Reply With QuoteAs you're looking for quality and colour choice it has to be Gnomon - I'm sure others will be along in a minute to back me up.
David
Noticed at the weekend that my favourite NATO strap was starting to fray at the pin hole, which is disappointing since it hasn't been getting used all that much. So I was hoping to replace it with a much higher quality offering.
Does anyone have any suggestions for really good quality NATOs? I've seen Timefactors get good reviews, but their selection of colours is very small, and don't have the red and black combo I'm looking for.
As you're looking for quality and colour choice it has to be Gnomon - I'm sure others will be along in a minute to back me up.
David
Does anywhere in the UK sell these? Or is it buy from the US only?Originally Posted by TaketheCannoli
You have to get them through the website and they come from Hong Kong. Delivery is very quick and I've never had a customs. They come packed in a nice little Gnomon pouch that you can use for other things too. Well worth it, in fact you've prompted me to have a look to see what takes my fancy.
David
Dievas and Phoenix are my current favorites. Dievas has a good selection of colors as well.
Cheers, I tried them. If you buy two or more the shipping is free so it was worth a go.
Great, thanks! Will give them a try.
For me, Eddie's are my first choice for comfort and quality. They are a slightly different weave/colour to military issued NATOs but definitely superior in quality.
Lots of NATO goodness here also:
http://natostrapsco.com/
SGR
Judging by the price the best NATO straps in the world are those recently introduced by Omega.
This. Colours are a little, ahem, military, but the quality is second to none.
Nothing wrong with military colours. As they say, "A day out of uniform is a day wasted!"
Not overly keen on pink and yellow striped NATO's myself!
Hmm.... well it is for an Omega Seamaster so... how much?
Aren't NATO straps military straps?
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...=0#msg_6827025
They start at a mere 130 Euro....bargain.
I've tried a few of theirs. They appear great but are not so great in the quality department longer term - like a few days. The fabric is too soft and the holes not well sealed so they can come loose around the buckle pin. Now I don't expect this applies to all batches, or colours, all the time, but on the 3 I had from them that's the case.
The best quality NATO I've had in maybe 50 from 10 or more manufacturers is Eddies new grey NATO on new fittings.
Gray
As said before, Eddies are the best, Darlena make some really good quality Nato's, only 3 colours black, grey and khaki.
I have around 3 dozen nato straps from at least 10 different sellers. Timefactors are the best of the bunch but selection is limited. Monkeyswag and Strapcode offer decent straps. I found Gnomon straps substandard - way too thin for the keepers to hold the strap properly. It has been several years since I tried them so perhaps they have improved.
They are now really good quality and as good as anything else I've tried. I realise I must sound like a Fanboy and that wasn't my intention, especially as I don't even own one at the moment.
I would agree with the suggestions for Timefactors and Gnomon. Don't buy one of those £5.95 ones from eBay, they are bad quality and imo it isn't worth saving a few £ by getting one.
Right, I'll bump this thread as I've just received my order of NATOs from gnomon. I'm really impressed with the quality, its leagues above monkeyswag or cousins. I have always till now bought cheaper straps and thought they would all be the same. Which I now realise is rubbish. The gnomon are thicker, have better cut holes, better metalware and are clearly better quality over all. The cheaper straps always fray at the holes for me. I'm confident these won't.
Steve
Could you post some thoughts and photos sometime please, as i would like to see the quality of these straps.
Thanks.
I told you so!
Good news Steve! Thanks for reporting back on these.
I'm definitely planning to place an order for a few straps from them too.... just can't quite decide on what colours yet! :)
And a gratuitous shot of the new NATO on my skindiver
Steve
A handsome watch.
Looks great and suits the watch well.
Nice. It matches your nail varnish
Ha, they do look painted don't they! Weird, I feel like I should take my knickers off now.Nice. It matches your nail varnish
Barry, good question I'll do my best to answer. I can't do a lot with a camera so I'll explain instead.
I'm hard on my straps. I wear watches 24/7 and go to the gym a lot, do water sports, bath my kids etc and leave the watch on all the time. My best watch is my skindiver but its also my beater so the strap needs to be up to it.
I've always found that cheaper NATO straps have a 2 week honeymoon period and then start to fray and look tired, with fraying round the holes.
The gnomon is a thicker fabric which holds the watch more comfortably, and the cutting of the holes is clearly more defined. The spear of the buckle protrudes through the hole better, whereas cheaper straps tend to hide the spear.
I've always had a suspicion that NATO straps are mass produced and sold under the different brands whilst coming from the same factory. Like a true sad case I researched gnomon and found an article that explains they own their factory in Singapore.
And the difference is clear.
Go for it, you won't regret it.
Steve
Thanks for info.
Thanks Steve, ive had lots of makes over the years, but Eddies are the best that I've come across.The only issue I have with these is, I'm always between holes!
I knew nothing of this make, so just wanted some info, ive just been on the site amazing colour choice, just need to decide now and get some ordered.
Thanks.
Can I assume that was one of your Gnomon ones?And a gratuitous shot of the new NATO on my skindiver
Steve
I like it.
Lovely watch too although the adolescent in me couldn't live with the 'ballskin diver' name.
Thanks, yes it is one of the new gnomon NATO straps.
And yep, dear God, that bloody name. I never tell people the full title of the watch in conversation as they just laugh in my face!
What fresh hell is this?
Bit late but my favorite NATO straps come from Maratec. They standard have a longer strap which fits my wrist better.
That looks great!And a gratuitous shot of the new NATO on my skindiver
Steve
Isn't Gnomon out of Singapore? The shop that sells German's?
Thanks I'm really pleased with it.
That's right, the factory is in Singapore, they're supplied from Germany.
Last edited by hellominky; 14th August 2014 at 08:19.
mine still hasn't arrived yet, but hopefully by the weekend I'll get to have a look. Sounds promising so far.
my last order from phoenix was quite disapointing so I will probably have to try gnomon.... I noticed though that even better seller do have differences in quality quite often..
Have tried a few Nato's from Timefactors, Phoenix and Maratac and I much prefer the Maratac mainly because of the looks, feel and length of the straps. Too bad they can only be bought from the US (as far as I know).
Oh, I always found the timefactors ones great quality.
Maybe it's just me but the nylon feels a bit cheap to me. I know they are generally very high-rated, that's why I went with them. The weave of the nylon on the Maratac's are a bit finer and they look a bit less glossy.
Hi Steve
How long did Gnomon take to deliver?
Cheers
Dan
Has anybody tried these? http://www.watch-band-center.com/wat...0mm-gray-.html
I do like the hardware a lot.
How do the gnomon straps compare to timefactors in terms of thickness?
I've tried Phoenix, but they were too thin to stay in place under the keepers.
Timefactors are perfect, but the range is limited. Would love Eddie to produce more colours at the two main sizes: 20 and 22mm.
Thickness wise they're much thicker than Phoenix but slightly thinner than Eddie's. They really are excellent quality and the range is superb.
David
Not much choice in colour as there's 20 or 22mm,khaki, petrol blue or black [with either sandblasted or DLC rings] But the 22mm NATO straps I got from Orbis Morgan are some of the best quality NATO's I've owned
I ordered a few Gnomon natos yesterday. I'll let you know how I get on in terms of delivery timings and quality.
Ordered 20mm ones for my 1680 and 16660
Good man, please do keep us posted.
Waiting for mine too!
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