Where can I find a waistbelt that will fit on a 40 year old Freighter frame? I have the frame and the belt has always been bad. It's made of very slick nylon and I've never been able to keep the buckle from slipping. It's also over padded, like wearing 2" styrofoam around your waist.
It needs tabs for the pins with several grommets on each side.

A decent used one will work as I won't use it more than a few times and not for heavy hauling. I guess I'll have to start hitting yard sales to see what I can find.

RockChuck,

I just mentioned something about that last weekend on another thread. I know that REI had some variety of pack belts from various companies back when I was looking for options. The compatibility and attachment points would be the challenge across brands.
With my own external /freighter pack frame from a Jansport that is no longer in production, I plan to modify it or replace it. I have the buckles and foam.
The design and time to make it is the rest.
I think yard sales would be your best bet this time of year. If you check REI search function, maybe you'll turn up something that will work for your frame too.

I looked the REI site. Their descriptions are poor at best and photos non-existent. I don't know if any of theirs would fit a Freighter or not. The nearest store is 130 miles from here in Boise.

One more thing.
REI went downhill since I bought something from them many years ago. If they offer makes and models, you can at least know who makes what in aftermarket belt sales. Check makers websites and call for details. Nothing will likely be exact, but I've taken the seat belt off of my car, back seat where I rarely have passengers. Then sew it as needed to reinforce or modify existing packs. If you haven't thought about it, sometimes there's gear supplies for these things around so you don't have to spend all day buying a hundred yard roll of commercial only webbing, etc.
The foam I will use is tough and soft made for garage door seals. It will outlast me and hold up better than anything I can buy off shelf at the outfitters.

REI also went liberal - anti hunting, pro Biden, pro queers, the whole shot.

I make a lot of my own outdoor stuff. I have some 2" webbing. I might play around & see what I can come up with. I'm not going to be carrying over 30lb. If more weight is needed, I break out a llama or 2. That's what I have them for.

Barney‘s of Alaska.

Or eBay.

I won't argue with that. I last bought something there before I ever heard any of that and just going from memory, so I hope you don't expect an apology. It was the only place I could think of who sold replacement belts when I shopped around back in the day.
It had leads that you could follow up on factory direct if you wanted.

30#s?
If you aren't even carrying meat, then anything would work: https://www.toyboxtech.com/barbie-kids-backpack-pink/?

Nice link Crappy, that's exactly the pack I would expect you to have.

No. I like the sparkle one better. I don't need to wear so much blaze orange that way.

I wonder if the Hill People Gear "prairie belt" would adapt to your frame.

If you get back to this RockChuck,

I thought about your comment when I was looking for a boring web page to cure my insomnia.


https://zpacks.com/collections/backpacks

I'm not suggesting that you pay all that money to buy it.
I plan to make one or two for packs that will have them sewed on or laced through big brass grommets. If you go most of the way down the page past the packs, they have belts. They're black so you might have to brighten your monitor. Zoom in. In addition to the padded belt, you just need 4 ladder locks for adjusters (also go by tri-glides) and the center buckle. Webbing of course. With button thread it should be a fairly non technical project and hold up to the thirty pounds and up. If you need thread, I can recommend what I consider best after a lot of research. Plain old button thread should be good enough for thirty pound loads though. If you can order ITW Nexus ghillitex, the hardware will be plenty strong for one inch webbing.
This design gets very good reviews on backpacker forums.
Most everyone likes other forward pull tighten.

There's a similar design, but different placement at
https://backpackinglight.com/forums...m-review-bump-32-and-little-big-pack-36/
That's Dan Mchale, famous custom backpack designer. Everyone gives his rave reviews too. Not many buy them because of being so pricy though.
Link to original article near the top.

I think these links will provide two very good design choices.

Best regards,

Happy Backpacker

Chuck,

Last link.
I looked up REI and their catalog Has 14 examples of accessory belts. I'm not recommending you buy one there. It's just the one place that I know has them. There's better pics for a DIY design available.. I noticed that Osprey has that double web design now. They are known for comfort.

https://www.rei.com/c/hip-belts

If you made a way to connect to the freighter, the company might sell them factory to customer direct? Worth a call if any are of interest. I've read that the padding in the ospreys is better than the zpacks.

My frame is made to use pins through grommets. I'll probably have to do some adapting. Thx for the links.

I picked up a pack of extra large brass grommets at Holly Lobby.
I didn't try them though compressed closed cell foam yet , so I don't know if they would work through much more than heavy fabric .
You might try a leather supply company like tandy..and one more that I can't remember right now.
The strength of the base material would make the difference as would any plastic stiffener.

More than likely, you would need to use a hole punch through a piece of nylon webbing. Heat the raw edges. Heavy duty grommet.
Sew that with bar tac box stitch onto the belt. There are other designs that would work, but this method is simple and easy.
It only involves one extra step.

Tex 70 Nylon is the best thread by far if you plan to sew different bags to make the frame modular. It's only available on line, but is well worth the extra little cost and effort.