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What if we have been doing NATO's wrong the entire time?

Mad Dog
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Giving it the old college try at a motel in Lafayette, Indiana...Omega polyamide NATO which was included with the modern Speedy Gonzales Moonwatch presentation box set.

LATE ENTRY: Beware of mad dog’s gnarly arm/wrist hair pictured below...AND for the record, mad dog is neither related to nor a descendant of the wire haired Jack Russell terrier...BUT mad dog did beat Chuck Norris in a previously held “Most Gnarly Arm/Wrist Hair World Championship”...mad dog won first place and was dubbed “Dude has Concertina wire arm/wrist hair!”. Chuck Norris placed second and was dubbed “Dude has Brillo pad arm/wrist hair!”. Poor Chuck Norris cried [for days] when he was beaten by mad dog regarding this competition.

C055E75B-0125-48F3-BC2F-C27F0BE84EC3.jpeg 89910FA0-0172-43CE-827B-15926170422B.jpeg
Edited:
 
ras47
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Mad Dog Mad Dog
Giving it the old college try at a motel in Lafayette, Indiana...Omega polyamide NATO which was included with the modern Speedy Gonzales Moonwatch presentation box set.

LATE ENTRY: Beware of mad dog’s gnarly arm/wrist hair pictured below...AND for the record, mad dog is neither related to nor a descendant of the wire haired Jack Russell terrier...BUT mad dog did beat Chuck Norris in a previously held “Most Gnarly Arm/Wrist Hair World Championship”...mad dog won first place and was dubbed “Dude has Concertina wire arm/wrist hair!” whereas Chuck Norris placed second and was dubbed “Dude has Brillo pad arm/wrist hair!”. Poor Chuck Norris cried [for days] when he was beaten by mad dog regarding this competition.

C055E75B-0125-48F3-BC2F-C27F0BE84EC3.jpeg 89910FA0-0172-43CE-827B-15926170422B.jpeg

Geez, you are SO organized! My spare straps are in a cardboard box on a shelf. You're rocking the red leather Omega case, everything tucking in nicely. I've got springbars rattling around in the bottom of the box, no organizational system at all. It's a nightmare.
 
Professor
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A while back I found I had some nylon straps with velcro laying around. I think these came with an outdoor extension cord.
I'd been using these to hold down a S&W CO2 target pistol in a leatherette case.
I tried one on a watch and found it very comfortable and secure.
My left wrist shrinks and swells during the day depending on how my circulation is, even position of my arm makes quite a difference, so I can seldom find a watch strap that fits just right. The velcro made it easy to get a perfect fit.
 
watchlovr
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Wait till you get the affliction of needing to match your vintage natos to the issue year of your divers.
Then you have problems!
27C02CB2-A18E-42E6-B15D-BC69317D2551.jpeg B9DC9C1A-1FF0-4C30-86C2-6AC3DD4C0015.jpeg
 
flw
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I tried this on my Speedy with two different straps ... I couldn't get it to work smoothly at the point where the tang and the first slide meet - way too awkward. And yes, it's definitely a PITA to put on.

Leave it to @Mad Dog to put the rest of us to shame ... once again. 😉
 
noelekal
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watchlovr watchlovr
Wait till you get the affliction of needing to match your vintage natos to the issue year of your divers.
Then you have problems!
27C02CB2-A18E-42E6-B15D-BC69317D2551.jpeg B9DC9C1A-1FF0-4C30-86C2-6AC3DD4C0015.jpeg

I don't even like NATOs and their look with the extra strap loop protruding like some growth, but like collecting generally so perked up my ears at a collection of early NATO straps.

I would be willing to do a NATO on a diver if worn Foo2rama's way.
 
Rowdy
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Mad Dog Mad Dog
Giving it the old college try at a motel in Lafayette, Indiana...Omega polyamide NATO which was included with the modern Speedy Gonzales Moonwatch presentation box set.

LATE ENTRY: Beware of mad dog’s gnarly arm/wrist hair pictured below...AND for the record, mad dog is neither related to nor a descendant of the wire haired Jack Russell terrier...BUT mad dog did beat Chuck Norris in a previously held “Most Gnarly Arm/Wrist Hair World Championship”...mad dog won first place and was dubbed “Dude has Concertina wire arm/wrist hair!”. Chuck Norris placed second and was dubbed “Dude has Brillo pad arm/wrist hair!”. Poor Chuck Norris cried [for days] when he was beaten by mad dog regarding this competition.

