Personally I like a belt but I wear it only on my very top sets of deadlifts and squats , for that reason I go for a power-lifting style belt . As you want a belt as snug as possible those very popular padded models are worthless ,I feel if you're going to wear one it should be a decent one and a good belt will last you a lifetime .The top companies are Cardillo inc and INZER ADVANCE DESIGNS or something similar , being in Texas I know theres other companies in your area as it seems the powerlifting bad-lands .