I ordered one each of the brand new 10mm and 13mm STrong powerlifting belts on sale from Mark Bell’s SlingShot brand the first day they were available for purchase. The only available option is single prong, and the 10mm comes in black with a red belt loop while the 13mm comes in red with a black belt loop. Both belts come with the STrong logo stamped in foil on the back of the belt and on the belt loop. The 10mm is $120 shipped and the 13mm is $135 shipped. This price range is competing with the major manufacturers like Inzer, Best, Pioneer, Titan, etc.Both belts were shoved into a single box, which ended up leaving some marring on one of the belts. It would have been ideal to have them each shipped in their own box, since there was no discount offered for single-box shipping.In Mark’s promotional YouTube video, he touts how pliable the belt is while saying that it still provides all the support of other belt manufacturers.The belt is certainly pliable, but not in a good way. The leather used in the construction of these belts is called “belly leather,” while the brands that we have come to know and respect like Best Belts and Pioneer use “leather bends” or the “shoulder leather.” Belly leather, which literally comes from the belly of the cow, is very thin and pliable. It makes a fine choice for things like knife sheathes or other items that need to be made pliable, but the leather is not very supportive. Leather bends, on the other hand, have a fuller grain pattern and are much thicker, and offer a much greater degree of support, which is a desirable trait in a lifting belt.Since the leather is so thin, they had to layer up two pieces on the 10mm and layered up 3 pieces on the 13mm. The brands I mentioned a moment ago use fewer layers of thicker hide to achieve the desired thickness, which makes the belts more supportive. The leather used in the STrong belt is almost spongy to the touch. For a reference point, the 10mm belt offers about the same amount of support as a nylon belt from a sports store.Wildly enough, the layers AREN’T GLUED TOGETHER!! This is an issue for a couple reasons. One, the glue makes the laminated layers stronger and more supportive. Two, if the stitches ever start pulling, the belt layers will separate with no glue to hold them together. Three, the belts make an awful creaking noise where the layers are rubbing against each other. Additionally, the layers don’t even line up properly.Continued in next post...