My personal favourites are the Zuludiver ones sold by Watchgecko.
Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum, any forum in fact, so wanted to ask if you had any advice on a good place to buy a NATO strap from?
Looking fo a NATO strap to try on a blue omega seamaster and on tudor gmt.
The OEM NATO’s are a bit expensive for a try out.
Thank you
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My personal favourites are the Zuludiver ones sold by Watchgecko.
I also rate the premium and seatbelt straps sold by George's Straps. Not the cheapest, but the quality is there.
Phoenix straps (ebay only) are nice, albeit more military watch oriented.
If you want soft NATOs, BluShark's premier line is one of the best candidates out there.
Our host's are very good, as are Haveston. The Havestons are single pass ie. no "extra bit", so the buckle can be placed where you want it, the watch sits flatter and no unsightly and bulky tucked in tail.
F.T.F.A.
If your watch is not too thick, best I've found is blushark orcas (https://www.blusharkstraps.com/colle...rca-collection). These beat any fancy seatbelt nato any day.
The waffle weave and thickness make it ideal for me.
I’ve found the ones from bark & jack to be very nice, but I do prefer a more textured strap rather than smooth ie seatbelt natos.
https://barkandjack.shop/
As the Tudor watches are quite thick, I’ve found a Watchobsession nato for £10 suits mine best.
https://www.watchobsession.co.uk/col...der=asc&page=1
Cheers
The best NATOs I've tried are Eddie's: https://www.timefactors.com/tfnatostraps.htm
I use the sand ones on a couple of watches: https://www.timefactors.com/tfnatog10coybrnavy.htm
I have a blue Erica's Original on my 2531.80 Seamaster: https://www.watchobsession.co.uk/col...ushed-hardware
A bit more at £68 but a fantastic strap that's adjustable. I've been wearing one throughout lockdown on quite a heavy watch I find too uncomfortable on its bracelet and the Erica's makes it perfectly comfortable.
"A man of little significance"
You might be surprised at the quality of some of the straps available on aliexpress these days, they have erica's copies, seatbelt natos with slightly nicer hardware, etc., and though it's like trawling the world's most disturbed jumble sale on there you'll find you can try many different looks for pocket money - just don't go for the £1-£2 natos as they're pretty grim.
Thank you all, will have a look at them today. Will put some pics on of what I get
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Dozens of existing threads on this too, so have a search
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
Thanks I will do that too.
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Would be interested to know what you think when they arrive, thanks.
Tony
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Cheers for all the info, have been looking at a few myself and I must admit I was completely lost.
Op for the gmt id also recommend getting a crafter blue rubber strap
Will have a look at the crafter blue rubber strap too, the lockdown is triggering my watch spending itch.
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Having tried a few brands, would also say Phenomenato are the best, and comparable - if not superior - to the Omega OEMs.
Eddie's Deluxe Nato take some beating!
Seconded. Eddie's are excellent, although personally I use Haveston's these days as I prefer the neater look as explained by Magirus.
Here's an "arty" shot of a PRS-29B on a Havestom M-1936B.
I also like Phoenix NATOs which have some pedigree to them, although they are not as flexible as some.
The Omega NATO’s are expensive, no doubt about that. And I’ve only tried about a dozen cheaper versions. But the Omega’s do feel pretty upmarket to me; a bit more comfortable and very robust. For those who care, they are also very nicely packaged. Wash well,too.
I bought a couple, which I expect to last a lifetime. The quality is there.
Great photo, looks really good on the PRS-29B
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It depends on what you mean by good quality. IMO the 'deluxe' type (thick, sewn, nice hardware) aren't right... too thick, too shiny. I just don't think a NATO should be thick or shiny!
It depends on the watch but I like Phoenix NATO straps as they're the original, they're very thin and the material has some stiffness to it at first, with a super tight weave. The holes can fray a little but a quick pass with a lighter and it's fine. I also like the small squared metal loops. They look amazing on anything remotely military or vintage, especially in admiralty grey.
