Another Equipment Question

[veganjosh]

A couple of months ago I posted about vegan powerlifting belts - well, it turns out the Valeo belts a few people talked about are vegan, but wouldn't be legal for competition.

Powerlifting belts can only be made of one solid material - usually suede, but it can also be vinyl - so they can't have padding, webbing, etc. So, I feel pretty hopeless about ever being able to find one - every legal belt I see is leather or suede, and every vegan belt has padding!

So, I've been thinking about trying to get one custom-made, but I'm not sure where to turn to. I talked to the people at veganwares.com, but they said they couldn't sew a belt that thick (it needs to be 13mm thick).

Does anyone have any other suggestions for people that might have the desire/ability to custom make a vegan belt?

Thanks!
Josh

[Oak]

Hey Josh, you could be a pioneer.

Why don't you just get one made?

Find a good material, maybe contact vegetarian shoes in the UK and ask them what's the toughest material they use.
Buy some of that material.
Get a design.
Either sew one up yourself, or go to a tailor to get one made for you.
Probably have to use a leather puncturing needle. Oh, and a big pair of scissors!
If you want holes in it you can use one of those weird leather puncture tools.

If you need a hand in your quest, we could both check it out. Just PM me.
Oak

[Pete]

I had the address of the company that made "Lorica", the tougher than leather, breathable stuff that vegan shoes used to be made of before that cheap veggie tan stuff started being used (GRRR! When I went out sabbing wearing Lorica, great, that veggie tan stuff is shite in comparison!). Might be an idea to get it made from that as it's as tougher than leather, & would seem to be ideal????
I'll have a scout around & see if I can dig up the address (no promises as this was a long time ago I had it & I've moved since then?!?!)

[tylerm]

I had a pair of custom motorcycle boots made by veganwares a couple years ago, and they have held up great. I know you said they couldn't make a belt 13mm thick, but you might want to check what type of materials they do carry, I know that they sell material so you can make your own items as well...

[JP]

the supplied in UK has said that the belt we were talking about in the other thread, valeos Ocelot - VCL lifting belt, is used by some competing powerlifters, presumably in IPF governed comps. This may be down to the actual judge on the ground, would be good to show the belt to some people who do judging and see what they think about it?

Though if in your federation the rule is simply no padding or webbing, then there's not much you can do about it...

Do you have a belt at all at the moment?

Personally i'd be cautious to start making my own from a model, but then again, why not! If the person who does the work knows what they are doing then i can't see why it wouldn't be as good as the ones sold "officially".

[veganjosh]

JP,
The USAPL/ADFPA is the IPF federation here, so they use IPF rules. So, it's interesting that you heard that the valeo belt would be legal. I'll try to get in touch with the company and see if they know.

I, too, am concerned about just making my own belt - I'm worried that it wouldn't be stitched well enough to hold up.

At the moment I'm not using any belt, but I'd really like to start training with at least a belt soon.

[Oak]

So Josh,

Is it this belt which is not suitable, it says it is made to olympic standards?

Maybe you could contact the company that makes them and ask if they could make you a vegan powerlifting belt. If they don't, i'm sure one of the companies would - I've done this kind of thing before.
You'll probably have to pay more

http://www.vitamaker.com/competition-belt.html#

Oak

[JP]

Oak - fantastic mate! Thats a different one to the one i've been looking - and so cheap as well! The one i was looking had indeed more padding and webbing, so it could be that this is the one the guy i phoned earlier was refering to as well.

56$ for 2 is very cheap - if someone in UK want's to join up, i'll put an order in for two - provided these belts are good for IPF judges.

[veganjosh]

There are a few places in Chicago that sell those belts, so I'm going to just go to a store to check them out. I'll let you guys know what the verdict is.

As for them being olympic-legal - the olympics have different standards than the IPF, so I don't know if that means it's ok for IPF use.

Hopefully they'll be ok.

-josh

[VeganEssentials]

Don't know if this would work, but I do know one other company in the USA that does custom work with Lorica that might be able to do something - contact www.veganerotica.com and ask them if they might be able to create a belt for you. They primarily do work for...um....other activities that usually involve leather, but they make regular belts for us and take custom suggestions on the gear they make, so this might be worth a shot as well. Just ask for Eric or Richard, and tell 'em that Ryan from VeganEssentials.com sent ya!

Ryan

[veganjosh]

Ok, so I checked out the valeo belt - it doesn't seem to be IPF legal. Most notably, the IPF rules say that the buckle has to be attached by means of stiching or studs, but this buckle is sewn into webbing which is attached to the belt. It also has velcro, which isn't legal, as well as a few other problems.

I'm still going to use that belt for the moment, as its the only heavy-duty vegan belt I can find. I figure I'll train with that to get used to using a belt, and in the meantime I'm going to try to get a vegan "leather" company to make a legal belt.

Thanks for all the advice!
Josh

[Oak]

Darn it! That's a shame about that belt - it makes vegans going into competive powerlifting that bit more difficult.

Let me know if you manage to get a belt made, Where did you find out the specification of the IPF suitable belt?

Good that your commited to it though,
Oak

[JP]

thats a shame josh, too bad.

I'm still thinking of getting one - could then show it to a judge and ask their opinion on it.

Funny how restrictive the belt rules are, but then squt suits and bench shirts are ok - though i'd imagine they are strictly defined as well. But still, i'd imagine todays single plys are like the double plys of just few years ago...