Patent ID: 8235173

Claim:
A belt system comprising: a waistband having opposing first and second ends; a quick release buckle comprising male and female buckle components carried on the first and second ends of the waistband respectively and releasably engageable together in a snap fit to provide a first closure of the waistband; first and second leg loops; first and second support straps each projecting from a respective one of the first and second leg loops; first and second waistband loops provided on the waistband proximate the first and second ends thereof; a connection loop provided on each support strap and spaced from the respective leg loop; a linking member having opposite ends thereof fixed directly to the first and second support straps, respectively, at positions on said support straps that are spaced from the first and second leg loops along said support straps; the first and second support straps being upwardly insertable into the first and second waistband loops to selectively pass the connection loops upwardly through the waistband loops into in-use positions thereabove such that selective coupling together of the connection loops when in the in-use position establishes releasable engagement of the first and second support straps to one another and to the waistband, and the first and second support straps also being downwardly retractable from the first and second waistband loops for withdrawal of the connection loops downwardly through the waistband loops from the in-use position to reposition the connection loops below the waistband loops and disengage the support straps form the waistband; whereby the first and second support straps are arranged for releasable engagement to the waistband and releasable engagement to one another so that a connection provided between the first and second support straps by the selective coupling together thereof when in the in-use positions acts to provide a second closure of the waistband so that the waistband remains closed by the connection between the first and second support straps if the male and female buckle components are inadvertently disengaged from one another; and wherein the linking member is positioned to lie below the waistband loops when the first and second support straps extend upwardly through the waistband loops.