A little history for you: The very first buckles started off on ancient battlefields, utilizing a new concept to secure helmets to soldiers' heads. Later, the commonly recognized "frame and prong" was applied to the waistline. Variations have since been made to the belt and buckle, however, there have been no real improvements for hundreds of years. That's where they come in. They have done a study to estimate how much time per year is wasted on buckling typical prong and hook style belts and the results were amazing.