Omega Nato straps

colonel · Aug 1, 2024

I am going away soon and am thinking of getting a genuine Omega Nato strap for my 41mm Aqua Terra.
This is just so I can worry about scratching my bracelet less on holiday, and also having something a bit lighter and more flexible.

I have a silver dial small seconds, so prefer a black or silver strap. Although I quite like the black bordered red white and blue one for a bit of fun as well!

I see a number of different types. Just wondered what folks' views were on the most comfortable:
1. Black coated nylon fabric strap - is the coating more comfortable then the material on its own
2. Polyamide black strap - no coatings. how soft is this ?
3. Black leather strap. Assume this is comfortable, how soft ?
4. Polyester strap. I wondered what the difference in softness between the Nylon, Polyamide and Polyester straps is ?
5. Novonappa leather. Presume this is softer then normal leather ?

Who has used some of these and what do is your experience ?

Jakeys · Aug 1, 2024

I can only speak to the polyamide, I own two; the blue grey and the black grey. They are the highest quality NATO bands I have ever seen or handled, but boy do you pay for it. Very soft, very pliable, very durable. Durability is particularly notable, the weave is much denser than most NATOs so the pin holes don't easily stretch or fray like some cheaper NATOs will after a while.

If you buy online, you will get a bizarrely high quality travel case for your straps or a Sony PSP, two sizes of spring bars in a little capsule, and an optional add-in branded spring bar tool. I've heard you don't get this kit buying in a boutique so I would recommend buying online. Some eBay sellers sell the accessory kit for upwards of $50 so you can recoup some of the immense cost of the first party NATO that way I guess. 😜

colonel · Aug 1, 2024

ah no, I should have never chucked my PSP!

Spqr · Aug 1, 2024

colonel
I am going away soon and am thinking of getting a genuine Omega Nato strap for my 41mm Aqua Terra.
This is just so I can worry about scratching my bracelet less on holiday, and also having something a bit lighter and more flexible.

I have a silver dial small seconds, so prefer a black or silver strap. Although I quite like the black bordered red white and blue one for a bit of fun as well!

I see a number of different types. Just wondered what folks' views were on the most comfortable:
1. Black coated nylon fabric strap - is the coating more comfortable then the material on its own
2. Polyamide black strap - no coatings. how soft is this ?
3. Black leather strap. Assume this is comfortable, how soft ?
4. Polyester strap. I wondered what the difference in softness between the Nylon, Polyamide and Polyester straps is ?
5. Novonappa leather. Presume this is softer then normal leather ?

Who has used some of these and what do is your experience ?

1. Black Coated Nylon: Reasonably comfortable, not as flexible as non-coated but dries much quicker after use in water. Have a 21mm for my Seamaster 300 Master Co-axial Cal.8400. Can be had in 18mm; 19mm; 20mm and 21mm rather than the usual sizes that straddle two lug widths, such as 19-20mm or 21-22mm.
2. Polyamide: very comfortable and no real functional difference to the Polyester except it is softer and slightly thicker. The NATO straps included with the 1957 Trilogy watches and 1948 Seamasters are polyamide and are very soft and comfortable and perfectly sized for their watches at 19mm lug width. The "standard" Omega NATOs are usually sized to straddle a couple of lug sizes, 19-20mm and 21-22mm.
3. Black leather: If you mean the 18mm "Satin Effect", then it is intended for ladies watches and I have not got one and have only handled one in store. It is about the same in feel as any thinner leather strap but nowhere near as soft as the Novonappa leather NATOs. Not one for use in water.
4. Polyester: Have a few, they are thinner than then Polyamide straps because the weave is less dense and the material is less thick. Polyamides mimic silks in their construction. Having said that the straps are perfectly comfortable and dry out a bit quicker than the polyamide straps.The only disadvantage is the "intermediate" sizing (19-20mm or 21-22mm) straddling lug measurements, so the strap is a touch too wide for a 19mm lug width and a touch too narrow for a 20mm lug width.
5. Novonappa leather: thicker and softer than the usual leather used for watch straps, the NATO versions quickly adapt to the wrist and over time develop a unique patina. I have two, the tan 21mm for my Seamaster 300 MC and a dark brown 21mm for my Speedmaster Moonphase. Again these NATOs can be had in specific lug widths like the coated nylon NATO. The only issue is that as they conform to the shape of the watch and your wrist very quickly they tend to be more difficult to swap around different watches that have different lug-to-lug measurements and shaping. For example the Seamaster 300MC has a 21mm lug width but is quite "flat" on the wrist and has a lug-to-lug of 48mm but the Speedmaster Moonphase has a 21mm lug width but is quite tall on the wrist with a lug-to-lug of 50mm, so the two straps do not easly fit on the different watches once the shaping and fitting has started. Do not use this type of NATO in water.

