One of our brethren, Sylvanus, made suspenders in a criss-cross shape to deal with keeping his chausses up. A regular belt will cause all of the weight to drag on the hips and you will feel it after a little while. He devised the straps so that his shoulders would help bear some of the weight. You could also look into getting one of Pitbull Armory's C-belts...they have extra leather on the hips so that the weight distributes more evenly across that area instead of right on top of the pelvis. In fact, I just ordered one for my plate leg harness. You can email him: leiderandy@yahoo.com - he takes Paypal and his turaround times are pretty swift. I may even get mine in time for the first weekend of MDRF but if not, I'll go as a Templar or Crusader again. Yea...because I need an arming cotte too and I can't afford one just yet.