# Where to get a non Chinese nato strap?



## Michael M_ (May 18, 2014)

Where can I buy a nato strap not made in China? I don’t care if it’s made anywhere else as long as it’s not China. Thanks in advance for your help.


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## Bonzodog (Oct 31, 2019)

Steveostraps ,custom made in Uk


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## Deity42 (Jan 7, 2016)

I'd be surprised if this was possible.

Even if the hardware is made somewhere else, and they stitch everything together somewhere else, I'd assume at least some product content is origin China.

I think I saw an article about how Tudor makes their fabric straps in some centuries old building, stitched by Italian virgins or something. Only thing I can think of.


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## Nokie (Jul 4, 2011)

Maybe etsy?


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## Medusa (Feb 6, 2010)

England is the best place to get a real G10 NATO strap. Anything else from anyplace is a homage NATO strap.


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## illition (Dec 27, 2011)

You can get really good quality items from China, or bad ones. 

Similarly you can get great quality straps in America/UK or otherwise or you could also get bad ones. 

I think a more appropriate question would be asking where to get good quality NATO straps. 
Hope you’re not typing this on an iPhone haha 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## CrownAndBuckle (May 3, 2010)

ADPT Straps are made in the United States.


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## John Frum (Nov 25, 2019)

PhenomeNato.
Ships from Hungary. IMO the best out there.


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## agile-ra (Jun 23, 2020)

Nokie said:


> Maybe etsy?


Most of Etsy is just people reselling Chinese goods at a markup. Might as just go the aliexpress route at that point.


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## agile-ra (Jun 23, 2020)

illition said:


> You can get really good quality items from China, or bad ones.
> 
> Similarly you can get great quality straps in America/UK or otherwise or you could also get bad ones.
> 
> ...


While your premise is technically correct, I feel like it's a bit misleading, if not disingenuous. Yes, you can get good and bad quality stuff from China and America. However, the amount of poorly made goods in China vastly outpaces the amount of poorly made goods in the US. Not to mention that, with China's low standards for QC, you run into significantly more chances of the goods being contaminated by something that probably won't kill but the contaminant will be way above the WHO's standards. Chinese goods are regularly found to hold above-recommended levels of these contaminants in teas, foods, clothing, toys, etc.


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## GeorgeGordon (Jan 15, 2019)

Medusa said:


> England is the best place to get a real G10 NATO strap. Anything else from anyplace is a homage NATO strap.


I literally just rolled my eyes at your comment.


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## GeorgeGordon (Jan 15, 2019)

CrownAndBuckle said:


> ADPT Straps are made in the United States.


I legitimately came into this thread to point out Crown and Buckle has some US made stuff.


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## Medusa (Feb 6, 2010)

GeorgeGordon said:


> I literally just rolled my eyes at your comment.


"The initial debut of the NATO strap was by the British Ministry of Defense in 1973. Back then, there was only one version and it had a singular tone: admiralty grey."









The NATO strap: more than a fashion statement
 






www.nato.int


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## Mtvandi (Aug 1, 2020)

CrownAndBuckle said:


> ADPT Straps are made in the United States.


^^^^^THIS^^^^
Affordable US Made NATO straps. I own a couple and they have been awesome.


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## Mtvandi (Aug 1, 2020)

Deity42 said:


> I'd be surprised if this was possible.
> 
> Even if the hardware is made somewhere else, and they stitch everything together somewhere else, I'd assume at least some product content is origin China.
> 
> I think I saw an article about how Tudor makes their fabric straps in some centuries old building, stitched by Italian virgins or something. Only thing I can think of.


Tudor are beautiful, but fairly pricey “non China Made” fabric straps. On the plus side, they do wear nicely! 👍


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## GeorgeGordon (Jan 15, 2019)

Medusa said:


> "The initial debut of the NATO strap was by the British Ministry of Defense in 1973. Back then, there was only one version and it had a singular tone: admiralty grey."
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Uh... No. That's definitely not correct. NATO straps, or straps very similar to the modern NATO, i.e. adjustable nylon straps with excess tails for adjustment over sleeves, were in service as early as 1940, if not even earlier.

Your article is just, like, intensely wrong. Or at least extraordinarily pedantic about exactly what constitutes a NATO.


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## mtallman (Jul 6, 2012)

Michael M_ said:


> Where can I buy a nato strap not made in China? I don’t care if it’s made anywhere else as long as it’s not China. Thanks in advance for your help.


The Watch Steward is American made. They aren’t NATO straps, rather there elastic military straps like Erika’s Marine Nationals. I prefer them to NATO straps. My 2 cents


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## arodgers (Apr 20, 2020)

mtallman said:


> The Watch Steward is American made. They aren’t NATO straps, rather there elastic military straps like Erika’s Marine Nationals. I prefer them to NATO straps. My 2 cents


They could be sewn ("assembled") in the US but the materials are all from overseas, prob the same places making the other elastic straps on the market


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## mtallman (Jul 6, 2012)

arodgers said:


> They could be sewn ("assembled") in the US but the materials are all from overseas, prob the same places making the other elastic straps on the market


I’m not sure I understand, is your concern with the fabric or having everything made in the USA?


