We take a deeper look into Artem’s sailcloth strap to see what all the fuss is about…
We take a closer look at RubberB straps and see how they wear over time.
Small changes add up to a big improvement as we look at Vanguard’s improved ‘MK2’ strap
Earlier this year we wrote an article calling out the issues with traditional NATO watch straps – namely that they add unnecessary bulk to a watch as well as lifting it further away from your wrist. We were quite surprised by quantity of positive feedback on the article. It seems that we were not alone in our views and one UK Company ‘Haveston’ have continued to innovate, evolving the design and implementation of the humble NATO strap without losing its two principal benefits – the ease of which you can change a strap and the added security ensuring you don’t lose your watch if a spring bar fails. We contacted Haveston to take a look at their A2-Single pass layout straps, and Alex kindly sent us a selection. The design of the A2-single pass layout straps has evolved the humble NATO into a truly modern strap. Firstly, the lack of…
Over the last decade, more and more watch companies are supplying rubber watch straps and with good reason. Once chunky rubber straps were the staple necessity for a divers watch, however as technology, manufacturing processes and design and all have improved, rubber is no longer the cheap offering but a practical and luxurious alternative. With the hot weather upon us, a good rubber strap can be a life saver. Unlike canvas and leather straps, rubber straps are far more resilient to wear and tear. There is an inherent amount of give in a rubber that helps maintain its comfort as your wrist expands in the heat and in addition, it’s not made of a porous material, it doesn’t absorb sweat or other liquids. What follows is in our view the most comprehensive look at rubber straps we think anyone has ever done. We have covered a plethora of price points…
Over the years I have had many interesting conversations with people who extoll the virtues of NATO straps, however its amazing how many people simple regurgitate what they have been told. While its true that by the inherent design of a NATO strap it secures the watch by passing a single piece of material through both spring bars, the additional piece of material behind it is simply not necessary and serves no useful purpose on a modern watch. The idea of a NATO is that in the event of a single spring bar failure, the whole watch doesn’t fall of your wrist but the strap remains attached to your arm, and the watch head will still be there attached by the remaining single spring bar – and while this is not ideal, it means you haven’t damaged your watch by if falling off your wrist or worse still lost it…