I recently tested three Siege Belts: the standard-sized Fury buckle with the “Gray Man” finish, the large oval Frenzy buckle with the “Cloudburst” finish, and the large rectangular Ferocious buckle with the “Gray Man” finish.
I found all three belts to be comfortable, versatile, attractive, and strong. The heavy buckles and extra strong straps of all three belts were also perfectly suited to allow the belts to be used as improvised tools for self defense in situations where other more suitable tools might not be available.
The belts are all handcrafted in the USA. They were priced at $149 for belts with the “Gray Man” finish and $159 for belts with the “Cloudburst” finish at the time of this writing at www.SiegeBelts.com or www.NylonBelts.com. This represents an excellent value for a hand-crafted quality American-made product.
Background
Last Spring, I had the privilege of reviewing the Siege Stove made by Siege Works of Walnut Creek, California. I found it to be an outstanding twig stove.
Some months later, Mr. James Fisher of Siege Works contacted me, and asked if I would like to test one of his Siege Belts. I was a little hesitant at first, because I have not studied the martial arts, and was not sure that I would be able to do justice to the product. Mr. Fisher reassured me that Siege Belts are designed not only for a budding Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee, but also for ordinary people like me.
After reading the review of the Siege Belt published on SurvivalBlog.com by Senior Editor James Wesley, Rawles (JWR) on March 27, 2022, I decided to give the Siege Belt a try. Four days later, a package arrived via USPS Priority Mail.
First Impressions
The belt was well packed. The 9.5 x 5.5 x 1.75 inch shipping package contained a smaller 7 x 4.25 x 1.5 inch package. The smaller package contained a still smaller 6 x 3.5 x 1.5 inch package. That package contained a page of instructions and a black velveteen drawstring bag. The drawstring bag contained the belt. Removing the various layers of packaging reminded me of opening the successive layers of a Russian Matryoshka doll.
The instruction sheet is printed on both sides of a letter-sized piece of paper. It is clearly-written and well-illustrated. The instructions for the Siege Stove were also clearly written and well-illustrated. Whoever is preparing the instructions for Siege Works products is doing an excellent job.
This first belt was the standard-sized Fury buckle with the “Gray Man” finish. The nylon belt is 1.25 inches wide with a heavy 5.5-ounce buckle. The belt is reversible, with brown on one side and black on the other. I had requested that they be assembled with the brown side out. A belt owner can simply take a wrench and remove two nuts, to reverse the webbing from one color to another. This takes just a few minutes.
The ultra-high density nylon webbing is rated at a tensile strength of over 7,800 pounds.
The belt does not look at all threatening while it is being worn, but the heft of the buckle is impressive. If anyone was swinging this belt around, I would definitely keep my distance!
Soon after the first belt arrived, Mr. Fisher noticed that I had requested the same style that JWR had reviewed. He offered to send a second belt so that I could have something new to show SurvivalBlog readers. I gladly accepted his kind offer, and soon the large oval Frenzy buckle with the “Cloudburst” finish, and the large Ferocious buckle with the “Gray Man” finish arrived. The strap for the large oval Frenzy is 1.5 inches wide with a 6-ounce buckle. The strap for the large rectangular Ferocious is also 1.5 inches wide with a 6-ounce buckle. Each of these two belts arrived in a white cotton drawstring bag.
Testing
I began my testing by wearing the Fury every day for 11 days in a row. I found it to be very comfortable. The “Gray Man” finish did not attract any attention. My wife was the only one to notice that I was wearing a new belt.
Next, I wore the Frenzy every day for 14 days in a row. I found the 1.5-inch strap of the Frenzy to be even more comfortable than the 1.25-inch strap of the Fury. I thought that the more elaborate “Cloudburst” finish of the Frenzy might attract unwanted attention, but no one seemed to notice.
