The cartridge belt that served in WWI once again found service in WWII. The M-1910 version had ten pockets with tapered ends and brass fittings. They were made to hold two 5-round stripper clips in each pocket, for a total of 100 rounds per soldier. However, once supplies of the M-1910 belt were exhausted, the Army churned out the M-1923 version.
The M-1923 belt showed little change in the design of its predecessor. In fact, they had skimped on some portions in order to make the belt cost effective and easier to produce. Instead of brass, they used cast metal fittings. They also made the pockets flat instead of tapering, as they were now accommodating the new M-1 Garand en bloc clip, allowing a soldier to carry 80 rounds in the belt.
All the belts were a khaki or olive drab #3 color. When the US entered the war and there was a need to increase the amount of contractors, regulating dye lots that each manufacturer used was difficult. Thus, some OD canvas looks a little different than another's OD canvas. All the fittings and snaps, such as the Lift The Dot (LTD) snaps, were painted in a non-reflective black.
Belts in good condition can sometimes be difficult to find. Most of them will have a bit (or a lot) of corrosion in the metal or tears in the canvas. That's okay. Most important is trying to find a good color match. Pretty much any color you find will be okay for use. However, the darker green they are, the more you're going to feel out of place at earlier war events. It's usually not a problem, but the khaki or OD #3 colored belts looks more correct for, well, any event. So, try and land one of those. If you can't, and you keep seeing that OD #7 greener belt, that's a decent solution until you can get one that looks better.
There are a lot of reproductions done on these belts. For the most part, they look okay for reenacting (a keen eye usually spots that they are almost too khaki and the metal fittings look a little off). However, the addage "they don't make'em like they used to" couldn't be more true. After a couple of years of heavy reenacting (and I mean running around and getting dirty), the rivets and buttons tend to give out because the metal isn't of the same quality. Some repro belts are better than others, but none will hold up as well as an original, even after 60+ years. So, we recommend you hold out for an original belt before going repro. Remember, all your equipment suspends and hooks in to this item. Plus, you're constantly reaching in, snapping and unsnapping, to get those needed clips of ammunition. Basically, the belt is going to go through a lot of wear and tear each battle, probably more than anything else in your kit, save for your boots. If money is an issue and you need a quick fix to get you fielded, repro isn't a bad way to go. But, for longevity, we recommend holding out for an original.
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