Leather belts made in Australia; A guide to the best 3 belts you can buy made here
Leather belts made in Australia; A guide to the best 3 belts you can buy made here
They are not a heap of leather belts made in Australia. Most Australian fashion brands get their belts made overseas. If you're lookign for something locally made your options are kind of limited. Before we talk about the best 3 we think you can buy lets talk about the three main types or styles of belts.
There are 3 main styles of belts for 3 different contexts
No one belt will work in 100% of situations. It's important to firstly define the main contexts that a belt will be worn.
Working outdoors
This is what we think of when we think of someone who is farming or working a trade like on a building site. They are exposed to the elements on a daily basis and will traditionally be wearing heavy and strong materials such as denim or re-enforced workwear. The style of belt that is typically worn in this context is a full grain leather belt with a frame buckle, ideally made out of a very durable metal such as stainless steel or brass. It needs to last a long time but ideally look good enough to wear to the pub or dinner after work.
Active outdoors
This is someone who probably isnt working outside but is active outside in a sporting or nature context. Typically a lighter belt is preferred and it is still going to see some harsh elements. A utiliatrian metal buckle or highly durable plastic paired with a long lasting canvas or nylon webbing. This style of belt is often used in military settings or for extreme outdoor sports like trekking and canyoning. These can be made of leather but it's actually not the best choice here.
Working & living indoors
For anyone working from home or in an office, retail or on the road. The clothes worn tend to be lighter although range from casual, to business casual, semi formal or even a suit. The style of belt that is typically best in this context are dress belts which have a flat metal buckle, high quality leather and potentially are reversible or interchangeable to increase their versatility (ie go with more stuff)
Our pick for the best leather belts made in Australia for each context
So now we know the 3 different styles of belt we can make a pick for the best belt in each category.
Best belt for working outdoors
Our pick here is probably the best selling belt in Australia, the RM Williams belt. They have a range of options but our number 1 pick if you're going to be outdoors a bunch in a harsh environment but also want something that could go with your nice jeans for a family dinner or drinks after work is the Drover. It's made with brass which develops a patina (ages nicely) over time and double butt leather, basically one of the most durable parts of the cow. It has some branding is it's only negative but it's fairly minimal
https://www.rmwilliams.com.au/drover-belt-mid-brown-double-butt-leather.html?lang=en_AU
Best belt for active outdoors
We'd love for this to be a leather belt but for military and outdoor sports where every gram of weight counts leather and metal just don't add up. There is virtually no companies who make this style of belt in Australia but the company that does is Wedgetail and their Wedgetail Military Webbing Belt is an absolute machine. It's made from heavy duty nylon webbing and an acetal plastic buckle. These materials and their manufacturing are so solid they offer a 25 year guarantee.
https://www.wedgetailpacific.com.au/products/wedgetail-military-webbing-belt
Best leather belt for working & living indoors
Absolutely no prizes for guessing that YOKU is our pick for the best belt for this context. We set out to create a beautifully designed, well made men's leather belt that was completely interchangeable with no moving parts. Our unique design took 3 years and countless prototypes and the result is stunning. Long lasting materials such as full grain leather and stainless steel (or titanium) and our patented mechanism that lets you swap in a different strap so you can match your belt with whatever you're wearing.
