Back pain and associated ills are the leading cause of missed work by law enforcement professionals and 67% percent of these professionals in the United States and Canada suffer from muscular-skeletal pain that impacts the quality of their work.

The pain experienced is caused by many things from poor posture, to improperly allocated and unbalanced module and accessory weight.

Duty belts have changed little in the last 50years to help compensate for the pains associated with them. Although the duties of law professionals have evolved with changes in society and the nature of crime, the duty belt as a law enforcement tool has failed to keep up.

It's not unusual for a typical, fully equipped and loaded duty belt to weigh between 8 and 14 pounds. The average load in North America weighs 12.8 pounds. But as weight has increased the design and construction of the belt that carries it hasn't. Accessory weight, and body structure differences are partial reasons for the pains suffered by law professionals, but the design shortcomings of most of the duty belts on the market today serve a much harsher blow to the health and well-being of today's officers.

The biggest culprits: rigidity and creep.

The rigidity of the belt, or more precisely, the unnecessary rigidity of the duty belt, along with module movement or "creep" of the modules along the belt, is the major cause of duty belt discomfort. As the weight and number of accessories has increased over the years, the size and rigidity of the belt has increased. And the movement of the modules has lead to more adverse affects of kinetic linking.

Until now, an ergonomic strategy has never been a priority in combating these problems. Until now, the officers credo has been: functionality always trumps comfort. Until now, duty belt induced pain has been treated as the symptoms appear, instead of preventing them from appearing in the first place.

Until now, there hasn't been a Duckbill solution.