Group Test - 'Marine Nationale' one-piece elasticated straps: Erika's Originals vs Nick Mankey vs Watch Steward vs Hawkrigger vs Cheapestnatostraps vs generic!
Straps matter, and making finding the right one for you amidst a welter of choice isn't easy. Marine Nationale ('MN') style elasticated webbing straps offer comfort and convenience across a range of prices. The look is casual, and the options many. They pair well with tool-watches and divers, or offer contrast to dressier models.
Their relatively thin fabric is breathable, suits warmer climates, yet withstands getting wet repeatedly. Being elasticated with sliding buckles they are infinitely adjustable, aiding comfort. They also tend to hold your watch firmly in place by spreading their grip evenly across the whole surface of your wrist. This means even heavy watch-bodies feel secure on properly adjusted MNs, yet the straps add negligible weight of their own.
Downsides are minor: they can become grimy, but being fabric, they can also be thrown in the wash and quickly look like new again. Some people fret that the stretchy webbing could become snagged and pulled from your wrist; this unlikely scenario requires extreme activities and is anyway surely preferable to a broken wrist?!
There are two main ways to wear an MN strap: NATO-style, with a strip of fabric around the wrist plus another through the spring-bars, or double-looped around the wrist with no fabric between watch and wrist. (picture below)
NATO-style pass-thru is most secure: so if one spring-bar detaches, the watch stays attached to your wrist by the other; the downside is that it increases the height of the watch, and can also trap fine grit which may abrade the watch back.
Double-looped allows the watch to sit closer to the wrist and gives a more balanced look - both beneficial if you have a tall watch. It does require a slightly longer length of elasticated webbing, which may be why not all manufacturers offer straps with this feature. I've focussed more on this here as it's my own wearing-preference.
There's an understandable tendency to believe that all things that look similar probably originate from the same mega-factories in China. This is clearly not the case when you get to handle a variety of these straps. They all look superficially similar, but quality of choice, materials, manufacture, finishing, packaging and user support all differ markedly in practice. This means there is some logical correlation between price and quality, albeit the first tends to increase exponentially, while the second increases more linearly!
In this review, two or more examples of each strap type was ordered and worn on a variety of diver's watches, chronographs and field watches over a period of weeks.
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ERIKA'S ORIGINALS 'MN' - €75,00 + €5,00 shipping
website: https://erikasoriginals.com/
- Over ~120 strap colour + stripe options!
- 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24mm width options (depending on colour range).
- 27 stitch colours.
- 3 stainless-steel hardware finishes, plus 1 black PVD and 1 solid bronze finish.
PROS:
Tougher and more strongly elasticated webbing than the alternatives.
Excellent stitching - thicker and neater than others.
VERY wide choice of designs, plus bespoke stitch customisability, flags can be embroidered, webbing printed, and different buckles selected - and those can be engraved!
Made to order to fit your wrist size.
Fairly quick turnaround (16 days) for a bespoke product.
Colours are good - positive yet subtle where appropriate.
Webbing really is unique to EO.
Useful, super-simple installation guide.
Overall buying experience and packaging is good.
Packaging easily re-used or recycled.
Street-cred amongst watch-nerds.
Very easy to resell if you don't bond.
CONS:
VERY expensive (£70 / €80) for what it is.
A lot of variations are cost-extra despite the already high prices.
Metal fittings are rather crudely finished - stamped-out, with little machining and slightly crude finishing (blasted finish).
Hook scratched on arrival.
Latching the hook into the buckle is frustratingly difficult, harder than in cheap versions!
Too short to be worn as a double-loop. Supposedly possible to order suitable variants, but no info on website.
Wait time.
Ships from Bulgaria.
Website is OK, images are reasonable representations of the product, but navigation isn't obvious at first.
Overall, some good points, but these are something of a triumph of hyperbole over content. If I'd paid £35, I'd be satisfied, but at £70 I'm a little underwhelmed.
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NICK MANKEY - 'Hook Strap, Stainless Steel' - $34 ea + $16 shipping
website: https://nickmankeydesigns.com/
- 19 strap colour options.
- 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26mm width options.
- 24 stitch colour options.
- 3 stainless-steel hardware finishes, plus 1 black PVD.
PROS:
Designed to be worn as a double-loop - meaning no extra height beneath the watch head itself.
By some margin the thickest and best-finished metal hardware.
Softer fabric than other options, so if comfort is your #1 consideration, this is the strap for you.
Has a quality look.
Some customisability - length to suit different wrist-sizes, plus stitch colours and printing.
Offers a version suitable for fixed lug-bars.
Clear fitting instructions via website or QR.
Hand-made to-order.
Good, resealable packaging which can be re-used.
Ships with a spare set of adequate-quality spring bars.
Not-inexpensive, but value is very fair for a handmade bespoke product.
