What the specifications fix
Three published dimensions, and all three are measurable:
Thickness, in millimetres — 10 mm and 13 mm are the two common leather figures, with 6.5 mm appearing on lighter belts and on nylon designs.
Width, in millimetres or inches, usually quoted at the back. 100 mm, or four inches, is the width most competition rulebooks cap at.
Closure: single prong, double prong, lever, or velcro with a roller buckle. This is a construction fact rather than a measurement, and it decides how quickly a belt goes on and how repeatably it returns to the same tightness.
The approval is a separate thing entirely: a named federation stating that a belt as constructed is permitted on its platform. It is published by the federation, it is checkable, and it is about a rulebook.
What it does not promise
It does not promise anything about a back. A belt’s dimensions describe a belt. What a given person should lift, whether wearing one, and under what circumstances are questions no published figure addresses, and this site does not address them either.
It does not promise leather quality. Thickness is not grade, and a thick belt of poorly bonded layers is thick and poorly bonded.
It does not promise fit. Belt sizing runs on waist measurement at the belt’s position, not on trouser size, and makers’ charts differ. A published size is a measurement of a belt, never a fit on a body.
And an approval does not promise performance — only eligibility, under one federation’s rules, in the version current when it was granted.
What it works with
It works with the sizing chart, which is the maker’s own and is the only source for how a given size maps to a measurement.
It works with the closure type, because a lever set for one thickness of clothing is not adjustable between sets and a prong belt is.
And it works with the federation’s own current rulebook, which is where an approval is confirmed and where it can lapse.
How we read it on this site
Thickness, width and closure appear on every belt page in the maker’s units, with the source named. Where a federation approval is claimed, the page names the federation and says that eligibility is what it records.
And the line that does not move: no page here describes a belt as making a lift safe, and none recommends a size. The chart is the maker’s, the measurement is yours, and what happens between them is not a published figure.
Questions readers send in about this
Does a federation approval make a belt better?
It makes it eligible. An approval records that the belt’s dimensions and construction fall inside what that federation’s rulebook permits on a competition platform. A belt outside those limits can be perfectly well made and simply built for something else.
Is 13 mm better than 10 mm?
It is stiffer, and stiffness is the trade. A 13 mm belt takes longer to break in and is less comfortable to wear between sets; a 10 mm belt is easier to live with. Which suits a given lifter is not a question a published figure answers, and this site does not answer it.
Why do widths vary around the body on some belts?
Tapered belts are narrower at the front to clear the ribs and hips. Competition rules for some federations require a uniform width, which is one of the things an approval settles. A page here reports the widths the maker publishes, front and back, where both are given.
Last reviewed 20 September 2026