Dark Iron Fitness Weight Lifting Belt for Powerlifting Deadlift Training, Premium Leather for Core Support Gym Strength Workout

TL;DR: Buy this belt now; don't hesitate, it's worth it.Just as a disclaimer, I didn't receive this product for free and no-one paid me for this review, I paid my own money for a great product. First things first, this is a great belt! I'll break down the important info below, but the short version is that this is the belt to buy. I was considering this one versus the Rogue Ohio belt, and while I'm sure the Rogue belt is great, this is the perfect belt to start with and it will last you a long time. Plus, it's less than a 3rd the cost. So now to the details.Construction/Quality/Looks: 10/10This is a nice wide belt made of really nice leather. The outer finish has a nice deep black shine to it with really nice deep red stitching. It really looks better than the pictures in person. If you've ever had a pair of Everlast Speed Bag gloves, that's what the red and black reminds me of. The rivets are strong but don't feel sharp or uncomfortable against you. The belt is fairly thin (not too thin or cheap feeling) and supple which I like. It has a nice "broken in" feeling while still providing plenty of structure for support. The inside has more of a suede finish so it stays in place and doesn't slide around. Bottom line, it's just really nice, much nicer than anything you'll find on the rack at a big box sporting goods store.Fit: 10/10I ordered the medium and I'm about 38 inches around the navel. This was the perfect choice as there is plenty of belt to tuck in the loop when I tighten it down, and plenty of holes left down the strap to tighten more if my waist shrinks (here's hoping!). If you know how weight belts are supposed to be used, you understand that the point is to provide your abdomen a support structure to push against when you take a deep breath and tighten down for the lift. A lot of belts are constructed in a silly way where the front is thin and the back is wide. This is pointless. This belt is nice and wide all the way around and is functionally perfect for what it is: a weight belt.Customer Service: 10/10I got an email from the team at Dark Iron immediately after purchase and an additional 2 emails a few days later to make sure everything was good with the belt. If you register with them your product is covered with a lifetime warranty. I haven't has any issues and don't expect any, but if I ever have an experience with Dark Iron related to the warranty I'll be sure to update the review.Lastly, I would like to mention a couple of things that I would have liked to have seen in this belt that would've taken it from great to legendary, in my opinion at least. First, I think single prong is a better design than double. Yes, in theory 2 prongs is more secure, but for as little amount of time that I have the belt on (only during the lift) the speed of setup is more important. Sometimes it's hard to find one of the 2 holes that I'm trying to get the prong into. At the end of the day, it only means a few more seconds of setup, but when I'm trying to focus on the lift I don't want to have to think much about the setup. Second, if it was possible to keep the belt as "broken in" and supple while making it just a little bit thicker, I think it would be perfect. Again, functionally it's working perfectly, but I wouldn't mind a bit more heft. Lastly, I like the logo but I would have preferred a pressed or branded (burned) logo versus the stitched on nylon patch. That's a purely aesthetic preference but that's just my thoughts. About now, you might be saying "hey, you're describing the Rogue Ohio Belt!" and I would say, yes, you're right, lol. But again, the Rogue belt is 3x the price of this belt, which works just as well overall. So while this belt looks better than any other belt I've seen (other than the Rogue), those would be my preferences if they ever did a redesign.Bottom line, this is the belt to buy. Don't waste money on the functionally inferior and ugly "belts" at the big box stores, and don't drop $100+ on a really nice belt that will function the same way, especially if this is your first belt.

I work out about 6 days a week and have been using lifting belts provided by my gyms over the years. These range from the wider back, stiff leather belts to the lightweight nylon alternatives. They were all okay until my gym in Michigan purchased one of these Dark Iron belts for general use. While this is a wide belt, it doesn’t have the super wide back support that some of the stiff leather belts have that I found unnecessary for my use, which is primarily squats, RDLs and barbell rows. The Dark Iron is super comfortable and gives me a better range of motion while providing the needed support. The other thing I like is that under load, you actually get a little flex or give in the belt, which supports the torso without strangling it. I have a competitive lifting buddy who also concurs with this point. After using the Dark Iron belt for a few months I headed to Florida for the winter and unfortunately my gym down here didn’t have the same belt so I purchased it from Amazon. The fabrication and stitching is excellent and I’ve been using it now for two months without a sign of wear. I’m a 34 waist and picked up a medium which fits perfectly. The one in Michigan was a large and actually wrapped around my waist, so make sure you try a medium first if you’re my size. Good luck!

UPDATE: I was easily able to return the belt with no holes at no cost through Amazon and get a new one quickly shipped to me -- the nice folks at Dark Iron Fitness were great and very apologetic about the situation. During my first time in the gym with the belt, I was able to increase my 1RM squat by 20lbs just with the additional core bracing. It fits great, it comfortable and easily adjustable, and I'm looking forward to using it for a long time.Original review:I've been in the market for a lifting belt for a while, I was so thrilled when after 2 weeks of checking Dark Iron Fitness' page and the Amazon listing and saw that size small was back in stock. I ordered the small and waited patiently over the weekend (thanks Prime!) and eagerly opened the package only to find...The belt has no holes in it.I literally cannot attach this thing to itself around my body, the whole purpose of a belt. I searched to see if there were pre-cut leather pieces to push out, or if there was some sort of tool that I was supposed to use to cut them myself (ridiculous as it sounds) but nothing.Don't get me wrong, besides this fatal flaw the belt looks fantastic. Excellent construction and material, and for a great price all around. But it's completely unuseable without the holes punched through it, which one would think is a pretty important part of the manufacturing process.I'll be returning it, because it's kind of pointless to keep it, and I guess will be re-ordering when the smalls are back in stock since it really is the belt I want. Let's hope next time it actually comes with holes and I can revise my rating to the 5 stars it deserves.