# Leather strap sizing: how much tail is too much?



## es335 (Oct 10, 2007)

For the optimal leather strap sizing fit on a dive watch or chronograph, where should the buckle be in relation to your wrist and how much tail is “too much”?

I have a 7 inch wrist, would regular size or a short size strap be better?


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## PuYang (May 12, 2017)

Ultimately it's what you're comfortable with. 

To me, I prefer buckle as close to centered on the bottom of my wrist as possible, and excess tail for me is any time the tail begins to come back UPWARDS.

I would imagine the most common length straps (~80mm x 120mm) would work fine for your 7" wrist.


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## Nokie (Jul 4, 2011)

I like the buckle/clasp centered on the bottom of my wrist, so the tail for me is usually just a couple of inches or less long when possible.


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## es335 (Oct 10, 2007)

Thanks! If you’re looking at the watch face from directly overhead and you see part of the tail coming upwards, is the strap too long?


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## Caltex88 (Nov 24, 2016)

Definitely personal preference. I like the buckle all the way on the other side of the wrist with the strap overlapping the whole bottom of the wrist and ending at roughly the same place on the opposite side of the wrist as the end of the buckle. this of course will highly depend on your wrist and how tight you wear the strap.


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## johnny action (Oct 8, 2011)

There can never be too much tail…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DowningB (Nov 22, 2019)

Not a fan of tail myself, at least when it comes to watch straps, lol.

I have 7.3 inch wrists. The "normal" length leather straps have very little tail left over after I put them on. I usually use the second or third hole from the end. On two of my watches, I had to punch a hole between the first and second holes for the best fit.

This allows me to clip off the free sliding keeper for less bulk.

The only drawback is that it can make the watch a little harder to put on or take off, which increases the potential for an accident. So I'm careful to put my wrist over something soft like my bed or my desk to shorten the fall should I drop it. I haven't dropped a watch yet, but there's always that chance.

As far as the buckle, it's usually centered or close to centered on my wrist. On one of my watches the buckle isn't quite centered but no big deal.


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## DON (Feb 14, 2006)

You want the spring bar part in the center of the wrist and sitting between the tendons of the wrist.

Tail - one loop or two. I have about 20mm sticking out. Enough tail that it doesn't catch on anything

DON


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## es335 (Oct 10, 2007)

Is this "regular" size strap too long for a 7 inch wrist? The tail measures about 2 inches from the prong. The prong is fasted to the 2nd closest adjustment hole to the 6 o'clock side. 

The strap has these dimensions:

Regular: 11,5 + 7,5 cm (4.53 + 2.95 in.)


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## DON (Feb 14, 2006)

es335 said:


> Is this "regular" size strap too long for a 7 inch wrist? The tail measures about 2 inches from the prong. The prong is fasted to the 2nd closest adjustment hole to the 6 o'clock side.
> 
> The strap has these dimensions:
> 
> Regular: 11,5 + 7,5 cm (4.53 + 2.95 in.)


It's a stand length for regular - 75/115 mm or 120 mm

Tail is the length of the material past the first or second loop (if used)

DON


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## Bigcupj (6 mo ago)

I don’t like seeing the tail at all so I tend to go for shorter straps.


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## es335 (Oct 10, 2007)

DON said:


> It's a stand length for regular - 75/115 mm or 120 mm
> 
> Tail is the length of the material past the first or second loop (if used)
> 
> DON


Thanks. Based on photos, is the strap the right size or too long? If the tail is the bit after the first loop, it measures about 1 inch.


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## WatchObsession (Oct 30, 2006)

Whatever best suits you as the wearer !!


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## CLP (Sep 25, 2015)

I'm the same size and my preference has been 115×75, but I can make due with standard 120×80.

Size of watch also makes a difference. Bigger watch with 50+mm L2L is going to be worse off using 120×80 whereas 115×75 may feel too short on a smaller dress watch.

I also take into account how the long end is shaped. Flat squared off end usually looks better than pointed (doesn't stick up from the back when you are doing a wrist look) and you can put the keeper closer to the end to hold it down better.

What I hate are rubber dive straps with a long end that's 135mm. It's not going over a wetsuit, ever, so why???

And as noted above, that strap looks perfect on you.


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## es335 (Oct 10, 2007)

Thanks for feedback. This strap pictured is a "Regular" size, but the strap is also available in "Short" size. 

Does anyone think "Short" would be a better fit for a 7 inch wrist, or would "Short' be too small?

Here are the strap manufacturer's dimensions:

Length without Buckle:
Regular: 11,5 + 7,5 cm (4.53 + 2.95 in.)
Short: 10,5 + 6,5 cm (4.13 + 2.56 in.)


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## leadbelly2550 (Jan 31, 2020)

For what it’s worth, 120 x 80 leather straps usually leave no end sticking out on my 8 1/4 inch wrist. 

I purchased a used watch with a really long but high quality 140 x 100 leather strap. The keepers help with the long end, but the buckle isn’t close to being centered - still on the bottom of my wrist, but barely. I wear the watch that way because spending on a new strap of the same quality, for a watch I bought used at a deep discount, would irk me. 

I would go with the smallest strap you can get away with.


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## mumblypeg (Apr 14, 2017)

I have a 6.75" wrist. 115 x 75 works good for me (and I don't like but just enough length to peek through the second holder). 120 x 80 leaves too much coming up the other side. With your 7" wrist, the 115 x 75 should be about perfect. The 105 x 65 is probably going to be too short (without cutting a loop off).


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## CLP (Sep 25, 2015)

es335 said:


> Thanks for feedback. This strap pictured is a "Regular" size, but the strap is also available in "Short" size.
> 
> Does anyone thing "Short" would be a better fit for a 7 inch wrist, or would "Short' be too small?
> 
> ...


Short = Too small (for me, also 7 inch)
115x75 = perfect.


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## es335 (Oct 10, 2007)

Great insights. So is it generally best to have the buckle centered like in this photo? Is this tail length considered OK? The shorter version of this strap would reduce the length by 0.8 of an inch (2cm) and the buckle would move to the left underside of wrist.


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## ayampols (May 22, 2020)

es335 said:


> Is this tail length considered OK?


This looks fine to me, fwiw. I like to move my keeper up a little, so that there's only a couple of millimeters of strap that peeks out. Only works if there's enough friction to keep it in place. My Artem strap's keeper was too loose for this purpose, for example. But my VC watch strap keeper stays put like a champ.


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## Calgary Jim (11 mo ago)

es335 said:


> Thanks for feedback. This strap pictured is a "Regular" size, but the strap is also available in "Short" size.
> 
> Does anyone think "Short" would be a better fit for a 7 inch wrist, or would "Short' be too small?
> 
> ...


I wear a short most of the time on my 6.25” wrist but that there is a lot of variation on lengths versus label, ie, short, medium. I find 170 too short, there’s almost no tail.


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## Calgary Jim (11 mo ago)

es335 said:


> Great insights. So is it generally best to have the buckle centered like in this photo? Is this tail length considered OK? The shorter version of this strap would reduce the length by 0.8 of an inch (2cm) and the buckle would move to the left underside of wrist.
> 
> View attachment 16852465


This is definitely not too long.


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## Shutterbug57 (Nov 15, 2013)

I find this amount to be perfect for me.


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