What's the consensus on NATO straps?

[blue_haddock]

Athlon said:

RNLI themed NATO on an RNLI edition watch! Brightens it right up!!

what watch is that? i really like the look of it

[VR99]

I do have an appreciation for NATO's. I find they make my watches much more versatile Vs using a metal bracelet.

[don logan]

I like them but there can be a big difference in quality, bad ones are bad!!

[ATG]

Purely from the perspective of practicality, they are great. They're cheap, robust, more secure than a conventional strap and washable. The only slight downside is that they obscure the sensors on the back of a smart watch, but it's easy enough to cut a window out to reveal them. I managed to snag my watch in the fencing round a tennis court, due to my exceptional tennis process and technique ... hem, hem ... and one of the strap pins bent and popped out. Had I been using a conventional strap, the watch would have gone flying across the asphalt, but instead it stayed on my wrist. I'm a fan.

[Athlon]

blue_haddock said:

Athlon said:

RNLI themed NATO on an RNLI edition watch! Brightens it right up!!

what watch is that? i really like the look of it

RNLI Watch It's really very nice!

[Alex_225]

Few Aliexpress NATOs. Experimented with colours on the cheap and settled for these for each one.

[s2tommi]

Bit of a long shot, but does anyone know of a place a custom NATO can he made?

My wife surprised me with a James hunt Tag Heuer with NATO that I'd wanted for years, I would love to have a spare strap for it

[HM-2]

s2tommi said:

Bit of a long shot, but does anyone know of a place a custom NATO can he made?

My wife surprised me with a James hunt Tag Heuer with NATO that I'd wanted for years, I would love to have a spare strap for it

You could try speaking to Erika at Erika's originals. They have a pretty big range as it stands but may be able to do custom commissions.

[Harfi88]

My seamaster spends a few months a year on different NATO’s

[dvs_dave]

Noticing a few distinct types of hardware on the straps. All mine are “small loop” types. But quite a few are posting pics of straps with large oversized metal loops. How are they to wear? They look like they might be a bit cumbersome and more likely to catch on stuff?

[Ranger 6]

I'm looking for a 'proper' as issued grey G10 strap.

I used to get them from HM supplies as their shop is close, however they only do the camouflage version these days.

Any suggestions from the wise sages of PH?

[ddom]

NDC have some nice straps, with a cool back story.

[Cotty]

I like them. A very old watch, that I have not worn for many years. I really should get a battery in it and start wearing it more.

[Ranger 6]

ddom said:

NDC have some nice straps, with a cool back story.

Many thanks for the suggestion - but I don't want something like that, I'm just looking for a standard, military issue, G10 grey strap.

[robbiekhan]

I've had a lot of NATOs over the years from cheap to premium to even leather & natural rubber ones from single pass to full on milspec.

They are nice but for a while now I have found nothing more comfortable than a two piece soft natural rubber strap and the watch case directly in contact hugging the wrist rather than the few mm raised adding bulk a NATO does.

Edited by robbiekhan on Wednesday 15th December 23:20