Same here I bought one for my pelagos in February not wore the watch since just stiff and annoying to wear and grabs at the skin.
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I got a rubber strap from crafter blue a while back for my tudor black bay - now it has been hot recently, I thought it would be a good time to swap it over and enjoy the comfort from a soft rubber strap - alas...it’s not comfy at all. Firstly it forms a weird shape and has raised edges on the back for some reason, which press into the wrist - so if you have it loose it sits at a funny angle and digs in, if you have it snug, it digs in even worse !
I have put the bracelet back on as I couldn’t stick it out. They must sell loads of these bands -
is it just me!?
Same here I bought one for my pelagos in February not wore the watch since just stiff and annoying to wear and grabs at the skin.
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I bought a £5 imitation tropic from Cousins it was very comfortable from the start. How long it will last is probably a different story
Have just ordered a crafter blue rubber strap for my Tudor GMT, recommended on another thread. Will let you know what it’s like when it arrives
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Their rubber seems to be quite stiff - the one I had on my Sumo was OK, but not brilliant (perhaps not helped by my skinny wrists). If you want the integrated look at a reasonable price then there aren't too many choices but, otherwise, you could try silicone (e.g. Barton, whose straps are very comfortable). For rubber, Borealis produce an excellent quality, thick yet pretty supple strap, albeit in the perforated Isofrane style.
I like rubber straps - a lot - but they can vary in comfort significantly.
Whilst I have no experience of Crafter Blue straps, I would say that I found OEM rubber straps from Breitling and Panerai to be incredibly comfortable, as are Rubber B. Although cheap and comparatively thin I like the Barton rubber straps too. I also enjoy both the original ISOfrane and copies from Borealis and Cousins.
On the other hand I have bought a couple of other aftermarket rubber straps (one from WatchGecko and a German one whose name I can’t remember) both of which I found very uncomfortable.
Then there’s the infamous Z22 from Seiko, which for me was exquisitely uncomfortable and which I sold as fast as possible!
Simon
Don't know what your lug width is but I like the Uncle Seiko tropic strap, and they make some other rubber straps as well. They have a UK website now so you could check them out there.
I have rubber straps from Breitling and Isofrane,both are very comfy.I did have a couple of zuludiver 400 straps ,couldn’t get on with these.
Wouldn't surprise me at all. If you can convince people to buy your "premium" Nato or rubber strap, it must be one of the best gigs in town. Production costs on both will be the square root of a gnat's chufty so no reason why you shouldn't get good quality even at very low prices.
The worst rubber strap I had came with a Seiko Diver - it was very stiff and very uncomfortable. Most of my watches are on Rubber / Silicone straps, though I normally buy the ones with 3-fold clasps, rather than traditional buckles. I generally find the ones with clasps to be very comfortable - and of course more convenient than tang & buckles.
I've found the Hirsch Pure Caoutchouc straps to be reasonably priced and very comfortable.
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
Bonetto Cinturini make very comfortable rubber straps.
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Not tried Crafter Blue - and given the comments + stiff prices, probably never will.
I can't get on with silicone straps at-all - just feel all wrong and are constantly manky-looking.
To date the only rubber strap I get on well with is the one on my Alpina chrono - super-comfy, never gets dusty. Not much of a pic, but can't be arsed to dig it out and take another...
I don't think rubber straps will soften with time.
If anything they might get stiffer or more brittle.
Crafter blue are pure horror compared to any other I have tried.
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I have a crafter blue for my Tudor black bay I'm not that keen on it,not very comfortable and makes it look a bit cheap imo.. I have a longines rubber strap and deployant on my LLD and that is comfortable and looks the part
As for the z22 strap on my skx007 it was hellish uncomfortable but like a sadist I persevered with it and it actually became quite comfortable in the end...
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I've had several rubber and silicone straps.
worst ones:
* cousins silicone tropic and alike for 5-10€. They look quite OK in pictures, but in reality they are too soft.
* Uncle Seiko - too stiff.
good ones:
* Baltic tropic strap. Proper size 20/16, not too stiff, quite similar to Oris Tropic. The only complaint is length - 110/70 it's on the edge of shortness on my slim wrist.
* Borealis Isofrane type - very good for heavy watches (Seamaster, Seiko Turtle), but unfortunately too thick for Explorer II, so it sits in the box waiting for a watch to be paired.
* Oris tropic - perfect rubber strap. Too bad they cost ~150€ or so.
I had Seiko Turtle on original strap (don't know if it was Z22, it had steel keeper) - it was wearable, but too long for me.
I ordered orange Barton Elite rubber strap, hope I will get before winter :)
Regarding the 'drop it in boiling water' posts, I read some years ago that before doing this one should roll up the strap tightly as possible and tie string around it to hold it firmly in place, then leave in very hot water for a while.
This will give the band a curved shape that will be more comfortable.
Every rubber diver's strap gets the following treatment,
1) Roll strap and whilst rolled up place in the bottom of a small cup,
2) Add boiling water,
3) Leave for 10 minutes.
4) Empty water and top cup up with cold water for about 5 minutes.
5) Repeat 3 or 4 times,
The more silicone the strap contains the less likely it will hold the shape you want.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I think its more to do with the shape of your wrist and the thickness of the strap than the actual quality of the straps. I have straps from Breitling and isofrane that I cannot wear for more than a couple of hours before they start to become uncomfortable. Then I have a cheaper rubber B-alike from cousins that is thinner so sits nicer on my wrist so can be worn for longer.
Most comfortable rubber for me is a recently acquired Uncle Seiko strap for my 6306.
This is interesting. I ordered a rubber strap recently and it is almost rigid plastic. On the wrist it would barely bend and looked absurd.
Number 2, with this method, does it actually soften the rubber as well as shape it?
Thanks.
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I often find, the thinner the rubber, the more comfortable it is...
Rubber straps look great but have always found them to be most uncomfortable.
Another fan of Bonetto Cinturini here, comfortable from the outset and they retain that nice vanilla smell.
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The old Seiko Z22's felt like they were just hard plastic.
Hideously uncomfortable until one day they broke in. ......................................next day they snapped!
I've found the rubber strap on my Breitling Avenger Sea Wolf the most comfortable I have ever worn. I daresay they are expensive though.
Excuse the wrist cak!
Thank you, I have to give the credit to gaurav_tzuk for the recommendation.
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Rubber is really about the look for me. Same with leather.
If I want comfort, nylon can't be beaten in my opinion.
Just received a Tropic original strap and have to say it’s amazing, I would highly recommend one.