OT - Best Fabric Watch Strap

[CDollarsign]

Looking to get my explorer off the metal band for the summer time. I sweat. A lot. Ideally I’d like to get a spare strap from someone with a Tudor black bay but they’re pretty pricey. Not really sure if I want a cheap nato...

So. Who makes the best?

[Tickdoc]

Marathon Zulu. Bulletproof, comfy, cheap, tons of colors and options. I throw them in the dishwasher when they need it.

https://countycomm.com/collections/watch-bands

[false_Aest]

There's a whole thread on watch straps on Velocipede Salon.

[jasonification]

Perlon watch straps by Eulit are pretty dang cool. I particularly like the double weave

[Louis]

here's one option

https://www.bartonwatchbands.com/col...se-watch-bands

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by CDollarsign

Looking to get my explorer off the metal band for the summer time. I sweat. A lot. Ideally I’d like to get a spare strap from someone with a Tudor black bay but they’re pretty pricey. Not really sure if I want a cheap nato...

So. Who makes the best?

If you're looking for a Nato-type strap, the most comfortable one I've tried is the polyamide nylon straps from Omega. But, they're VERY pricey.

The Tudor Natos are quite nice as well and just as costly if not more, but they have a rougher texture as opposed to the seatbelt-like feel of the polyamide Omegas.

There are some other makers out there who have their own Omega-like straps with the softer and smoother finish. Blushark, Phenomenato, Gnomen, Watchgecko, Cincy, etc etc. The closest I've seen to the fit and finish is the Phenomenato but it's still not as nice as Omega. But at 1/4th the price it doesn't have to be.

The seatbelt straps from Cheapest Nato Straps aren't as nice as those mentioned before, but you can them for roughly $8 each so you can play around with different looks and maybe splurge later.

Just to note - wearing a nato strap will most likely feel a bit hotter and make you sweat more than the metal band. If you can handle the bling factor a mesh bracelet is the way to go for summer comfort.

[FlashUNC]

Erika's MN Strap.

[CDollarsign]

Originally Posted by false_Aest

There's a whole thread on watch straps on Velocipede Salon.

Link? I don’t go there

[Louis]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Erika's MN Strap.

I've never been able to get her web site to work for me, so I ended getting one from here:

https://www.thewatchsteward.com/

I think I got an e-mail from Cheapesnatostraps saying that they now carried "paratrooper" elastic straps. As for their NATO stuff it certainly isn't premium but probably good enough to experiment with.

[jghall]

A fan of the sail cloth stuff out there. Like better than NATO bands. Above and beyond the normal places, some links already provided, you find quite nice stuff from entrepreneurs on places like etsy, etc.

Agree that NATO seems hotter to than leather, bracelets, etc.

Good luck.

[-dustin]

Just recently put the bracelet back on my Pelagos, having realized that Natos are oddly hot in summer. I’d like to get something not metal, but I’ve had ****ty luck with straps.

Big fan of Toxic and Blushark, however. Just wish there was something else...canvas, sailcloth...something that was, without question, good. And not a Nato.

[Louis]

I'm surprised by this talk of "NATO straps are hot."

I have a variety of NATOs on different watches, and bracelets and leather straps, and haven't noticed one bit of a difference between them. Think of the total surface area covered by that strap/bracelet it's minuscule. Believe me, it's hot and humid in St Louis, and if a strap made things worse for me I would notice.

You guys have been hanging out with this princess a bit too much:

[Tickdoc]

Originally Posted by jghall

A fan of the sail cloth stuff out there. Like better than NATO bands. Above and beyond the normal places, some links already provided, you find quite nice stuff from entrepreneurs on places like etsy, etc.

Agree that NATO seems hotter to than leather, bracelets, etc.

Good luck.

Go tropic then. A little pricey I guess but comfy and cool.



Still a big fan of natos here. I’ve got about a hundred of them from back when I did watches. Everything from 16-22 mm natos, milspec, Zulu’s, two piece, leather natos, vintage, you name it. I don’t find them hot at all.

[choke]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Marathon Zulu. Bulletproof, comfy, cheap, tons of colors and options. I throw them in the dishwasher when they need it.

https://countycomm.com/collections/watch-bands

The "Mil Series" ones are my all time favorite.

[-dustin]

Originally Posted by Louis

I'm surprised by this talk of "NATO straps are hot."

I have a variety of NATOs on different watches, and bracelets and leather straps, and haven't noticed one bit of a difference between them. Think of the total surface area covered by that strap/bracelet it's minuscule. Believe me, it's hot and humid in St Louis, and if a strap made things worse for me I would notice.

for me, it's the fact that once you start sweating, they stick. i mistakenly wore mine in the pits at Tulsa Tough. rubber is the same, but worse.

maybe your wrists are just burly and insensitive.