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Hey all,
Thought I'd do a little mini review with photos of my latest haul from cheapest nato straps. They're a budget seller of straps (really budget, I paid just $38.20 for 5 straps) and my citizen chronomaster being 19mm doesn't really have a lot of strap options. So I thought I'd try some new straps just to see how they'd go.
From left to right, I got the "The Marlon Band-O" a textured rubber strap supposedly based off the strap worn by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, and then 4 leather straps: Classic Suede Navy, Classic Burgundy, Classic Black, and Classic grained green. All of the leather straps had quick release (NICE). The Marlon Band-o neither came with quick release, or a pair of spring bars (really, you couldn't ship some spring bars with it? next time I will have to remember to add-on spring bars to the purchase)
Below are the photos of the straps mounted on my Citizen Chronomaster AQ4020 (it's not actually a 4020, I forget the reference number, it's some limited edition based off the 4020 with a gold seconds hand). High Accuracy Quartz, Perpetual Calendar, solar eco-drive movement, 5 seconds per year accuracy. It's a nice watch, and it comes on a nice titanium bracelet, which I do enjoy wearing, but can get a bit tight in hot weather and has no micro adjust. It also comes with a croc leather strap that I am afraid to wear and get creases in - only special occasions for that strap. Hence I wanted to get some leather straps I could wear the citizen with casually on normal day to day life. I'm starting to realize the citizen is not really a strap monster. It doesn't look good with every strap and you really have to figure out what to pair it with.
This black rubber marlon brando strap is not as comfortable as I was hoping. My VSF omega has a rubber band that is very comfortable and barely makes contact with the wrist. This marlon brando strap does not hug the wrist very well, it's too rigid and straight, and it shoots right up to the lugs in an awkward way. I was really hoping I could find a rubber strap that worked with the chronomaster, I'm going to try to boil the strap and curve it more in the hopes that it makes it more comfortable, but thus far, not super impressed.
The rest of the leather straps are all about the same in terms of comfort. They have some kind of sharp edges, but they're tolerably comfortable, and I assume the sharp edges would soften with time. The color of the blue is nice, but I don't think really complements the watch that well. Maybe it'll go with some blue outfits.
The burgundy and the green are the winners of the bunch, IMO. The burgundy really looks good. Hopefully the color doesn't fade with time. I could see myself wearing this a lot in semi-formal office environments.
This leather black watch strap was a mistake, imo. It looks like a bottom barrel cheap black leather strap, and the rubber has a better look to it. I should have known better.
This is the best one of the lot IMO. I think this watch has a very subtle texture from the linen washi dial, and the textured dial face kind of demands a textured leather for the strap.
When I told my friend that I was buying more watch straps from CheapestNatoStraps (I guess they're called CNS now) my buddy was like "really bro, you're going to buy an 8 dollar strap for your 2500 dollar watch? Go buy a delugs." I think there's a lot of truth to that, but perhaps there is some value in these cheapo leather straps, because they let you get a sense of what color and styles go best with your watch. Now that I know, I want something textured and that green and red really makes the dial pop, whereas blue kind of washes out the dial. I don't have high expectations for these straps in terms of longevity, and looking good 20 years from now, and they're not particularly comfortable the way the keeper and the buckle dig in to your skin, but for 8 dollars apiece, I don't feel too bad trying them out.
Anyways, that concludes my watch strap review. Hope some of you find it useful when considering alternative strap options for your watches.
Thought I'd do a little mini review with photos of my latest haul from cheapest nato straps. They're a budget seller of straps (really budget, I paid just $38.20 for 5 straps) and my citizen chronomaster being 19mm doesn't really have a lot of strap options. So I thought I'd try some new straps just to see how they'd go.
From left to right, I got the "The Marlon Band-O" a textured rubber strap supposedly based off the strap worn by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, and then 4 leather straps: Classic Suede Navy, Classic Burgundy, Classic Black, and Classic grained green. All of the leather straps had quick release (NICE). The Marlon Band-o neither came with quick release, or a pair of spring bars (really, you couldn't ship some spring bars with it? next time I will have to remember to add-on spring bars to the purchase)
Below are the photos of the straps mounted on my Citizen Chronomaster AQ4020 (it's not actually a 4020, I forget the reference number, it's some limited edition based off the 4020 with a gold seconds hand). High Accuracy Quartz, Perpetual Calendar, solar eco-drive movement, 5 seconds per year accuracy. It's a nice watch, and it comes on a nice titanium bracelet, which I do enjoy wearing, but can get a bit tight in hot weather and has no micro adjust. It also comes with a croc leather strap that I am afraid to wear and get creases in - only special occasions for that strap. Hence I wanted to get some leather straps I could wear the citizen with casually on normal day to day life. I'm starting to realize the citizen is not really a strap monster. It doesn't look good with every strap and you really have to figure out what to pair it with.
This black rubber marlon brando strap is not as comfortable as I was hoping. My VSF omega has a rubber band that is very comfortable and barely makes contact with the wrist. This marlon brando strap does not hug the wrist very well, it's too rigid and straight, and it shoots right up to the lugs in an awkward way. I was really hoping I could find a rubber strap that worked with the chronomaster, I'm going to try to boil the strap and curve it more in the hopes that it makes it more comfortable, but thus far, not super impressed.
The rest of the leather straps are all about the same in terms of comfort. They have some kind of sharp edges, but they're tolerably comfortable, and I assume the sharp edges would soften with time. The color of the blue is nice, but I don't think really complements the watch that well. Maybe it'll go with some blue outfits.
The burgundy and the green are the winners of the bunch, IMO. The burgundy really looks good. Hopefully the color doesn't fade with time. I could see myself wearing this a lot in semi-formal office environments.
This leather black watch strap was a mistake, imo. It looks like a bottom barrel cheap black leather strap, and the rubber has a better look to it. I should have known better.
This is the best one of the lot IMO. I think this watch has a very subtle texture from the linen washi dial, and the textured dial face kind of demands a textured leather for the strap.
When I told my friend that I was buying more watch straps from CheapestNatoStraps (I guess they're called CNS now) my buddy was like "really bro, you're going to buy an 8 dollar strap for your 2500 dollar watch? Go buy a delugs." I think there's a lot of truth to that, but perhaps there is some value in these cheapo leather straps, because they let you get a sense of what color and styles go best with your watch. Now that I know, I want something textured and that green and red really makes the dial pop, whereas blue kind of washes out the dial. I don't have high expectations for these straps in terms of longevity, and looking good 20 years from now, and they're not particularly comfortable the way the keeper and the buckle dig in to your skin, but for 8 dollars apiece, I don't feel too bad trying them out.
Anyways, that concludes my watch strap review. Hope some of you find it useful when considering alternative strap options for your watches.