You should also try the Bio-steel NATO which has a very different feel to the normal polyamide and polyester straps being a silky but quite "hard" feel. I would not recommend the denim NATOs as they are very well made and quite comfortable but denim is quite a thick cloth that is then backed with leather making it quite a hard feeling strap that is quite a bit thicker than a nylon or polyamise NATO and not a flexible either. It makes the watch it is attached to stand very tall on the wrist and with most modern Omega watches that is not always a good thing.

colonel · Aug 1, 2024

extremely useful, thanks

I think for my purposes, a polyamide strap (soft and relatively thin) at the right lug width (20mm) is the way to go

Gubbo · Aug 1, 2024

If it's just for a vacation and you're going to put the bracelet back on when you get home, maybe go for something cheaper than the OEM NATO.

I know, watches are not the place to think about value propositions and I'm speaking as someone who got upsold the $500+ rubber strap and deployant for my speedy when I took it to a boutique to adjust the sizing of the bracelet.

Donn Chambers · Aug 1, 2024

Gubbo
If it's just for a vacation and you're going to put the bracelet back on when you get home, maybe go for something cheaper than the OEM NATO.

I know, watches are not the place to think about value propositions and I'm speaking as someone who got upsold the $500+ rubber strap and deployant for my speedy when I took it to a boutique to adjust the sizing of the bracelet.

This. I have a couple of Omega NATO straps, but I bought them when they were the only game in town for the “seatbelt” style polyester straps. But since then, many companies have copied the style and I have moved to them. They are cheaper, thinner, longer, and smoother. All in all, a better option, IMO.

I prefer BluShark Alpha Premium (https://www.blusharkstraps.com/) and also Phenome straps (https://phenomestraps.com/), but because those are from the EU, they take longer to reach me in the US.

Jakeys · Aug 1, 2024

Donn Chambers
This. I have a couple of Omega NATO straps, but I bought them when they were the only game in town for the “seatbelt” style polyester straps. But since then, many companies have copied the style and I have moved to them. They are cheaper, thinner, longer, and smoother. All in all, a better option, IMO.

I prefer BluShark Alpha Premium (https://www.blusharkstraps.com/) and also Phenome straps (https://phenomestraps.com/), but because those are from the EU, they take longer to reach me in the US.

The Phenome straps look good. They have a couple of decent looking nylon options I wish Omega had, namely admiralty grey and olive green. I know they have the polyester green but it looks a bit light to me, and I prefer the polyamide/nylon visually.

Eddie K · Aug 1, 2024

If you go for a leather nato give it a light coat of (Johnsons) baby oil with a soft cloth and let it soak in for 10 mins, it makes it feel like a soft suede and super comfortable. I've got a gen omega on my geneve and a watchgeko one on my old military and I don't even feel like I'm wearing them as they're so comfortable. Highly recommend for any leather furniture, jackets, shoes, car seats etc too as it makes them super supple and it's waaaay cheaper than the 'professional' crap that's usually full of chemicals. HTH.

ErichPryde · Aug 1, 2024

Jakeys
If you buy online, you will get a bizarrely high quality travel case for your straps or a Sony PSP, two sizes of spring bars in a little capsule, and an optional add-in branded spring bar tool.

Is this still the case? That's very cool.

Love the watches- especially that Seamaster on that NATO.

ErichPryde · Aug 1, 2024

I've never tried Johnson's baby oil, but that makes sense. I have often used Bick 4 on leather watch straps because it's a product that I use on boots and jackets.

Eddie K
If you go for a leather nato give it a light coat of (Johnsons) baby oil with a soft cloth and let it soak in for 10 mins, it makes it feel like a soft suede and super comfortable. I've got a gen omega on my geneve and a watchgeko one on my old military and I don't even feel like I'm wearing them as they're so comfortable. Highly recommend for any leather furniture, jackets, shoes, car seats etc too as it makes them super supple and it's waaaay cheaper than the 'professional' crap that's usually full of chemicals. HTH.

Eddie K · Aug 1, 2024

ErichPryde
I've never tried Johnson's baby oil, but that makes sense. I have often used Bick 4 on leather watch straps because it's a product that I use on boots and jackets.

Used it on all my leather for over 30 years and nothing comes close (after all, what do we put on the most delicate skin to exist?....ie babies) you only need the tiniest amount too and redo every other month or so (a half litre of oil can cover a football field)
Anyways, I think I'm in danger of derailing this thread so my apologies to the OP...carry on 😀

ErichPryde · Aug 1, 2024

Eddie K
Used it on all my leather for over 30 years and nothing comes close (after all, what do we put on the most delicate skin to exist?....ie babies) you only need the tiniest amount too and redo every other month or so (a half litre of oil can cover a football field)
Anyways, I think I'm in danger of derailing this thread so my apologies to the OP...carry on 😀

Yes I would assume you'd want to go very, very sparingly.

