Arcade Ranger Belt Review

If you’re looking to take your belt game to the next level, Arcade should be on your radar. This company is all about what the folks there call the “the most overlooked of accessories” (belts if you’re not following). They sell adventure belts, leather belts, woven belts, even suspenders.

In this review, we’ll be taking a look at the Arcade Ranger Adventure Belt. A belt in the “adventure” series that’s been designed with travel in mind. You can pick up the Ranger belt in the traditional size or extra long.

So, let’s jump on in.

Fit, Fabric & Features

Belts are frequently used to elevate an outfit. But that’s not really the case here. It’s nice in a minimalistic, almost futuristic way, and we’re digging the sleek, black color. But we did have a Pack Hacker community member say they thought this belt was a luggage strap. So, yeah, not high praise (unless you love the look of luggage straps!).

The branding is also noticeable. You’ll find the logo on the buckle, as well as a few more logo tags in various places. It’s not annoyingly over-the-top, but you certainly won’t forget where you bought this belt.

Of course, the folks at Arcade didn’t design the Ranger to be a fashion accessory. They designed it to be a “lightweight, low-profile and…perfect outdoor belt for all your favorite activities.”

So does it achieve all of those things?

Short answer, yes. It’s certainly lightweight and low profile. The last part of that—it being perfect for all of your favorite activities—is harder to quantify. It depends on the nature of your favorite activities (obviously).

For all of us here at Pack Hacker, there are two activities we universally love—eating and traveling (sometimes at the same time because we can multitask like that). And the Arcade Ranger Belt is great for both of them.

First of all, it’s stretchy. Made of 90% nylon and 10% rubber, this thing is so stretchy that you have room to grow. Seriously, the Ranger can handle whatever meal you throw at it. It could also handle a few aggressive dance moves or yoga postures.

Now let’s talk travel.

The buckle is made of hard, smooth plastic. So, as aforementioned, it doesn’t weigh a lot (a bonus for travel). Plus, because there are no metal parts, you can leave it on as you traipse through airport security. We tested this on a domestic flight from Detroit to Phoenix and left the belt on without any problems. That said, every TSA agent is different, every airport is different, and your mileage may vary.

One nit-picky problem we’ve had with the buckle is that it’s a little tall…at least for us. When you’re sitting, you can feel it press into your skin. It doesn’t uncomfortably dig in or anything like that, but you won’t forget it’s there. Some other “large” belt buckles skirt this problem by sitting a little further away from your body (we’re not sure how this is achieved—we’re not belt engineers). Here, the buckle is quite tight to you.

As per usual with belts, you can also adjust this thing. It takes a little bit longer to adjust than is common for belts, but that’s fine since you don’t have to adjust it frequently (remember, it’s stretchy!).

You can tuck the excess band into a small, elastic loop, which sits on the interior of the belt. This design makes everything look clean and tidy, but the doubled up fabric can get a little bulky and thick.

Plus, the elastic loop does not like to stay in place when you’re taking the belt off or putting it on. You need to hold the thicker part of the belt in order to keep that elastic loop from getting wild and moving around.

So far, none of this has been a deal-breaker, but it’s something to note.

Durability & Testing

We’ve been testing the Arcade Ranger Adventure Belt almost daily for six months in Detroit, Michigan and taken it on trips to Phoenix, Arizona, San Pedro, Belize, Portland, Oregon, and others. Overall, it’s a solid belt that works as advertised.

It’s been holding up well, although there is some pilling developing with the stretchy, elastic material. And we’re curious to see how it will continue to hold up. Since the buckle is plastic, we don’t imagine it will last as long as a metal buckle would. But, so far, we haven’t had any problems.