Customer Reviews

Occidental Leather 5055 Stronghold Suspension System Suspenders

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If your sick and tired of those fabric & elastic suspenders that are constantly falling off your shoulders every few minutes, and feel like they are made of piano wire by the end of the day, then this suspension system is the only way to go! The harness spreads the loaded weight of your bags across a wide plane on each shoulder and the upperback, the padding is made of a material that amazingly wisks away sweat very effectivly, even working here in the 100 deg. So. Cal. desert heat. This suspension system seems to me to be the only real choice, for the professional framer (or other tradesman)the performance and comfort equals more production which we all know is equivalent to more money in our pockets makes the added cost of this system well worth the money, not to mention that the Stronghold Suspender System will out last at least 5 pairs of those cheapie elastic units. The only draw back I have encountered is that if you don't keep your eyes on them when not wearing your bags, they will quickly "walk off" the job site courtesy of some low life theif, a problem I never experianced with the elastic jobs. Treat them like your saws, pneumatic nail guns, and other tools of the trade and in my opinion they are an investment well worth the price.

The Stronghold Suspension System is, without qualification, the finest suspension system on the market today. Quality materials and workmanship clearly standout from the minute you unpack the product. The assembly instructions are clear, straight forward, easy to follow and accurate. Once you have the suspenders on your belt it will take a little adjusting to find the perfect fit. Generally, in a day or two ,you will have them dialed in and working as advertised. An additional set of D rings and copper rivets would be a nice touch if you want to mount directly to your belt and get away from the straps after the adjustment period. At 6'1" I have about 6" of additional adjustment available and I wear the belt a couple of inches below my waist. This is a quality product that performs extremely well. At first I thought the chest strap was a bit of overkill but it proved to be the perfect place to clip a cell phone. This is one of those rare products that actually works at a level beyond your expectations.

When i first saw the stronghold system I fell in love with the thought of replacing my thin web suspenders. I bought a pair and awaited there araival, only to find that one size does not fit all. I am 6'3" and the stronghold system at maxium length fell short of my waist.

Really good system. Capable of supporting lots of weight comfortably. I've read that they don't fit tall guys. I'm 5'8" and had a lot of strap to cut off. If you're buying a tool belt with your stronghold system get the belt oversized so you can leave it loose and have room to adjust your bags. You will be adjusting for a few weeks to get the perfect fit. I used wax cord to hold accessories in various positions untill I found the most comfort, then I got two-sided rivets from a tack shop and pinned them in place. Sounds like a lot of trouble but when you're done you will find that you almost feel as good with your bags on as you do with them off. P.S. Don't waste your money on the standard suspenders. I reviewed those too

I really get a lot of enjoyment wearing my Occ.5055, great weight distribution on the shoulders, and adds to the "professionalism". One problem wearing such a rig in sunny southern Calif. Is that it has a tendency to draw out excessive moisture from your body, the "yoke" covers a great deal of you back and after wearing it the first few consecutive days I developed a skin rash dead center of my back and on my front shoulders. Aside of this, I still wear it cause it's hard to find a alternative system with the same "qualities". As for the "rivets" stop by any hobby shop and pick up a few extras or do like I did, use large "aluminum" pop rivets to pin down your bags/holsters.

I'll admit it--I'm a snake-hipped electrician. You've all seen it before: toolbelt working the pants down towards the knees, tidy whities riding high. It's not a pretty sight. I had tried the usual suspenders that can't take the load, always get in the way, and come unclipped at a strong glance. When I first heard about the Stronghold suspension system, I was definitely interested--if a little leery of the $70 price tag. That's almost what I had invested in my whole toolbelt.
Well, I took the leap and boy howdy am I glad I did. The workmanship is first rate, the materials are hard-core solid, and the design is impeccable. I've had my Strongholds for almost three years of daily use now, and they are still going strong.
The padded yoke distributes the bag's weight evenly across my shoulders, even when the bags are unevenly loaded. I can leave my belt unsnapped in the front for greater ease of movement or easy shedding, and my tools are still right at hand. There's a heavy duty hanging ring conveniently located on the padded yoke, so I can set a nail in a stud and hang the whole affair up off the ground at lunch time. Like another reviewer, I find the chest strap the perfect place to hang my cel phone.
My toolbelt has velcro on the belt that keeps the individual bags in place, so I had no problems with the supplied four beltloops sliding, unlike other reviewers. I'm glad I used the beltloops, as it allows me to disassemble the entire belt for rearranging pockets or washing.
My only nit to pick with this product is that Occidental Leather should provide extra rivets. I bunged one up when first setting up my suspenders, and it took careful work to salvage it. Having a spare set, as other reviewers have noted, would be handy.

I found this system very comfortable except for one flaw. It comes with two ways of attaching to your belt: first by means of four leather loops that go around the belt the D rings are rivited to the loops and the suspenders clip on to the D rings, second with the D rings rivited directly to the belt. Myself I wasn't ready to commit to attaching the rings right to the belt in case the position wasn't quite right. The problem with the leather loops is that they slide toward the middle of the back of the belt when your bags are loaded. This causes the otherwise excellent padded yoke to work its way down you back as you bend and straighten throughout the day. This is extremly irritating. The system comes with only one set of rivits so unless you jury rig your own attachment, your stuck. I recommend using a jury rigged temporary attachment before commiting the rivits to a final position as another reviewer mentioned. When you do attach the D rings make sure the are far enough apart in back to keep the yoke from sliding down and you will have an excellent system. If Occidental had included two sets of rivits I would give the system four stars.

Great rig, agree with all the reviews. FYI, it will stain everything as you sweat. The red leather has ruined several shirts of mine. And this thing will make you sweat-

I've had the cheap suspenders with the clips and no padding, and those suck. These suspenders are well padded so they don't dig into my shoulders. I wear them 40 hours a week and my tool belt weighs about 20 pounds when im all loaded up. These suspenders are worth the money. I wish i had bought them sooner.

This was a no brainer to go with my fat lip adjustable tool bags from Occidental leather. This suspenders can be attached to any tool bag belt that is 3" or smaller. Very comfortable, and is adjustable to many different sizes. You can't go wrong with Occidental Leather!