Belt necessity and belt position

[Rip2024]

I bought the 3" Starting Strength belt and just received it last week. Nice piece of equipment. I am fairly new to using a belt and have a couple questions.

1. I don't feel that I need it yet, as I am able to properly brace, remain tight, and am in no pain during or after training. Current squat is 245 x 5 x 3 at 5'7" and 180 lbs. Am I shortchanging myself if I keep training without the belt as long as I can? Are there many people with 350+ lb squats who don't use a belt? At heavier weights, all else equal, am I more prone to injure myself by not using a belt compared to using a belt?

2. I am able to use the belt comfortably for deadlifts by wearing it higher up, but when squatting, the sweet spot for me seems to be below my "gut" which means I wear the belt slightly below my belly button. I have a very short torso and wearing it higher up, say centered at my belly button, tends to dig into my lowest ribs a little bit. If I wear the belt low, I still feel like I get a good brace, but the pressure of the belt is obviously felt lower, which seems fine to me. Is there any reason why this is a bad idea? Hernias, a bad cue, or something else that I may not be considering?

[Mark Rippetoe]

How old are you, and have you had any back injuries?

[Rip2024]

How old are you, and have you had any back injuries?

Thanks for your reply and sorry for my late response. I am 36 and have had no major injuries to my back or otherwise. I had double inguinal hernia surgery as a 4 year old. I doubt that's relevant, but figured I'd mention it.