# ACU Gray Maratac Zulu on All Black Core (w/ Pics)



## symantec11_76

I was extremely anxious to receive my Maratac Zulu strap in ACU Gray and my impressions are mixed. Please read through and consider the problems I had and compare to your wrist before deciding.

I had my concerns at first due to the design of the lugs taken off an Orange Suunto Core strap. Overtime, and with many adjustments, I have finally found a fit that suits my wrist.










First, as you can see, the ACU Gray goes well with the All Black Core. In fact, the Gray is a little more green than I thought, and I really like the tone.










After receiving the strap, I weaved it through the Core lugs and strapped it on my wrist. As you can see, tightening up on the strap caused a problem. The floating lugs are forced against the skin due to the strap being weaved under the watch. The lugs in this downward position places pressure right up against the skin. This was my initial concern before purchasing the strap, but I went for it anyhow. From another angle......










you can see how the lug is pressing right up against my wrist bone. I attempted to wear the strap rather loose, but cannot stand having my watches dangle all around my wrist. So that was not the solution. After some experimentation.....



















I realized by positioning the rings up against the bottom of the Core, that a more comfortable fit is achieved. As you can see, the rings cause a change in the circumference of the strap.



















The ring section of the strap keeps the watch positioned away from the wrist bone. This allows the top lug to lay off the skin more, while the bottom lug angles towards the skin. This provides two benefits. The watch, leaning away from the bone, provides a better view when checking the time, since less twist is required. Second, the weight of the rings also helps keep the watch away from the bone. I find this adjustment to be very comfortable. I also do not keep the strap too tight so that the upper lug does not continue placing pressure on my bone, yet it is tight enough that the watch won't slide down over the wrist bone and up against my hand.










The best advantage with these straps is the ability to remove the Core off the strap with ease. I plan on purchasing more colors of the 24 MM Maratac 2 Ring Zulu straps in the near future. Simple sliding the watch off one band and onto another color is great. Plus, if anyone has held a core in his or her hands, he or she can appreciate the little hefty device as a sort of handheld compass. The little lugs act as great feet, as you can see in the pic. Just take the strap off, and you have a nice stationary instrument. One last thing, the nylon is extremely tough. I expected the nylon to be really pliable. However, that is not the case. If you don't think this strap will work for your wrist, then you might consider the 2-piece Zulu straps. I considered this myself, but then would lose the ease of changing straps.


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## Jeff_C

Love the look... but personally I never could warm up to any fabric straps. I have a drawer full of them. I use one on a dive watch... but they jsut feel too thin to me. 

sorry to hear about your ill fit.


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## pacsprox

I like that alot. I looked at some of their other bands and the silicone ones look really nice.


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## scbo

what size zulu did you use?


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## Mystro

Very Cool. Now that looks like a true "Military" Core. I know what you are talking about, moving the lugs around for a different fit. I have 4 different straps for my All Black Core and I do move the lugs for a better strap angle.


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## rmsailors

Have you considered the 5-ring vs. the 3-ring Zulu?

I'm about to try that (All-Black Core is under the tree as I write this).:-!
I have the strap and the black bars from the orange band in hand anxiously waiting for Dec. 25.


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## Jeff_C

Welcome to the forum rmsailors.


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## jnewell

I tried the Core on 2 (3) ring Zulus and it just slid off every time I took the watch off - which I judged was likely to result in loss or damage. I now use the 5 ring Pana strap (AFAIK, Maratac doesn't make a 24mm 4 ring strap.) For the uninitiated, Maratac calls their round-ring NATO-type strap a "4 ring" band and Pana calls theirs "5 ring." Same design, different nouns. (Same is true for the 2 vs 3 ring descriptions.)


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## rmsailors

jnewell said:


> I tried the Core on 2 (3) ring Zulus and it just slid off every time I took the watch off - which I judged was likely to result in loss or damage. I now use the 5 ring Pana strap (AFAIK, Maratac doesn't make a 24mm 4 ring strap.) For the uninitiated, Maratac calls their round-ring NATO-type strap a "4 ring" band and Pana calls theirs "5 ring." Same design, different nouns. (Same is true for the 2 vs 3 ring descriptions.)


Thanks for the correction. I purchased my 24mm (I just noticed the 24mm being available in the past 12 months) from The Watch Prince and their description was "5 ring," hence my description. Further research on my part shows that most other sites lists them as "4 ring," as you say. 

Westcoast Time, Broadarrow.net, and CountyComm also have the 24mm Maratac Zulu straps listed for sale in various colors and with standard and "low light" hardware. Triple Aught Design also have a similar strap available under the category "watch accessories."

I've just ordered one of the new black with orange stripe Zulu straps for my vintage "pumpkin" Glycine Airman SST (currently on a NITROX 17 orange), but I'm keeping my Glycine Airman SST D24 on the SS bracelet as I need to keep up my arm strength. :-d


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## Jeff_C

LOL the Airman is a cool watch with a long history... very cool, but I could NEVER get used to a 24 hour analog watch.


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## jnewell

Didn't mean to be correcting anything!  The thing I mostly wanted to pass along was that although I generally dislike the extra bulk of a NATO-type strap (i.e., the second bit of webbing), my Core just kept sliding off the regular strap, so I'm using the NATO-type (actually, as mentioned a "5 ring" from Panatime). Hopefully YMMV.


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## rmsailors

Jeff_C said:


> LOL the Airman is a cool watch with a long history... very cool, but I could NEVER get used to a 24 hour analog watch.


It only takes 3-4 months of reading 24-hour dials to get used to them. LOL

About all I see are 24-hour dials. I have 2 vintage and 1 modern Airman, a large quartz wall clock at work, a Korean War vintage US Govt. contract Chelsea on the wall at home. All of my work is done using either local 24-hour notation or UTC, so having the two time zones (Airman) is a big help.


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## Beau8

Looks like a great fitting combo~Cheers! ;-)


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## polak187

Nice Kestrel...


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