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## Melatonic (11 mo ago)

Unfortunately hard to prove as it was proven recently with the Cheapest Nato Straps debacle - they claimed for awhile their leather was from local deer and made in Sweden and then it turned out it was all just aliexpress anyways. 

Etsy used to be your best bet but these days it has filled with chinese garbage as well unfortunately. But I bet there are definitely some good vendors on there.

I have a Hemsut strap on order - they do not claim to be america but do have a location here in america - they are pretty straight forward about being a chinese company (you can find their products on aliexpress but it seems like only from one or two vendors - not rebranded a million times unless I missed it). They claim some of their straps are Horween leather (which is an american tannery) which could very well be true or not. When it comes down to it my biggest concern is generally the quality of the materials used - usually if a place is starting out with higher quality base materials and textiles they are not then going to cheap out on the crappiest labor.


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## Michael M_ (May 18, 2014)

phm14 said:


> I'm with you. I prefer to buy as local as possible, but make an effort to avoid purchasing Chinese goods. It's much more than a quality issue. Here in the US, we are losing an average of 295 lives a day to fentanyl, produced in Mexico or South America by cartels, from Chinese supplied chemicals, flowing across our now open southern border. The Chinese used to ship it direct in pill form, until they were exposed/pressured (nothing is shipped into, or out of China, without CCP knowledge), and are known to have engineered their poison to be as addictive as possible. That's the tip of the iceberg, of Chinese malevolence. I'm sick of hearing "you can't avoid buying Chinese". We must take steps, and start somewhere. If I have a choice, I'll buy from anywhere, even Russia, before China. Check out the endless human rights atrocities, if the mass poisoning isn't enough. Many here know someone who has ODed on some fentanyl laced drug. It's the leading cause of death for 18-35 year olds in the US. Search "open air heroine market" on YT, and take a look at what's being allowed to happen here. Truly evil, and tragic. Many more who aren't dead yet, are hopelessly addicted, and will likely die of an overdose at some point. There's also a very good case that they are complicit in the "pandemic", which has wrought incalculable global destruction.


Thats exactly how I feel about it too! To m sit worth paying the extra.


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## Stelwick (Nov 6, 2020)

arodgers said:


> They could be sewn ("assembled") in the US but the materials are all from overseas, prob the same places making the other elastic straps on the market


This statement is incorrect, as you can see here. About I will second the quality of his work; mine is fantastic and very comfortable.


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## Caltex88 (Nov 24, 2016)

Phenomenato is made in Hungary.


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## Mauric (Dec 19, 2015)

illition said:


> You can get really good quality items from China, or bad ones.
> 
> Similarly you can get great quality straps in America/UK or otherwise or you could also get bad ones.
> 
> ...


I disagree, most Chinese products are bad quality, it doesn't matter if you're buying the highest quality of the products made in China, they always lack absolute perfection. 

What you said implies that good or bad quality items can be produced at the same ratio in China or the USA and that is far from true.


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## LosAngelesTimer (Aug 24, 2017)

GeorgeGordon said:


> I legitimately came into this thread to point out Crown and Buckle has some US made stuff.


ADPT straps are not a Crown & Buckle product, are they?


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## CrownAndBuckle (May 3, 2010)

LosAngelesTimer said:


> ADPT straps are not a Crown & Buckle product, are they?


They are not. Worn & Wound makes them and sells them in their WindUp shop.


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## LosAngelesTimer (Aug 24, 2017)

LosAngelesTimer said:


> ADPT straps are not a Crown & Buckle product, are they?





CrownAndBuckle said:


> They are not. Worn & Wound makes them and sells them in their WindUp shop.


My question was at least semi-rhetorical.
Kudos for recommending a competitor’s product.


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## drunken-gmt-master (Mar 29, 2018)

GeorgeGordon said:


> Medusa said:
> 
> 
> > "The initial debut of the NATO strap was by the British Ministry of Defense in 1973. Back then, there was only one version and it had a singular tone: admiralty grey."
> ...


You're both correct. The modern G10/NATO does have its origin in UK MoD specifications, but it didn't come out of a vacuum (though its ancestors were mostly leather & fabric, not nylon). See this article & a follow-up on the A.F.0210 site.


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## drunken-gmt-master (Mar 29, 2018)

mtallman said:


> The Watch Steward is American made. They aren’t NATO straps, rather there elastic military straps like Erika’s Marine Nationals. I prefer them to NATO straps. My 2 cents


Another U.S.-made alternative to elastic straps like Erika's are Hook Straps from Nick Mankey Designs. I prefer them to Erika's & similar designs because they don't put any fabric underneath the watch (many of my watches are fat enough already  !).


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