aramkI have a very similar ( https://www.thebritishbeltcompany.co.uk/collections/belts/products/miller-belt ) belt from British Belt Co. and I like it so that I joined this drop too. I find no reason not to believe in explanation from phil.ash's post. The belt looks and feels great and with my pant size being 35 belt size 38 worked well. I believe maybe 50 pound price from their website is a bit too much but I just could not resist Massdrop's $35 :) Can't say anything about longevity - time will tell or maybe we have long time owners here?