# Who makes the best Nato straps...besides Omega.



## NWD

Hi WUS, does anyone have experience or thoughts on who makes the best Nato straps? Omega obviously has some of the best looking on their site (and high quality), but who makes something comparable at more affordable prices, that might even fit into the luxury realm? Would love your information with current markets. Thanks!


----------



## Caliguli

Tudor for luxury. Truth be told I prefer the cheapest nato's I can find, they are usually thinner than the expensive ones, just as strong, hug the wrist a lot better, don't make your watch sit too high, are more comfortable, don't have the long ass tags stitched In that are annoying and don't have another companies brand written on them. I've had some very expensive natos over the years and I'll take a $3 nato over a $30 or $300 anyday.


----------



## Roningrad

Phenomenato. Crown and Buckle Chevrons.


----------



## NWD

Thanks guys! Nice Roningrad!


----------



## M_Milaguet

In my experience, Tudor natos are far superior to Omega's


----------



## Seabee1

NATOs...the FlipFlops of watch attachment devices


----------



## gyrotourbillon007

PhenomNATO is great. Blushark Premier isn't too shabby either.


----------



## caribiner23

Blushark. Northstraps. Strapsco.


----------



## Watching closely

I second Blushark.


----------



## Crisker

Tudor for the win.


----------



## admit-to-im

Crown and Buckle.

On the more affordable side, Mushi straps are my favorite.


----------



## Nokie

Crown and Buckle. Panatime.


----------



## Sheriff_Lobo

i like blushark original


----------



## NikoMos

Blushark Alphapremier and Phenomenato for me


----------



## Jason71

The most durable NATO straps I have EVER used are Maratac. I have an orange one with over 250 dives on it. This is probably 50 dives ago……


----------



## vmgotit

My vote also for the fine OEM Tudor NATO Strap. Vance.


----------



## jdub

Pretty much any primium NATO from any number of companies is the equal to the Omega NATO, IMHO. 

Of course if you have an Omega maybe the price is worth it to have that OEM feel but it gets to the point where we have to acknowledge these companies are just taking the piss with the price. 

I have a fair few NATO's. Watch geko and bark and Jack straps are nice.


----------



## Mtvandi

I currently have Tudor, IWC, ADPT, Synchron and a couple generic NATO’s as well. The Tudor are definitely favorites for quality and comfort, fairly close seconds are the IWC’s.


----------



## TC198

I've owned multiple NATOs from the Amazon special 5 packs to Omega and Tudor. The best bang for the buck and my favorite is a brand named Wornkinoff. They offer a seat belt nylon strap for around $19 through their site and on Amazon. On the wrist, it wears very simliar to my Omega. Unfortunately they are out of stock in black and od green at the moment.


----------



## NWD

How to purchase one from Tudor? Can's find a link.


----------



## TC198

You have to purchase Tudor straps through an AD or buy them secondhand online.


----------



## Mtvandi

Best way is a Tudor dealer, online sale or EBay, just make sure the are genuine if you are spending this amount of $’s.


----------



## PeteJ

What, exactly, are you doing in that picture?


----------



## Jason71

Several Years ago, I went to Roatan, Honduras and went specifically to hunt Lionfish. They are not indigenous to the Caribbean and have totally disrupted the ecosystem. They are so prolific that they are EVERYWHERE and they eat the juvenile reef fish. I speared 56 fish in a week of diving.


----------



## dpwrasca

Quick questions for anyone recommending the Tudor ones. Are they fully plastic (ie no leather)? And how well do they curve down around the wrist? I don’t like when natos have a large bend radius and make the watch look like it has longer lug to lug. That’s why I I like my Erika’s mn strap. Very tight turn radius. 

Actually the bend radius question goes for the C&B chevron straps if any of you have experience with them?


----------



## Aladave

Turn radius? Plastic? Partial leather? Dude, clearly you don’t know much about NATO straps. None of your questions make much sense.


