Honest Review over a two week test: I have switched over all of my white tail, waterfowl, and upland gear over to FirstLite products over the last five years and have probably 40-50 items from First Lite. These suspenders are the only item I would give a 2 Star review. I used these suspenders on my 308 brush pants during a 14 day upland bird hunting trip in Minnesota and Montana. Initially, I was very pleased with how light weight they are and the ease of use with the two point connect. However, as my trip progressed I identified a short coming of these suspenders. Unlike many other suspenders that have a pinch locking style adjustment buckle, these adjustment buckles slide up and down similar to most gear straps. This wouldn’t be an issue if the suspender did not have elasticity build inside the webbing. The suspenders have the built in elasticity and as you move around, hike, sit up and down, etc, the suspenders expand and contract as they’re designed to do, but because of the built in elasticity, slowly but surely the adjustment buckle slides to a less tension/neutral state. To give them the benefit of the doubt, I decided to make a small chalk line on the suspenders above the adjustment buckle and had set the suspenders height to be just mildly under tension. After approximately 1 hour of upland hunting, I found the buckle had slid down approximately 1 inch. After about 3 hours, the buckle slid down approximately 2 inches and the suspenders were no longer under tension in a normal standing/resting position which allowed the pants to rest on my waist at a height normal to wearing pants without suspenders. During the 14 day trip, I found myself adjusting the height of the suspenders anywhere from 1-4 times a day. I think if First Lite upgraded the sliding adjustment buckle to have a snap style locking mechanism, the height adjustment buckle would remain in a predetermined spot and would make a great set of lightweight, easy to use, and low maintenance suspender. Unfortunately, the suspenders do not have this style of locking buckle which will require you to regularly adjust the height depending on the length of use.
Long story short (in my opinion): if you plan to use these suspenders for short hunts, they will be fine. But if you plan to use them for an extended period of time, you can expect to make regular height adjustments as the buckle slowly slides to a neutral tension state of rest.
