Occidental Leather makes the finest tool belts for the general construction and framing industry. Let’s see how well the Occidental Leather Pro Framer held up to our Torture Tests.
Wear and Tear Test
The day-to-day rubbing and scraping your tool bag goes through will cause most belts to fail in 2-4 years. The Occidental Leather tool belts are known for lasting a lifetime. To test this out, we decided to give it a lifetime’s worth of abrasion all in one shot.
The 4″x24″ belt sander with 80 grit paper scuffed up the tool belt, but it did not cause any failures on the seams. The Occidental Leather belt is proving to be made for the long haul.
Water Test
The Occidental tool belt did so well with our abrasion testing that we started to think about what could stop a leather belt. Most belts begin to shrink after getting wet, so we decided to take our 4-gallon per minute 3000 psi pressure washer after it to see if we could use water to cut the belt or break any of the seams.
The pouches, hammer loop, and belt held up much better than we thought. The 3000 psi pressure washer installed with the 0° tip can cut skin and remove paint from a vehicle if you are not careful. The Occidental Leather pouches and belt did show signs of scarring, but the water jets did little to stop this framing rig. Will anything we have be able to stop this tool belt?
Weight Test
Most craftsmen carry some essential tools and the specific tools needed for that day’s job in their tool belts. What would happen to the Occidental Leather tool belt if we decided to carry all of our tools simultaneously? And just because a fully loaded tool belt is not enough, we decided to see if it would pick up a 400lb skid steer bucket.
We rigged the weight of the bucket to be lifted from the pockets and not from the belt. By hooking up our chains this way, we thoroughly test the integrity of the stitching used on the pouches. When the skid steer started to lift, the pockets held up really well, but as the total weight of the bucket was put onto the seams, they began to tear. We were surprised that they did not just blow out but slowly tore open. Each stitch was putting up a fight to lift this metal bucket. When the chain hook reached the end of the seam, it grabbed onto the corner of the pouch and completed its lift.
Pro Framer Conclusion
Acme Tools has been selling Occidental Leather products for over 25 years, and we know the quality of every piece they make. In one afternoon, we gave the Pro Framer a real test to simulate a lifetime’s worth of wear and tear. When we used the belt sander on the pouches and hammer loop, we expected the material to hold but thought we would see some damage to the stitching. The belt got the best of us with that test. We then went after it with the full force of a 3000 psi pressure washer. Again, it showed some signs of the test but held up.
Our final test is overboard for the weight you would ever hold in one of these tool belts, but that is the purpose of these tests. What will it take to bring this unit to failure? Unfortunately, the 400lb skid steer bucket was enough to tear out the stitching. Still, after reviewing the pouch, I realized it could be sent to Occidental Leather, where their professional leathersmiths could repair it. In conclusion, I agree with Occidental Leather that this is The Best Belt.