C055E75B-0125-48F3-BC2F-C27F0BE84EC3.jpeg 89910FA0-0172-43CE-827B-15926170422B.jpeg


Very nice set up you got there. Are all of your straps Omega? I have one Omega leather NATO that came as a freebie when I got my Aqua Terra. I wouldn’t have spent the money on one otherwise. I am really impressed with the leather keepers and also how the buckle came to the center of my wrist versus over to the side, which is typically what my other NATO straps do. The NATO I have is a light brown color which is ok, but I would really prefer dark brown.
BTW I worked in Lafayette for a few months. Not a bad little town. You been to the Triple XXX hamburger joint? Don’t know if it’s still there, but there was also a little record shop there in town that had every vinyl record you could imagine.
 
Rowdy
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
I'm going for the original use case. It does seem provide insurance against buckle failure in a way the normal way does not, as well as lowering the height to protect against snags that could lead to failure of the spring bars or buckle failure. To me if the buckle fails using this method it will bind, not fall off. Though I will admit some argue the flap is so that when held by the buckle end the watch does not fall off.

I am a big proponent of 3 rings ie single pass straps, and have had more then a few made for my watches. I just thought this was very interesting, and I am surprised it works so well.


Single pass is the way to go. I have cut off the extra flap on several of my NATO straps to convert them to single pass. With single pass you can also center the buckle to the middle of your wrist vs. it being over to the side.
 
Archer
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Tried the method in the video, and I like it...



Looks much cleaner and reduces the bulk under the watch case, keeping it tighter to the wrist.

And again, never had a NATO strap damage any lug on any watch I've ever owned...it's simply a non-issue.

Cheers, Al
 
Mathlar
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
Or the spring bar in the buckle.... it’s weaker then the ones on the watch and would also be a point of failure of the watch was caught on something.

Didn't NASA recommend the astronauts wear the Komfit meshes so that there was a point of failure if required?

I can see the same logic applying in a military scenario.. (but then I'm just playing devil's advocate...).
 
STANDY
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Archer Archer
Tried the method in the video, and I like it...



Looks much cleaner and reduces the bulk under the watch case, keeping it tighter to the wrist.

And again, never had a NATO strap damage any lug on any watch I've ever owned...it's simply a non-issue.

Cheers, Al

Try one of these then AL

B1781AA7-9CD6-4887-912D-38206364A583.jpeg


https://erikasoriginals.com/
https://erikasoriginals.com/
 
B1781AA7-9CD6-4887-912D-38206364A583.jpeg
Archer
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STANDY STANDY
Try one of these then AL

https://erikasoriginals.com/

I've been looking at them for a while. I made the mistake of buying the Cheapest NTO Straps version, and it's completely different, and I do not recommend getting one of those. I was not able to make the strap small enough...I see why Erika's asks you for your wrist size when ordering...
 
Foo2rama
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Mathlar Mathlar
Didn't NASA recommend the astronauts wear the Komfit meshes so that there was a point of failure if required?

I can see the same logic applying in a military scenario.. (but then I'm just playing devil's advocate...).

different use case. Getting hung up on something as your moving through terrain is not when you want to loose a watch. Getting stuck in a spaceship when rapidly trying to react to an emergency is different.
 
mancio
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I’ll probably try the method with the NATO that I purchased with the GMT.
 
Mad Dog
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Rowdy Rowdy
Very nice set up you got there. Are all of your straps Omega? I have one Omega leather NATO that came as a freebie when I got my Aqua Terra. I wouldn’t have spent the money on one otherwise. I am really impressed with the leather keepers and also how the buckle came to the center of my wrist versus over to the side, which is typically what my other NATO straps do. The NATO I have is a light brown color which is ok, but I would really prefer dark brown.
BTW I worked in Lafayette for a few months. Not a bad little town. You been to the Triple XXX hamburger joint? Don’t know if it’s still there, but there was also a little record shop there in town that had every vinyl record you could imagine.
Thanks, dude. All the straps pictured there are Omega...but I darkened the Barenia/Novonappa leather NATO to a much darker brown via a mink oil application. Also, I was just passing through Lafayette enroute from Chicago to Cincinnati...so I didn’t check out any venues.
 
Lurk41
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STANDY STANDY
Try one of these then AL

B1781AA7-9CD6-4887-912D-38206364A583.jpeg


https://erikasoriginals.com/
I bought one a year ago and I must say it is really great. The only drawback I had at the beginning was that the fabric was a bit scratchy, but it stopped after a few days. Maybe it was caused by some residues from the fabrication process, I do not know..
 
BradleyJ.
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I forgot about this thread but when I reached for a nato just now I decided to give it a shot. I must say I'm actually a big fan of this method. Thanks for the heads up 👍
 
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