A Product and Comapny Review of Perry Suspenders, Made in USA

I recently ordered two pairs of Perry Suspenders from www.perrysuspenders.com. One pair is "safety orange" with a one inch wide reflective stripe right down the middle, and was purchased for use when bike riding or anywhere high visibility is necessary. The second pair is black with 1.5 inch diameter color copies of the US Navy Seal imprinted along the exposed side of the material.

Although I didn't notice the location of manufacture on their website I was very pleased to note on arrival of the package that both pair of suspenders were made in the USA, and a statement reflecting that is embossed on the gusset at the back of the suspenders.

The suspenders are well made and light weight, and the basic "Y" shaped design which has three anchor points is more comfortable to wear than the usually-seen "X" shaped design that attaches to four separate points of the wearer's trousers. The really unique part of the design is the attachment hardware. In place of the usual lightweight metal and plastic clamps, Perry Suspenders uses a wide plastic hook that fastens to the wearer's belt.

As with any innovation, the fastener design has both pros & cons. The patented fastening device (United States Patent 5623735) hooks very easily onto the wearer's belt which permits the belt to hold up the trousers. This feature is much more comfortable than the four point anchoring used by most suspenders styles which, if not spaced evenly, shifts the weight of the pant so they don't sit evenly at the waist.

On the down side, easy on results in easy off. The belt hook, although apparently quite sturdy, is a bit too small and, by the same design feature that permits easy fastening to a belt, just as easily permits the fastener to slip off. Unlike the positive snaps found on other style of suspenders where, if one snap becomes unfastened the remainder stays on, the Perry design tends to lose all anchor points any time any single belt hook drops. This irritating trait is displayed during repeated bending, removing the suspenders from shoulders if the wearer wants to add or remove a shirt during wear, or any time the trousers are unfastened for the call of nature.

Perry Suspenders online ordering is easy and secure. The company uses Yahoo Stores for their online presence which provides easy navigation. Shipping/handling fees were not exorbitant, but even using US Postal Service Priority mail the suspenders were not received until 6 days after ordering. Because Decatur, Illinois is only a few hours' drive from my home near St Louis, MO, this was a bit disappointing.

Perry Suspenders provides a unique product made in the USA. With a few changes in design it could become a great product. Because their poor treatment of their customers after the sale needs even more attention and improvement than the product, Perry Suspenders earns only a D grade.