The Smokejumper Belt

[Ryan]

Looking for a seriously heavy duty work belt? I wasn't, but I stumbled upon a belt thatChute43 was offerin... To read the rest of this blog entry from The Gear Journal, click here.

[JohnMcD348]

Thanks for this new site. As luck would have it I've been looking for just this very type of belt for many months now and just couldn't bring myself to pay the exorbitant amount many other places are wanting to charge due the the "High Speed, Low Drag" tacticool(ness) of them. I bought 2 to go with the majority of my attire.

Thank you many times for this site.


JTMcD.

[antique engine]

I work for the fire department and we wear these as our duty belt every day, all day. Good belts. The reason we wear them is in case of an extreme emergency where we had to jump out of a window or something, you can just hook a caribeaner to it and bail out. The buckle will support your whole weight without worry.

[JohnMcD348]

Just got mine today. Fast service from the seller. They look good and are nice. The only down side is they don't exactly fit every day clothes, Uniform clothes fit great. Other than that, they wear well, I put one on as soon as I opened the package and wore it all day. Comfortable. Wish I could find one about 1/2" thinner for every day wear.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by JohnMcD348

Just got mine today. Fast service from the seller. They look good and are nice. The only down side is they don't exactly fit every day clothes, Uniform clothes fit great. Other than that, they wear well, I put one on as soon as I opened the package and wore it all day. Comfortable. Wish I could find one about 1/2" thinner for every day wear.

I wear Lucky jeans, Hurley shorts, or kakis from the Gap almost exclusively... And I might be a dork, but I wear this belt with each.

[Rashy]

Got mine and they're bad ass.

I do wish they were a quarter inch narrower so I could where them with Dickies and Levis but I will survive.

[MattM]

I ordered one today and I’m anxious to get it.

I fought wildland fires while in school. What can I say, I’m a sucker for anything that says ‘wildland fire’ or ‘smokejumper’.

[chute43]

Matt, I emailed you a few ago, I got called back on duty but I will have your belt in the mail sunday. Sorry for the delay. We have mandatory overtime so I am here for a 48 hr shift.

thank you for the business though

kary

matt, not sure if you ever saw anyone with the airlock belt when you were fighting fires but I am pretty close to having those too, they are pretty rare

[MattM]

Thanks Kary!

I'd love to see a pic of the airlock belt when you have them.

(I have a feeling this site is going to cost me!)

[chute43]

I am pretty sure I can get the price at or below thirty dollars for the airlock. I am going to do a batch of 25 in coyote brown with silver buckles for a helitack crew in northern california. I am planning on building a couple of extras as well before they hit ebay. They are a little tricker to build they have velcro and more sewing and cutting.

I will keep you posted though.

they are super rare though atleast right now

kary

[stink tooth]

Chute

Is there any plans to make these or something similar in a 1 1/2 width??????

[chute43]

I am still looking to find the correct buckle, I looked through some of my vendor catalogs today without any real luck. I know some have said they don't fit into levis but my belt does fit into mine. My levis are the carpenter style so I am not sure if that make a difference. I thought it would look wide originally but once you put it on it doesn't look wide at all.

Right now I am working hard on getting the airlock belt done and trying to find someone to sew the double layer smokejumper belt.

Try out the 1 3/4 and see what you think, as soon as I find a suitable buckle then I will post some stuff.



and sorry for the delay , I was on duty yesterday and everytime I tried to reply we got a call.

thank you
kary

[chute43]

Originally Posted by MattM

Thanks Kary!

I'd love to see a pic of the airlock belt when you have them.

(I have a feeling this site is going to cost me!)

These are mocked up photos of the airlock with clamps holding the overlaps in place , these are going to the sewing shop tomorrow for bartacking.

One thing about the paint on these black buckles, it is kind of junk, so you will have a rough looking buckle in awhile. and being that my guy is pretty much the only guy making these I can't do much

The silver buckles are bomber though

thank you for the interest

kary

[chute43]

Newest additions to the belt line up is the coyote brown with black buckle. The webbing came from the military supplier so it is the real mil spec color.



I am also starting to get the airlock belts out a little. I am basically having to do them on a case by case basis though so that I can ensure the fit is correct. I will post more photos as they start coming back from the sewing shop.




kary