OT - Best Fabric Watch Strap

[yinzerniner]

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.

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

Really depends on personal preference, but I think the gist of it is comparisons make the differences more pronounced.

For example, going from bracelet to leather strap to nato to normal rubber strap, you probably won't notice that much of a difference in heat or sweat level since they're all solid straps without much airflow. But if you try on a good mesh or an Isofrane when it's hot outside and then go back to the options above you'll definitely be able to notice the change. Even when golfing or doing yardwork I've never had the dreaded "swamp wrist" when wearing my Omega Mesh or Isofrane. Can't say the same when wearing a nato, normal strap or bracelet.

[AngryScientist]

i prefer "2 piece" NATO straps, since they keep the bulk down. one of the nicest one's i've used came on what was called Suunto's essential line of watches. Basically an upscale version of their Core series:



ultimately though, they all get nasty. the absorb sweat, salt and the oils from your skin and degrade from there.

my daily driver now is the "beads of rice" bracelet and it's quite nice from a comfort and breathability standpoint.

[Bentley]

I agree that metal mesh bands are generally cool and do well if you just want to leave your watch on when you shower, similarly the NATO bands are very cool as well. Overall, I would say the NATO's are better because they dont get heated up when you are in bright sun. But... I am currently wearing a fabric Apple watch band, basically a velcro watch band. This band is bulletproof and comfortable, you can buy "generics" on Amazon, what I dont know if they are available for regular watches.

I will add the following, Etsy has an incredible variety of watch bands, a good number are customizable.

Best

Ray

[benb]

I gotta find one to put on my watch if NATO straps are comfy and adjust well.

I worse metal bracelets for 20 years and found them comfy. Don't have one at the moment, I have a watch that came with some kind of nylon band that had holes in it just like a leather strap. It was really rough and abrasive and of course the holes were not in the right place. Really annoying to have the watch going all over the place after years of a perfectly adjusted bracelet.

I replaced the nylon strap with a leather one but still non of the holes are in the right place.

I basically stopped wearing a watch because it annoys me so much. Stuff like the watch sliding down to the position in AngryScientist's picture of the turquoise faced diver drives me nuts.. if I'm doing anything with my hands that position will eventually make my wrist hurt.

Now I'm in the position where I miss having a watch but don't want to spend the money cause I stopped wearing one.

The watch I have now is kind of "vintage military styled" so the nato strap would probably work.

I wore a Ti case/Ti bracelet Citizen for like 10 years and wore it all the time even biking, never found it hot even in the sun when biking, etc.. Ti stuff seems more expensive now even in a Citizen, Seiko, etc.. and after years of wearing a Ti one the stainless steel ones seem ridiculously heavy.

[C40_guy]

I've bought a couple of two piece NATO watch straps for my Garmin Fenix 5 from DalucaStraps.

Good quality straps, lots of size and color options, great customer service.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

...my daily driver now is the "beads of rice" bracelet and it's quite nice from a comfort and breathability standpoint.

Nice Doxa....

I prefer Zulus over NATOs (oval vs rectangular buckles)....between brands, they all pretty much look the same.

Amazon has hundreds of styles...most under $20

[benb]

Just ordered myself a 20mm minimalist olive green strap from the Watch Steward, thanks for the link.

It looks like the same color my watch came with, maybe it'll work and I'll be a watch wearer again if the fine adjust gets the job done.

I've worn a watch every day for the bulk of my life, I stopped in 2016. Still every time I pull out my smartphone to check the time it's annoying.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by benb

Just ordered myself a 20mm minimalist olive green strap from the Watch Steward, thanks for the link.

It looks like the same color my watch came with, maybe it'll work and I'll be a watch wearer again if the fine adjust gets the job done.

I've worn a watch every day for the bulk of my life, I stopped in 2016. Still every time I pull out my smartphone to check the time it's annoying.

The good thing about those types of straps is they flex a bit more than Natos or Zulus, so a single position has more variability in actual wrist fit and comfort. However with the flex sometimes heavy watch heads can feel a bit unwieldy - like having a loose heavy saddle bag mounted.

As for Zulus or Natos - generally Zulus have the ovalized hardware and are single layer, as opposed to the double layer of Natos. As such Zulus tend to have slightly thicker material than Natos but not always, really depends on the manufacturer.

But if you're OK with the bracelet on your watch other than the fit then a glidelock, seiko MM300 or similar ratcheting fit mechanism could be the fix. With some of the nicer systems you get 1-1.5mm of adjustment per position, which is roughly the amount of swelling a wrist undergoes depending on temperature and activity.

[benb]

Yah the actual watch is not very big.

I don't have huge wrists, the whole "giant watch" thing totally doesn't work for me. They're almost comical these days.

The minimalist strap seems closer to a Zulu in that it doesn't run a part of the strap under the back of the watch case.

[yngpunk]

If you're willing to consider leather, check out Crown & Buckle. They have a selection of American made two piece and nato straps in horween chromexcel as well as shell cordovan

[-dustin]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

I've bought a couple of two piece NATO watch straps for my Garmin Fenix 5 from DalucaStraps.

Good quality straps, lots of size and color options, great customer service.

Daluca is really nice...I was surprised. And no spring bars to break, if you're concerned about that.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by -dustin

And no spring bars to break, if you're concerned about that.

how do you figure that dustin?

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by yngpunk

If you're willing to consider leather, check out Crown & Buckle. They have a selection of American made two piece and nato straps in horween chromexcel as well as shell cordovan

If you're having trouble with sweat and/or heat then I can't think of a worse material than chromexcel or horween. They're very, very nice leathers but IMO not best suited for straps as their oily nature doesn't breathe well at all. They shape to the wrist like none other, but that only exacerbates how little air gets to the wrist.

Crown and Buckle have excellent selection and service but I've never been impressed with their quality. Some of the other offerings on large retailers like Holbens or smaller places like BandR bands are better price/performance wise.

Still the best leather straps out there are made by John Paul Menicucci, or JPM. But you pay for quality.

[-dustin]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

how do you figure that dustin?

if you go down the rabbit hole of looking at Natos, you'll find some folks consider a true Nato to not have a spring bar at the buckle. the 3 Dalucas I have are like that. but now i see just how expansive their lineup is. i've gotten mine off of Amazon...didn't realize they had so many straps available.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by -dustin

if you go down the rabbit hole of looking at Natos, you'll find some folks consider a true Nato to not have a spring bar at the buckle. the 3 Dalucas I have are like that. but now i see just how expansive their lineup is. i've gotten mine off of Amazon...didn't realize they had so many straps available.

oh, i see what you mean. at the buckle. obviously you still need spring bars at the watch lugs for traditionally cased watches.