When I got my Lemania chrono I tried it on TONS of NATO straps (over 20 in total) and found it just fit best on a cheap basic ballistic nylon - it's the perfect length (no tuck in needed) and the olive colour is bang on. I spent a fair bit on 'better' ones but either found them too bloated, over designed, too long or too shiny!
So IMO if you want a NATO it should be basic and cheap as it was designed. Maybe just me though!
All of their straps can be ordered as single-pass rather than "true NATO", which (as per Magirus' post) reduces how high the watch sits on your wrist.
The "Thick Weave" and leather straps are significantly thicker than most NATOs - so you may have issues slotting them thru. Thinner springbars can help, but I'd agree it's a bit of a gamble in some instances.
The Phoenix ones I mentioned are slimmer than most if it's a real issue.
Another vote for eddies natos. They look great and last for ages. As far as elastic styles go, cheapest Nato straps have been good for me.
Tried an elastic single pass nato from George’s and wasn’t impressed, only wore it for a few days and looked like it was years old, frayed and tatty. No experience of the standard nato style from there tho. The watch obsesssion ones look great, think they will be my next port of call
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It may be a silly question, but where can I find the nato strap for a Seagull 1963 Chrono? I bought one without strap and even though I put it on leather strap, I feel like nato strap would suits it better
I've got some on order from cheapest NATO straps in the US, should be with me in a couple of weeks.
Will let you know what they are like
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Thanks, be interested to know what they are like.
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I have some from cheapest and not impressed. Really hard and plastic like. If I recall correctly I bought the premium ones, the really cheap ones are more comfortable.
Agree eddies are nice but may try some of the ones above.
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Thanks Everyone, I have ordered a few of the suggested to try will put some pictures up when they arrive.
Ordered the crafter blue and red rubber too for a try out.
Cheers
Tony
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I also ordered a couple of the CNS single pass ones above - definitely worth the money, probably look a lot more expensive than they are
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Thank you, they look great on your Seiko too
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Looks really good on you BB. Will order one of these too, can’t have too many :-)
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Last edited by TonyAFC8; 5th June 2020 at 14:06.
I've been using George's straps and have been very pleased until my last purchase of a couple of seatbelt NATOs for my sumo. Both, within a few hours of fitting, had ripped around the buckle pin quite badly. I hadn't worn the straps tight but I had been doing vigorous activity making the watch move about a bit and being a heavy watch I can see it would place load on the fabric but it ought to have been fine. Perhaps it's just a bad batch, a previous purchase I wear on my pelagos has not suffered. George has agreed to replace so I'll send the two damaged ones back.
I went with George’s
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That camo looks cool, think your probably right about the PVD too
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I’m waiting on a Phenomenato strap for my Speedy, has anyone got any experience with them?
Had a reminder this morning of why I’m not generally keen on single pass straps. Put the watch on when I got up, mustnt have caught the hole properly when I fastened it, and as I walked away it dropped off my wrist straight into the floor. Luckily just landed crystal first on the rug rather than the laminate floor surrounding it. It’s now back on the bracelet!
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I’m sorry to hear that!
Though out of interest, how would a bracelet have saved you from this issue (not catching the hole properly)?
I thought purpose of NATO straps was to save the watch from falling off in case the (spring)bar breaks?
Whatever the reason... Haveston and Eddie’s version are my favourites, both already mentioned here.
Bracelet is joined together, once you put it on your wrist it can’t drop off when you are fastening it unless it slides back over your hand! Even a nato has some extra security once the end of the strap is tucked under the extra buckle. Single pass there is very little between the watch falling to the floor when you are fastening/unfastening - as I found out. Maybe I’m just clumsy....
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[QUOTE=enndriz;5438728]Bracelet is joined together, once you put it on your wrist it can’t drop off when you are fastening it unless it slides back over your hand! Even a nato has some extra security once the end of the strap is tucked under the extra buckle. Single pass there is very little between the watch falling to the floor when you are fastening/unfastening - as I found out. Maybe I’m just clumsy....
Will maKen sure I am extra careful on any single passes. Cheers
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