Jakeys · Aug 1, 2024

ErichPryde
Is this still the case? That's very cool.

I bought the black one about a month ago and it came with the kit. All the website says is springbars included.

ErichPryde
Love the watches- especially that Seamaster on that NATO.

Thanks! I usually switch to them in summer, gets pretty hot in Australia around then! I've been meaning to pick up the current OEM blue rubber for the Seamaster as well, apparently it works although it isn't a perfect fit for the OG Bond, members on here have had success with it.

ErichPryde · Aug 1, 2024

Jakeys
I bought the black one about a month ago and it came with the kit. All the website says is springbars included.

Thanks! I usually switch to them in summer, gets pretty hot in Australia around then! I've been meaning to pick up the current OEM blue rubber for the Seamaster as well, apparently it works although it isn't a perfect fit for the OG Bond, members on here have had success with it.

Not sure if you have had experience with omegas OEM rubber straps but I absolutely love them. I had one on my first generation Heritage for a while and it was my favorite non-bracelet option by far.

Jakeys · Aug 1, 2024

ErichPryde
Not sure if you have had experience with omegas OEM rubber straps but I absolutely love them. I had one on my first generation Heritage for a while and it was my favorite non-bracelet option by far.

I have not, the best rubber strap I've used is a Panerai one. It eventually split on one of the holes after years of wear and I didn't bother replacing it as I switched to leather, but it was insanely comfortable. I didn't love Omega's older rubber strap designs, but the current generation strap looks really nice. It sounds like the curvature of the lugs has changed a bit over the generations so the springbars are a bit of a tight fit, and the strap is slightly recessed from the lugs, but it still looks pretty good.

8100_RPM · Aug 1, 2024

Here is my experience with several Omega Nato straps.

1 - The black & white Speedy Tuesday Nato strap is my least favorite. The material is just feels rough and it is thick.
2 - The black & orange Ultraman strap is smoother and more comfortable to wear than the ST1 strap.
3 - The black Nato strap that came in the Speedy Pro's big box is smoother, thinner and more comfortable than the both ST Natos.
4 - The Bond Nato is similar to the black Speedy Pro Nato in terms of feel and comfort.
5 - The black & single white strap is similar to 3 & 4 but just a little thicker.

KeithS · Aug 1, 2024

I've owned many Omega NATO straps. I think they are all over-priced, but the Novonappa ones are the most luxurious and have the smallest value-to-price gap. I actually really like my mine and have been pleasantly surprised with how well it's held up over the past 3 years of regular use. The polyamide NATO straps are nice, but you can get a similar NATO straps for one quarter of the price from other brands, my favorite being Phenome Straps (formerly Phenomenato). The coated nylon strap is too thick and bulky to be practical, especially when paired with a watch of Omega's usual dimensions (i.e. very fat). The polyester straps are the cheapest feeling and definitely not worth the hefty price tag – I recommend avoiding those.

Golden Brown Novonappa strap - I recommend getting one of these (if you absolutely must have a NATO strap with Omega branding)

Polyamide - nice, but you can get similar NATO straps for much, much cheaper

Polyamide – see above recommendation

Coated nylon – comically thick when paired with the typical Omega watch

Polyester – waste of money; 100% regret buying

To be completely honest, I much prefer the look of a cheap tubular nylon NATO strap.

Can't beat the tooly goodness of a cheap tubular nylon NATO strap

ErichPryde · Aug 1, 2024

@KeithS what ref is this?

Jakeys · Aug 1, 2024

KeithS
The polyamide NATO straps are nice, but you can get a similar NATO straps for one quarter of the price from other brands, my favorite being Phenome Straps (formerly Phenomenato).

I agree with this, just on the pure value for money aspect, Omega straps are overpriced. But as someone else on this forum said quite recently somewhere, you pay a lot for incremental gains at this segment of the market - plus, you're paying for the name. I'm not gonna lie, it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling having the strap have the correct branding on the keepers and buckle. I wouldn't recommend the Omega NATO to someone to put on their Casio, but I do recommend it for Omega owners.

KeithS

Polyester – waste of money; 100% regret buying

Good to know. I had considered the polyester green and decided against it because I was worried it looked a lot cheaper than it should. At least the polyamide looks and feels premium, even if it costs more than it perhaps should.

Omega Nato straps

colonel

Jakeys

colonel

Spqr

colonel

Gubbo

Donn Chambers

Jakeys

Eddie K

ErichPryde

ErichPryde

Eddie K

ErichPryde

Jakeys

ErichPryde

Jakeys

8100_RPM

KeithS

ErichPryde

Jakeys

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