22mm Branded Rubber Strap Review - AliExpress

[Tomeng01]

I was looking for a few extra straps and specifically a green branded rubber strap that would fit a 42mm case (22mm width strap). Panerai has not made a green rubber branded strap, so it would need to be from a third party.

I got a helpful tip from swifteagle (thank you!) for a 22mm branded rubber strap on AliExpress (link here) and bought a few - black, blue and green. They just arrived, so I thought I would put together a quick review. I have a gen blue branded and gen black accordion rubber strap I can compare to.

• The Ali straps come with screwdriver, pin tool and metal tubes, so overall a great value for cost.
• The Ali straps are thinner and more flexible than gen
• The Ali straps finishing is not as good as gen - you can see the line where I assume the molds meet. I tried to file this down with sandpaper and razor blade and did not have much success.
• The Ali straps Panerai branding is pretty good, some small difference, but nothing major
• All edges and corners are more rounded on the The Ali straps, where the gen has more squared off edges and corners.
• The Ali straps has a matte finish, where gen is more polished/shiny.
• The Ali straps short side is the same as gen, but the long side is shorter than gen (weird)
• The Ali straps markings on the bottom side are wrong - gen has Panerai on the short side (Ali has "made in italy") and gen has Made in Italy on long side (Ali has nothing). This does not bother me at all.
• The Ali straps buckles are pretty good, a littler taller and the writing is off, but nothing major to me.
• The Ali strap blue is very different than gen; however, I have gen 1074 and found this rep color to match the dial even better than gen, so I'm happy about it
• The Ali strap black is pretty close to gen black (accordion)
• The Ali strap green looks pretty close to the rep green I have from VSF (accordion)

Conclusion
I have a few gen rubber straps and found them really stiff and not very comfortable. I find the VSF rubber to be extremely close to gen in color and styling, but more comfortable. These Ali straps feel cheaper (less quality) than both gen and VSF rep. The VSF accordion is much higher quality overall. However, I have small wrists (16cm) and bought these to punch an extra hole in and am happy with the result for the value.

As far as accuracy to gen, I've decided I don't really care. The whole point to Panerai is having lots of straps from different makers, gen and third party. While this may be more for leather and canvas, why not rubber too. Like I wrote in the bullets, this blue matches the 1074 dial even better than gen. So I'm happy. If you're looking for perfect accuracy, this may not be the right purchase for you.

 

[Glock3ns]

I'm assuming thats a gen 1074


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[Tomeng01]

I'm assuming thats a gen 1074


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As mentioned in my post, yes it is a gen 1074. love it. Sadly, I don’t think there are any reps of it yet.

 

[JayBee0815]

I bought these straps for the more exotic colours orange and white and must say that they are a nice summer alternative and for this price a real bargain. And if you dont like the strap - throw it away and keep the buckle and even than you made a good buy because where do you get a Rep-Pam-Buckle for 10 Euro? ;-)

 

[Lexington_120]

After read you , I just order a black strap for my 441

 

[Rupert Fripp]

Ciao Paneristi,

I thought I'd chime in as I just got my Ali Express rubber straps for my Fiddy. Not the same link used by OP but the unique thing about these is that they're actually 26mm, which is apparently hard to find with this style:

 

[Rupert Fripp]

One issue with these, is that they don't fit the Watch Gecko screw-effect spring bars (basically spring bars that look like the screw in bars from Panerai). These are essential for me as I swap straps regularly and usually savage the lugs with scratches with all the screwing/unscrewing. In fact, the holes are too small to even fit in the tubes - it's a case of only using the screw bars raw:

Does anyone have a good way of opening up these holes cleanly without destroying the strap?

 

[Tomeng01]

One issue with these, is that they don't fit the Watch Gecko screw-effect spring bars (basically spring bars that look like the screw in bars from Panerai). These are essential for me as I swap straps regularly and usually savage the lugs with scratches with all the screwing/unscrewing. In fact, the holes are too small to even fit in the tubes - it's a case of only using the screw bars raw:

Does anyone have a good way of opening up these holes cleanly without destroying the strap?

I've tried messing around with rep rubber and never had success trying to accomplish my goals - lol. I ended up ruining the strap. Sorry I'm not more help.

 

[P..DR..D]

The Fiddy looks very cool on black rubber.

Have a black rubber strap too but haven't mounted it yet, still having fun with it on bright blue. Also love the idea of inter changing the straps and for the price can't really complain.
Your Watch looks awesome so well wear Sir.

P.s. thank you also to the OP Tomeng01 for the comparison and what stood out to me in your writing was the following, as I wholeheartedly agree!

"As far as accuracy to gen, I've decided I don't really care. The whole point to Panerai is having lots of straps from different makers, gen and third party"

 

[Rupert Fripp]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Yeah, realised trying to curate more holes wouldn’t end well so opted for lubing them and keeping the spring bars in each strap permanently as it’s too tight to remove.

I really am surprised how well the rubber works on a vintage looking Pam like that! Also love the flexibility it offers in the heat wave we’re having in Europe recently.