East German Load Bearing Combat Belt

I needed a new stiff belt to hold a canteen and because I had slimmed out of my previous belt. This belt was a pain in the ass to figure out how to adjust but the way it holds also meant that I wouldn't need to adjust it again after it was. You cannot adjust the belt while wearing it, you can only do so with it off and unhooked, so spend some time adjusting and fitting till it feels right. Once it's done, all you do is hook and unhook. The belt is ~1.7 inches wide and will perfectly fit the Anzug 03 pants, which is what I usually wear it with. It is stiff and inflexible so it was perfect to hold my canteen pouch and canteen. Pick whichever length has a good margin of lead, you can adjust it however far you need to be. I picked the 45.3" for my ~36-38 waist and it was fine, as the extra length is under the belt, so it still retains a clean look.

This belt when I originally bought it was I think around 44 inches long. It’s fairly easy to adjust but as someone who wears a 34 in waist there was a lot of excess material. So, I just cut the excess enough to wear I can size up about an inch just in case. Afterwards I just burned the ends with a lighter I had lying around. The belt is 1 and 3/4 of an inch wide, so it’s more for casual wear, or as originally intended as a combat belt if you want. It did fit the belt loops of my Austrian anzug 03 pants that I was wearing for the photo pretty well, a pair of jeans I regularly wear, as well as a pair of chinos.

It bears loads. Some many loads. Loads of loads. Abundant loads. And it's from Germany, the east side, not the ugly west side.