I discovered the same thing with two "steel" internal stiffener belts of both leather thickness options I believe the brands are bigfoot/allen (still very good thick belts, about half the price, with better roller-buckles) but neither was as supportive as my Velcro Lined | Kydex Reinforced Contour | Comp-Tac Belt with, I believe it is kydex inside that I wore since 2008 (but the steel belted thick ones with roller buckles are cheaper, just not quite as supportive, but close)internal stiffener is extremely thin
I'm anxious to see what happens at the courthouse metal detector with the steel insert reinforced belts ...