I promised tootal to write a review on the Blue Steel when I bought the strap from him about 2 weeks ago. After a full week of wearing, I believe I have a good idea of how this strap performs as well as looks and feel:
Shipping and delivery:
The strap came in well packaged. It took about a week from ordering for the strap to be delivered to my mail box.
Appearance:
The strap actually looks more medium gray with a hint of blue to it than blue/black as described by TT. Have a matt surface which looks very close to lamb skin and is extremely soft and pliable. Stitches are in a very light grayish color which compliments the strap very well. Holes are round and punched neatly in 8mm interval. Comes with one 18mm wide floating keeper.
Construction:
The strap is well made and well stitched. Thickness is around 4mm and is perfect for my liking. Anything over 5mm would be uncomfortable to wear. The edges are coated with black Tar. It is of fold over design that top and bottom of strap are of same material. Keeper was glued and stitched at the bottom and the edges are well finished. It doesn't come with a buckle so I threw a BOB brushed screw pin buckle on it.
On the wrist:
The strap is very comfortable to wear because of the softness of the material. Did not need any break-in time at all. It wraps around the wrist almost instantly as if it has been worn for quite a while.
Overall impression:
I put the strap on my 192. The bluish gray color compliment the titanium and blue hands nicely. A different look from the tantalium color strap I had on the watch before. The strap is very soft which makes it very comfortable to wear. (It feels almost too soft for my personal taste). And because of the lamb skin like finish, makes me worry about the durability of the strap. How the strap will age and patina is still unknown and only time will tell but It looks quite promising at this point. Unfortunately, the strap is a little too long for me and would have been better suited with 2 narrower keepers than one large one.
On to the pics:
Shipping and delivery:
The strap came in well packaged. It took about a week from ordering for the strap to be delivered to my mail box.
Appearance:
The strap actually looks more medium gray with a hint of blue to it than blue/black as described by TT. Have a matt surface which looks very close to lamb skin and is extremely soft and pliable. Stitches are in a very light grayish color which compliments the strap very well. Holes are round and punched neatly in 8mm interval. Comes with one 18mm wide floating keeper.
Construction:
The strap is well made and well stitched. Thickness is around 4mm and is perfect for my liking. Anything over 5mm would be uncomfortable to wear. The edges are coated with black Tar. It is of fold over design that top and bottom of strap are of same material. Keeper was glued and stitched at the bottom and the edges are well finished. It doesn't come with a buckle so I threw a BOB brushed screw pin buckle on it.
On the wrist:
The strap is very comfortable to wear because of the softness of the material. Did not need any break-in time at all. It wraps around the wrist almost instantly as if it has been worn for quite a while.
Overall impression:
I put the strap on my 192. The bluish gray color compliment the titanium and blue hands nicely. A different look from the tantalium color strap I had on the watch before. The strap is very soft which makes it very comfortable to wear. (It feels almost too soft for my personal taste). And because of the lamb skin like finish, makes me worry about the durability of the strap. How the strap will age and patina is still unknown and only time will tell but It looks quite promising at this point. Unfortunately, the strap is a little too long for me and would have been better suited with 2 narrower keepers than one large one.
On to the pics:
