Indestructible Belt

The strap is made from VECTRAN™, which might sound like a weird super villain, but is actually one of the most high performance materials ever created. A multi-filament liquid crystal polymer fibre first developed to withstand the stresses of extra-terrestrial travel, NASA first used it in the airbag landing system of the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft. Then they used it in the bags that protected the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers as they slammed on to the surface of Mars. It can not only take hits at extreme speeds. It can do it while maintaining its shape, integrity and stopping power in the deep freeze of space.

VECTRAN™ fibre belongs to a rare class of materials known as thermotropic liquid crystal polymers, a type of high-performance fibre formed from aromatic polyesters. These fibres are created through melt spinning – a process where the polymer is heated until it flows, so it can be extruded through microscopic nozzles and rapidly cooled. As it solidifies, its molecules naturally align into an extraordinarily ordered structure known as a liquid crystal phase. This alignment is what gives VECTRAN™ fibre exceptional mechanical properties. 

VECTRAN™ fibre combines the tensile strength of steel with the flexibility of synthetic fabric. The liquid crystal structure creates a dense mesh of intermolecular bonds that resist tearing, stretching, slashing, and heat. And thanks to its thermally stable architecture, it maintains these properties under extreme temperature swings.

VECTRAN™ fibre doesn't just survive space. It was built for it. It is now being used in the walls of Sierra Space’s LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environments) habitat, an inflatable space station designed for extended missions in orbit and future outposts on the Moon and Mars. As the habitat inflates, the VECTRAN™ fibre weave becomes tighter and stronger, locking into a structure tougher than steel. It’s already passed brutal space-readiness trials – from ultraviolet bombardment to ultimate burst pressure tests exceeding NASA standards.

The strap resists almost everything. VECTRAN™ fibre is flame retardant and only decomposes above 400°C and stays strong at -60°C. In tests it withstood cutting, slashing, puncturing and abrasion for far longer than conventional fibres. And its performance actually improves in the cold. During Mars missions, it showed increased strength as temperatures dropped. It’s so stable, in fact, that it’s being tested in prototype spacesuits for NASA’s Artemis III mission to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole where nighttime temperatures reach -193°C.

When you’re building an Indestructible Belt it’s not enough for just the strap to be super strong. The buckle has to do its job too. So we’ve worked with AustriAlpin to fit our belt with their world-famous COBRA® buckle, the strongest and safest buckle on the planet. To get an idea of just how trusted these buckles are you just need to look at Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic, world-record freefall from space. His was attached to the pressure suit that kept him alive as he fell through the atmosphere at 1,357kmph.

Built from a high-strength aluminium the buckle is designed to hold extreme weight without bursting open. It’s engineered with a patented locking mechanism which means it’s impossible for the buckle to release under tension, even if you try pushing the clips inwards. And when it’s in ‘loop configuration’, which means with the strap attached, it can withstand 18 kilonewtons of force before breaking. Which is about 1.8 tonnes.

COBRA® buckles are born out of the twin traditions of metalworking and mountaineering in the Tyrolean Alps. Back in 1996 AustriAlpin was started with the aim of developing and producing unbreakable components for mountaineers and ice climbers. Now their products represent the gold standard in safety hardware for high-consequence industries around the world – industries where if your kit fails, you die. To this day every COBRA® buckle is manufactured in the Alpine town of Fulpmes.

Despite its extreme strength, the belt weighs just 126 grams. That’s thanks to the lightweight VECTRAN™ fibre strap and aluminium hardware. VECTRAN™ fibre is not only stronger than steel, it’s also many times lighter. Which is why it’s the fibre being used in future space stations and low-Earth orbit habitats.

The buckle comes with a cut-out on the back to prevent the build-up of dirt, dust, ice and snow, and the release clips are ergonomically shaped so they’re easy to use at speed. The metal end on the strap is made by Riri, an historic Italian manufacturer famous for its high-spec metal components. It comes engraved with Vollebak detailing on both sides. And while belt ends are typically just clamped onto the strap, we’ve secured ours with screws for strength. Every belt is assembled by a small, high-end belt manufacturer in London.

The thread we’ve used to construct the belt is made from Nylbond™, a high tenacity bonded nylon. Nylbond™ maintains consistent tensile strength across the entire thread, meaning your seams won’t weaken at stress points. And just like the strap it’s extremely strong and resistant to heat and flames. The connection between the strap and the belt is critical. So where the two parts meet we’ve double folded the strap, so there are three layers of it. Then finally we stitch it down with 12 rows of ultra strong Nylbond™ thread.

The belt comes in its own custom case, built from anodised aluminium 6082T6, a corrosion resistant metal often used for high stress engineering applications like building bridges and cranes. The case is milled with a highly precise 5 axis CNC (Computer Numerical Control) milling machine, and is fitted with a hidden 3D-printed latch made from Nylon PA12.