----------



## Simon

Tudor quality definitely - unfortunately so short they wont go round and shut on a wrist over 8"


----------



## dpwrasca

Aladave said:


> Turn radius? Plastic? Partial leather? Dude, clearly you don’t know much about NATO straps. None of your questions make much sense.


Most NATO straps are made out of nylon = plastic. But from my understanding, the premium IWC ones have leather backing. Since Tudor makes a similar premium one, I was wondering if it also had leather backing.

For turn radius, maybe that’s not the best term but it’s how I think about it. How well does it curve down after going over the spring bar? If it’s not very flexible, you get this back curve that makes the strap and watch look huge. On my Erika’s mn strap, it turns down very quickly making it look much sleeker than many NATO straps.


----------



## dpwrasca

And perhaps premium should be “premium”. I mean the very expensive ones…


----------



## Aladave

dpwrasca said:


> And perhaps premium should be “premium”. I mean the very expensive ones…


Tudor NATOs do not have a leather backing. Neither do Omega NATOs (Omega NATOs are generally seen as the gold standard of NATOs). I don’t know about IWC but would be surprised if they do. I have a drawer full of NATO straps. They range from extremely cheap ones to expensive ones. They all curve the same way. The only differences in how they wear is some are shorter than others and the expensive ones tend to be softer and more comfortable. The more expensive ones also tend to be better looking. I suggest buying a Blushark Alpha Premier strap to try out. They are very high quality and relatively cheap.


----------



## Jason71

Putting a leather backing on a NATO makes absolutely no sense to me. NATOs were designed in the first place for added security (loss of one springbar) and high adjustability for fitment over a wetsuit/drysuit while diving. Putting leather backing on a NATO is like putting mudding tires on a corvette IMHO.

IMHO, The quality of a NATO strap comes down to how well the adjustment holes are laser welded and how they hold-up (or fray) over time. The good ones have holes that don’t stretch, fray, or tear (or oval-out) over many uses.


----------



## dpwrasca

Aladave said:


> Tudor NATOs do not have a leather backing. Neither do Omega NATOs (Omega NATOs are generally seen as the gold standard of NATOs). I don’t know about IWC but would be surprised if they do. I have a drawer full of NATO straps. They range from extremely cheap ones to expensive ones. They all curve the same way. The only differences in how they wear is some are shorter than others and the expensive ones tend to be softer and more comfortable. The more expensive ones also tend to be better looking. I suggest buying a Blushark Alpha Premier strap to try out. They are very high quality and relatively cheap.


The IWC ones have leather reinforcement in key places per the link below. But I agree leather on a nato seems odd (other than fully leather natos obviously). I just knew IWC did and Omeaga didn’t. So wasn’t sure about Tudor. Thanks for the clarification. 









Introducing - IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph IW377724 With New Dial (Specs & Price)


In 2017, IWC took us by surprise when presenting the desirable, vintage-inspired and definitely cool Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII Edition “Tribute to Mark XI”. Now, it's time for the Schaffhausen-based brand to focus on the chronograph version of this watch and to apply the same recipe: baton hands...




monochrome-watches.com


----------



## entropy1049

Really like my Crown and Buckle straps. Have several each Supreme NATO and Chevron.


----------



## iehrenwald

Crown & Buckle Matte Supreme Single Pass NATO are my favorite for tool watches. The Matte finish emphasizes the utilitarian nature of both items.

Photo of my daily driver, a SPB143, on one of the aforementioned straps.

(The watch is laying on my dog, who is laying on my lap.)


----------



## Watchman64

NWD said:


> How to purchase one from Tudor? Can's find a link.


Check with your local Tudor AD. There's a couple of YouTube videos on a visit and information about the manufacturer. Tudor's nato straps are the finest in my opinion.


----------



## nosamk

I really like the stretchy 'natos' like blushark, luff, and the watch steward


----------