Finally, I wore the Ferocious every day for 9 days in a row. The first 7 days were with the black side out, and the last couple of days were with the brown side out. With the black side out, the belt looked formal enough to wear with my dress pants. I felt that the brown side out looked more appropriate with jeans.
I did have a couple of observations about potentially deploying the belt. The first related to the cell phone case that I usually carry on my belt. The case did not slow belt deployment, but it would fall to the ground if I needed to deploy the belt. I would need to be mentally prepared to ignore my cell phone in a desperate situation.
The second observation related to the pants one wears with the belt. Those who may wish to deploy the belt should not wear pants that are too loose. If they do, their pants might fall down around their ankles when they deploy the belt, significantly hindering their mobility.
I had one other thought about the webbing from which the belt straps are made: I would love to have a rifle sling made from this webbing. A “Siege Sling” would be extremely strong, comfortable, attractive, and durable. If Siege Works ever expands their product line to include rifle slings, I would love to be first in line to test one.
Belt Play
I carefully followed the instructions included with the belts by going outside to practice belt play. I did not think that my wife, “Kari”, would appreciate it if I knocked over lamps, ripped upholstery, broke windows, or dented appliances.
I first practiced repeatedly deploying each of the three belts in turn. All three belts were extremely easy to deploy almost instantaneously following the simple directions from the instruction sheet.
Next, I practiced the infinity loop (in which I swung the belt in a figure-eight-like pattern), and the halo (in which I swung the belt around my head). The belts were all extremely easy to control, even when the buckles were whistling through the air at a high rate of speed at the end of the straps.
I then placed a cardboard box on a post as a target and practiced deploying the belts and engaging the target. I was surprised at how easy it was to accurately hit the box, especially from the halo pattern. The box typically flew between 24 and 36 feet after impact. The infinity loop was better for delivering vertical blows from above, while the halo was better at delivering horizontal blows from the side. The belt could also be held stationary and then released with a backhand motion. The advantage of this backhand delivery is that an adversary would not be able to time the swing of the belt and step inside of the arc.
A Tool for Self-Defense?
The Louisville Slugger baseball bat is manufactured by the Hillerich & Bradsby Company. Hillerich & Bradsby does not market the bat as a tool for self-defense. But if a couple of thugs were threatening me with death or great bodily harm, I might take great comfort from having a baseball bat rather than just an empty fist.
In a similar manner, Siege Works does not market the Siege Belt as a tool for self-defense. But if a couple of thugs were threatening me with death or great bodily harm, I might take great comfort from having a Siege Belt rather than just an empty fist.
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. But I personally would never deploy or brandish a Siege Belt unless I felt that I was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm. The heavy buckle swing at high rates of speed may itself present a lethal threat. And this could potentially justify an adversary’s use of lethal force in self-defense against someone deploying the belt.
JWR Adds: Please note under state law, in the context of self-defense in many states, any blow with an object that is intentionally directed at the neck or head is considered a potentially lethal attack (“Deadly Force.”) So only “aim high” (for the neck or head) if your life is truly and imminently threatened, to justify the use of deadly force.
So please don’t buy a Siege Belt if you intend to be a jerk and threaten people with it. May God grant that all Siege Belt owners can live long and happy lives using their belts for nothing other than holding up their pants.
Conclusions
Siege Belts are excellent belts for common, everyday belt use. They are comfortable, attractive, versatile, strong, and durable. They hold up pants well.
Siege Belts also offer an inconspicuous self-defense tool that can be worn into almost any setting like an airport, courthouse, or school. If a desperate situation should arise in a “helpless target zone”, a Siege Belt could provide a vital last line of defense.
Disclaimer
Mr. James Fisher of Siege Works was kind enough to loan me three Siege Belts for testing and evaluation. He was also kind enough to allow me to keep the one belt that I liked best. He had also previously provided me with a Siege Stove for review. I tried not to let his kindness interfere with the objectivity of my review, and I believe that I have succeeded. I did not receive any inducements to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.