Strap

A problem I have with straps is they sometimes loosen in a ladder lock buckle

Do you use a loop on the belt?

No

What do you mean by a loop in the belt?

A keeper, maybe?

Yeah a keeper to keep the excess from hanging loose.

No loop or keeper

My shoulder straps slowly loosen as I walk along.  Not always.  Very minor problem

A keeper will help the strap lock in better. It will also make it harder to adjust.

what’s wrong with the strap you’ve been finding?  Too coarse, not smooth enough?

Too smooth and it slips through ladder locks/buckles too easily. Too rough and it feels …. too rough especially in body contact locations eg where a should strap might touch your flanks.

What we need is a webbing strap with a rough side, and a smooth side.

The last strap I purchased was from Strapworks. There’s nothing wrong with it. I haven’t weighed it, but I feel it’s a bit heavy. It feels a bit thick and it just doesn’t have the look and feel of the strap on my packs. Military spec poly. I tried nylon and it was worst, but that could be the brand.

I don’t have trouble with slippage unless I’ve attached a buckle backwards. I’m sure it happens, but I’m adjusting my pack for different conditions all day long anyway.

Referring to the picture below.

The red strap is nylon from Amazon. The weave pattern is desirable. It’s fairly thick and doesn’t go through ladder locks easily. Four almost five grams per 8″ section.

The black strap is polyester. Off brand Amazon. Nice weave pattern. Some slippage. Three almost four grams per 8″.

The light grey is polyester from Strapworks. Glides well. Locks good. Weighs 2 grams per 8″ piece. Weave pattern is rough looking is my main complaint. It feels rough. It’s not as aesthetically pleasing as others. That’s all petty until I look at the last sample.

The darker silver gray. Does everything well. Nice weave and feels good to the touch. I didn’t weigh it because it’s attached to my pack. It does feel lighter than the others. It just looks good to me. That’s what I’m looking for.

Random notes, in no particular order:

• Polypropylene should float in water.
• Polyester should sink. Probably nylon, too.
• Nylon stretches, polyester not much.
• Dipping ends in Plasti-Dip can make them hold better in buckles and sliders.
• UHMWPE doesn’t stretch and is ultra-strong, but it can be slippery and difficult to hold in a buckle. Some UHMWPE is treated or coated to make it hold better.
• Polyester is more UV resistant than polypropylene.
• Polypropylene may melt more easily (with a lighter) than nylon/polyester.
• Nylon may look nicer, but the lack of stretch in polyester may have value.
• An overview article about webbing selection.
• Sailrite Webbing Selection Guide
• Sailrite charts (especially the second chart)

All of these may be “good enough” for most purposes, yet the subtle differences would make me want to select for performance more than looks.

FWIW, SWD’s webbing is the best I’ve seen/used. I don’t know what it is made from, but it is strong, light, holds well in a slider, and doesn’t stretch. Find that, and we would have a candidate for “best web straps”.

I’ll try the Plasti-Dip.

SWD, HMG, Kuiu, generic, Strapworks

Something you may all be missing; some ladder locks are designed to grip, and some are designed to slide very slowly. The latter are for static loads where ease of tightening matters. Maybe whoever bought the buckles did not know the difference?

Cheers

How can one detect the difference, Roger?

Blowed if I know! I have a large bag of good bits you see, and have not needed to buy anything for a long while.
But you could ask the vendor: some of them are competent.

Um – does the bar around which the webbing wraps have a smooth bottom or a sharpish one? Could be a clue.

Cheers

I’ve bought buckles and didn’t know : )

I will now look at all my buckles at the cross piece to see f it’s smooth or rough

Is it raised or flat?

Two options: try a cam buckle, or if it’s a short length, sew a number of sufficient rows of parallel straight stitching where it feeds through the ladderlock. Even on the thinnest grossgrain, cam buckles hold well and the stitching can make slick webbing hold.