold. average department store straps but cheaper than some other brands of ratchet straps I've seen. If you go for the two strap option, you'll get a bargain at $34.99 for two straps.