[Maple Flag]

Here's a trick I came up with while cutting some smaller sized Ranger bands. Haven't seen it done before, so I thought I'd share.

Cut a section of inner tube with a circumference of about 3/4 the circumference of the female side release buckle you want to cover, and a length equal to the length of the buckle without the strap portion (see photo).

Pull it onto the female side of the buckle. It should be tight and hard to stretch over for best effectiveness.

8 Benefits:

1. Reduces buckle shine and can be spray painted before (or after) applying if wanted

2. Eliminates rattle of loose male/female buckle connections

3. More grippy for releasing buckles with wet fingers and buckles

4. Deadens sound when fastening buckles from a loud "snap" to a quiet "click"

5. Deadens sound of things hitting or scraping against hard plastic (ie: on two inch side release belt buckle when prone on a hard rock surface, foliage striking ruck buckles when moving through bush, etc.)

6. May provide some additional impact resistance to buckles

7. Ready supply of fuel (inner tube) in tough fire lighting conditions

8. Ready supply of ranger band material if needed (remove from buckle and cut to size as needed)