I had a Harley Davidson leather belt before I bought this one. One would imagine that a $65 Harley belt would last forever. Well I'm telling you it was a nice solid black with a subtle logo (I'm not a biker). However, the buckle broke on me after a few years of wearing and I still had problems with the buckles breaking and after about six years the leather started to deteriorate regardless of its conditioning. After ten years of using a 3/4 strap due to breakage, I finally felt it was time to buy another strap, so I searched for the roughest, strongest strap I could find on Amazon could find. This thing is leaps and bounds better for less than half the price. Sure, the leather smell is a bit strong at first, but I'm serious. Doesn't matter!? This is skin! I prepared it, let it hang for about a week and started wearing it. It still looks brand new after almost six months and is by far the highest quality belt I have ever owned. The buckle is as strong as a nail, as is the strap. You can't get away with a $30 stick!