Hi there
I do like the look of them though never purchased. Just wondered whether after 40 years or so they still remain waterproof or whether they’d degrade and crack over time?
There's been a couple of threads about these recently, so posting this just in case it's of interest.
I'm a bit of a fan and have been picking them up (mostly from eBay) over the last 4 or 5 years and have a reasonable collection of various types, colours and widths.
They're becoming increasingly difficult to find now, especially at a reasonable price. While there are a number of 'type', 'style' and 'identical to' versions available, there are also quite a few known suppliers and manufacturers now producing their own version. Most notably are the Synchron group who also have ISOfrane and Aquadive within their portfolio and have either retained or acquired the Tropic brand name. See this thread for links https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...e-TROPIC-strap
Back to the point; there's an HK company called Lobtime, who are also producing a strap with the Tropic logo (no doubt they'll be hearing from Synchron's lawyers soon). I picked one up, really to see whether we're likely to see lower cost alternatives masquerading as the real thing . I don't think there's anything to worry about, but hopefully the following comparison will prevent anyone from buying something that's not what it should be.
The red one's an original, the orange the copy.
The sizing and hole spacing are pretty identical.
The first differences don't picture too well; the copy is much more 'rubbery' and smells like an old school pencil eraser. It's certainly less pliable, but this is down to the thickness as well as the material. The texture on the copy is a a little more pronounced.
One of the real giveaways is the pronounced seam, both along the whole side and within the holes. Also, the original one tapers in thickness away from the spring bar hole, while copy is a lot more gradual and the copy spring bar hole appears to be a slightly smaller diameter.
The keeper is a lot thicker, again with a pronounced seam:
Other noticeable differences:
- The text is quite different - much smaller on the copy and a different font
- The copy is missing the product code (23320) under 'water proof' at the bottom of the non-buckle side and 'swiss made' on the buckle side
The copy has a generic SS buckle, the original seems to come with either INOX or ACIER branded versions (although the appearance of a generic buckle doesn't necessarily mean the strap isn't original).
Other versions that seem to get promoted as Tropic, but I'm not convinced they are, have either double keepers or a rounded keeper end.
This comparison is of the Tropic Sport (large hole) type; other versions are the 2000 type (slotted), Tropic Star (pinhole) and weave type (with either straight or curved ends). I'll pop some pictures of these up later.
Last edited by ed335d; 10th August 2019 at 13:21.
Hi there
I do like the look of them though never purchased. Just wondered whether after 40 years or so they still remain waterproof or whether they’d degrade and crack over time?
While I'd like to say they're still waterproof, I've never tested it as any that are fitted are on vintage divers. I can't see why they wouldn't be!
All of the ones I have are either NOS or have been on sparingly worn watches for a few years, so I'm can't report on actual longevity (although likely to last as well as any other rubber strap). The only examples of degradation I've seen is on a tropic star that's become too stiff to use.
Good post, thanks. Do you know the length of the Lobtime tropic as this has always been the problem for me. Love the style esp. the big hole tropic.
Thanks great thread, one which makes the forum richer.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Great post OP. Will have saved more than one person shelling out on the Lobtime copy.
This is great info - thanks for taking the time to post Ed.
I lost my 20mm Sport and was pondering what route to take to replace it - as you say they're becoming tough to find. I always found it a little flimsy at the springbar holes, but super supple and comfortable to wear. I'll be interested to compare these new Tropics from the Isofrane guys to the originals - if they start making a Sport version.