Website fairly straightforward and accurate.
Contributes towards C02 reduction scheme.
Easy to resell if you don't bond with it.
CONS:
The need to make a pull-thru loop of fabric to secure the hook makes putting-on a chore unless you keep it closed and just put the whole thing on over your hand.
Needs a greater number of colour choices - especially stripes.
Softer fabric may prove less durable over time.
Pricey shipping and potential for added charges from USA.
Currently (9/2022) an 8 week wait-time, but will soon be closing order books until Jan 2023!
( ^ NB: my pic makes that look bluer than it is ^ )
Overall, these are worth the wait if comfort and good looks really matter; understandably popular.
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WATCH STEWARD - 'Original Series' - $24.99 ea + $16.96 shipping
website: https://www.thewatchsteward.com/
- 4 main strap configurations.
- 21 colour options.
- 18, 20, 22, 24, 26mm width options.
- No stitch options.
- 2 hardware options - tumbled or black oxide, both with or without logo.
PROS:
The simplest double-loop design to install, adjust and wear.
Double-loop design means no extra thickness under the watch head.
'TDM' Fabric feels robust.
Custom-sizing makes for a good fit.
Hardware is well-designed and functionally good.
Wait-time not excessive despite shipping from the US.
Fitting instructions right there on the packaging.
Simple but effective packaging, easily reused or recycled.
Straightforward website.
While not-inexpensive, value for money vs. quality is probably the best of them all.
CONS:
Most colours don't actually have many width options.
Not much customisability.
Limited strap-colour options.
Hardware and webbing are both a little utilitarian - not necessarily a bad thing for this kind of strap.
Pricey shipping from USA.
Overall, probably the best all-round set of features vs. price.
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HAWKRIGGER - 'Calypso Riggerband' - £39.95 - shipping is free if spending >£60
website: https://hawkrigger.com/
- 5 colour options.
- 20, 22mm width options.
- No stitch options.
- 1 hardware option - matt stainless steel.
PROS:
If you like big, butch metal fittings - this is the one for you.
Hardware is very nicely finished.
Quality webbing strap, feels like it will wear well.
Caters to different wrist sizes.
UK based, so fairly quick turnaround if you're in the UK, and no extra border charges.
Decent website.
CONS:
If you DON'T like big, butch metal fittings - this is NOT the one for you!
Despite the large hardware, this is still a tad fiddly to secure.
Only customisable for wrist size.
Can only be worn single-pass - so adds extra height to watch head.
Rather limited colour options.
Not cheap - albeit reflected in the quality.
( ^ image © Hawkrigger ^ )
Overall, something different and well-made at a not-insane price.
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CNS & WATCH BANDS - formerly CHEAPESTNATOSTRAPS - 'Marine Nationale' - from $15.95 to $3.95 depending on sale - less 20% discount for orders of >5 items. Free shipping over $25.
website: https://cnswatchbands.com/
- 63 colour/pattern options.
- 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24mm width options (but only for the most popular colours).
- No stitch options.
- 3 hardware options - Stainless Steel, PVD black, or bronze.
PROS:
Prices vary from affordable to insanely cheap.
There is ALWAYS a sale on, DFS-style.
Big range.
Some unique and attractive designs.
Acceptable quality - fabric errs towards robustness so should wear OK, and hardware is finished quite well.
'Paratrooper' range offers an even more minimalist take on the theme.
CONS:
Cannot be worn double-looped, so adds height to watch head, which is not ideal for thicker watches.
Does not cater for different wrist sizes.
Hook does not center well in the buckle, leading to a sloppy wear.
Ships from Sweden, so potential to incur extra charges.
No customisability.
Packaging is non-existent - if you order multiple items they arrive jumbled together, so some potential for damage in-transit.
Overall, can be an absolute bargain, some interesting and unique designs, definitely the best budget option provided you don't want to double-loop!
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GENERIC CHINESE - ~£7 on ebay, £? on AliExpress
- ~12 colour options typically.
- 20, 22mm only, usually.
- No stitch options.
- SS hardware, and occasionally PVD options.
PROS:
May ship from a location near you...
Adequate.
Um...
CONS:
Probably doesn't ship from a location near you...
No customisation.
Sizing is a gamble - will it be too big? Or far too small...? The ones I ordered were too small...
No-name stuff is impossible to resell if you don't like them.
Why bother when CNS are so cheap? Or anything else is better?
Packaging non-existent.
No meaningful customer support.
( ^ look at its sad little face! ^ )
Overall, why bother? Your watch deserves better.
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And yes, there are other choices, and yes, none of the above are quite perfect - perfect would be Erika's choices, with Nick Mankey's look and feel, Watch Steward's implementation, Hawkrigger's robustness and CNS's prices! We can but dream!
And no, I got no freebies, I foolishly paid my own money for all of these...
-fin-
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