Rogue Pioneer belt vs Ohio belt
This is a comparison of the Rogue Pioneer belt and the Ohio belt including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details
Rogue Ohio Lifting Belt
The Rogue Ohio lifting belt is the best value for money option you can obtain from Rogue at $110. If you want to know more about other Rogue belts read my article "Which belt to buy from Rogue" for an overview in which this review was originally posted.
What else to consider from Rogue
Overview of the Ohio lifting belt
The
Rogue Ohio lifting belt is the workhorse of the belts available from Rogue and the longest in production from Rogue themselves. This was my personal first purchase from Rogue and they did not disappoint. The leather is from the US and worked on in the house. Rogue uses the vegetable tanning process to deliver high quality, well-finished leather.
The belt is 4'' wide and 10mm thick. It comes with a single prong buckle. The colors are brown with white stitching and a silver buckle.
Pros of the Ohio lifting belt
Cons of the Ohio lifting belt
The
Rogue Ohio belt is not IPF approved so it can not be used in a powerlifting meet. If you want to use your belt in powerlifting and want it from Rogue you need to opt for the
13mm version or the
lever belt. For small lifters or for Olympic weightlifting it might be too cumbersome to use.
Alternatives to the Ohio lifting belt
Rogue Faded 4 Pioneer Lifting belt
The Rogue faded 4'' Pioneer lifting belt delivers a unique cut which enables lifters to adjust in smaller increments. You can get this belt from Rogue at 135$. This review was originally published in my article "Which belt to buy from Rogue" which runs through all options.
Overview of the faded belt
This
Rogue branded belt from Pioneer is made in the US and comes in brown. At the edges, the brown fades to a black. The leather belt is 8.5mm thick and made of vegetable tanned leather. It closes with a buckle. The loop is Rogue branded. What is
special about this belt is the Pioneer Cut. The holes on
this belt run in two parallel lines which enables the lifter to adjust the belt in 0.5'' increments instead of 1.0''. This makes getting it on and off a lot easier. The buckle itself is a single prong.
Pros of the faded belt
This belt is a great option for smaller lifters who have struggled with adjusting belts to their ideal size. It can also be a great option for bigger lifters who change their weight a lot and go on cuts. Bodybuilders might also like the challenge of trying to get to the next whole down in their squat sessions when preparing for a meet.
With 8.5mm thickness this belt is less aggressive than the 13mm alternatives and can there also be used for Olympic weightlifting.
Cons of the faded belt
The price is still on the higher end for a belt. Special ideas like the double holes usually come at a special price. This belt is also somewhere in the middle between an
Olympic weightlifting belt and a
powerlifting belt. You will pay a high price and be left with an all-purpose belt which you could also have gotten for $20 less. If you see no value in the double holes for you, you might want to pick up something else. The inside of this belt is also a bit more slippy than other options.
Alternatives to the faded belt
A very good alternative to the faded belt is the
Rogue Ohio lifting belt. This is the middle of the range and middle priced option that fits all purposes. If you are a Crossfitter you might also want to consider the
Ohio Oly belt. This belt has a bit of leather cut out in the front to make the snatch and clean and jerk easier to perform.