Omega NATO solution!

Many of you will own or have tried Omega’s NATO straps and noted that while the quality is second to none, they suffer from an infuriating design flaw - a metal keeper which is bizarrely designed so it digs into the wearer’s skin (it’s even more frustrating when you realise that the reason for this poor design is probably so Omega have somewhere to put the serial number).

This issue has been well covered on these forums and elsewhere, but I’m pleased to let you all know that I have a solution!

Hodinkee and others have suggested cutting off the under keeper and burning the edge with a cigarette lighter, but understandably many people are reluctant to mutiliate a £170 strap. Luckily, this isn’t necessary! You can simply unpick the stitches and remove the keeper:



Then one can simply wear the strap with the flap against the skin and it’s 1,000 times more comfortable:



However, this isn’t symmetrical and it does seem a pity to completely remove part of a beautiful and expensive strap. The solution is to reattach the keeper but this time keep the strap on the outside rather than pushing it through the small gap. You can sew it back together by hand or with a machine equipped with a denim needle. The whole process is very easy (although I must confess I got my girlfriend to do the sewing) and shouldn’t take more than 30 mins.



Looks great (exactly as it did before), and is now incredibly comfortable!

I really enjoy my OMEGA NATO and have no problems with the comfort. For those that do, thanks for posting. For decades, I have honestly believed that knowing how to sew, is a spectacular competence.

I just did the restitching modification yesterday to my Omega NATO to stop the metal retainer from digging into a vein on the side of my wrist (ouch!). It was a super easy job to unpick the existing stitching, rethread the strap around the lowest bar of the retainer, and hand-stitch it all back together using the original holes in the strap. You can't tell it was modified and it took 30 min tops. I highly recommend this modification if you find the retainer digging into your wrist. It is a game changer. .