What's the consensus on NATO straps?
Discussion
I've got a couple of watches, both Tag Heuers- an F1 I've had for about 5 years (in lurid ceramic black and orange) and a 2013-15 model Aquaracer Calibre 5 (in blue) that my wife bought me as a 30th birthday present. With the recent hot weather I decided to throw my F1 on a cheap eBay NATO strap and it's been fantastically comfortable over the last week compared to the steel bracelet.
I tend to wear the Aquaracer as an everyday watch and am really struggling to decide whether or not to also pick up a NATO strap for that. I ordered a couple of cheaper ones in colours I thought would compliment, so far none of them have looked right even sat next to it. I'm probably looking to buy one of the better quality NATOs, I think part of the problem has been that I've been struggling to find many pictures of any of the navy-blue-faced watches (Omega Seamaster or Aquaracer for example) on a NATO.
Has anyone done similar and happen to have any pictures? Appreciate even a decent quality NATO is only £20-30 so not much money, but I don't really want the hassle of repeatedly buying things and sending them back when they're not right.
I tend to wear the Aquaracer as an everyday watch and am really struggling to decide whether or not to also pick up a NATO strap for that. I ordered a couple of cheaper ones in colours I thought would compliment, so far none of them have looked right even sat next to it. I'm probably looking to buy one of the better quality NATOs, I think part of the problem has been that I've been struggling to find many pictures of any of the navy-blue-faced watches (Omega Seamaster or Aquaracer for example) on a NATO.
Has anyone done similar and happen to have any pictures? Appreciate even a decent quality NATO is only £20-30 so not much money, but I don't really want the hassle of repeatedly buying things and sending them back when they're not right.
So I bit the bullet and ordered a ZuluDiver Marine Nationale in black and grey, as it was the most neutral combination I could find on next day delivery. I'll swap it on when it arrives and see how it looks.
As an aside, I've been a bit unhappy with how scratch prone the Aquaracer seems to be. The clasp seems to have taken the worst of it but there are two fine hairline scratches, one down either side. It's not like I'm rough with them or anything...
This is the F1:
As an aside, I've been a bit unhappy with how scratch prone the Aquaracer seems to be. The clasp seems to have taken the worst of it but there are two fine hairline scratches, one down either side. It's not like I'm rough with them or anything...
This is the F1:
Edited by ManOpener on Thursday 5th July 14:56
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. 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
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