My problem with NATO straps isn't that they ARE too cheap - it's that they LOOK too cheap. They look like you lost/broke the original strap or bracelet and couldn't afford a proper replacement. I've never seen a NATO strap that I thought looked proper for the watch.
@@chuckschillingvideos Natos are worn for practicality and durability on the field not to parade around the street and look pretty. I like nato's cause they will last as long as my watch and it's cheap to replace them if they ever do get destroyed.
@@dredgewalker By some, perhaps. But I certainly see plenty of posts here on youtube and on watch forums where it's clear that they are being worn primarily as fashion accessories.
True. Wearing the proper Connery era Bond RAF requires you to leave the spring bars slightly exposed. Not a look I like, but it's just how it shows up in Goldfinger. Check it out... grail-watch.com/2018/04/19/the-real-james-bond-watch-strap-resurrected/ And this tip is great - a much cleaner look.
@@bxctvillalba4390 The complete "true to celluloid" Connery era Bond look would also include either a two - or a three piece Anthony Sinclair suit, a selection of Oxfords, Derbys, loafers and leather boots and of course the indispensible hairpiece.
It amazes me how i’ve been in the watch world for so long and had not heard of this NATO strap technique… thank you so much! It is super useful when dealing with thick watches, as you’re essentially shaving off a good 1-2mm by only having the nato strap pass under the case once
The watch stays on the strap if one springbar breaks regardless of whether there’s an “underside” piece there or not. The one and only purpose of the “underside” is to keep the watch from sliding up or down the strap.
My thought also Paco. Yes the watch stays on the strap, but with the NATO in the standard config, it stays in the correct area on top of the wrist rather than sliding underneath. As a soldier, you're more likely to be able to jerry-rig something if the watch is at least in the correct area and you're not trying to correct two issues.
You are the main reason I even bought and tried a couple of nato’s, as I just couldn’t stand the look of the big blob of extra strap at the top side of the watch. I love this idea and thank you for this slice of genius!
Well done. I tell my grandkids it's my job to learn something every day. Done! This is a good option for getting more usage out of my NATO straps. Thanks.
Yeah for real. I was saw pictures of people wearing the watch rigjt before i was going to pay for the NATO and i looked so "ugly" and i was starting to reconsider. And then suddenly..... i come across your video and i was feeling blessed🙏🏼😇
It's actually genius. On a smaller watch, say a SARB035, a conventional wearing of a NATO might look a bit odd. I just popped one on my 035 with your method and it looks amazing.
I also was a NATO/ZULU strap hater with relish but now after getting into mechanical and automatic watches, namely Seiko and Orient i have become a bit of a NATO/ZULU connoisseur if there is such a thing
There's another reason why they have the double layer, it stops the watch sliding up or down, but also, it keeps the watch away from your skin, which in the original purpose of a NATO strap with the British was for RAF pilots, in cold cockpits who wouldn't want cold metal touching their skin.
The added benifit of this way is that while it no longer keeps the watch on the strap if held by the buckle, it does protect against buckle failure in a way the normal way does not. If the buckle fails it should bind up and not fall off. Additionally it lowers the height of the watch on the wrist and makes it less prone to snags.
The best video how to install a NATO strap the right way I'm very picky meticulous how the watch looks and feels every other video or pictures looks half ass. After couple of tries looks professional and clean and aligned the strap thank you brother
I have an Omega Nato strap and this method doesn't work as well as it should due to the strap holder being Square. It can't re-position itself to fit snugly with the buckle.
The NATO has always annoyed me for the very reasons you stated. Your solution is superb. I never thought there was a solution to these straps. Excellent. Thanks
ID, these are BOTH Bond straps. The black/olive/red pattern was worn by Connery (on a Sub) in Goldfinger. The black/gray was worn by Craig (on a Seamaster) in Spectre. I wear both. I highly endorse Gekota straps; a very good product.
Hey man, sorry, I should've clarified better. The Grey NATO has become an "official" bond NATO after being used in Spectre, but the original lead to the grey design that was the "unofficial" strap for years ;)
Michael Powell. Sorry Michael; the strap worn by Connery in Goldfinger was a normal nylon strap that was popular in the 60's. NATO or G10 straps were only issued to the British Military in grey until the mid 80's and were not sold commercially until then. Craig's strap was as you say, a Bond strap, or a commercially available copy.
Chin, you are correct in that Connery was not wearing a NATO. But it was not a ZULU either (it didn't have the ZULU-style hardware). What Connery wore was a one-piece nylon dive strap with a standard tang and buckle.,
So much more comfortable, as soon as I did it it felt so much better, just hope it works just as well for guys with a smaller wrist, 10/10. also I’ve been in the uk 🇬🇧 army for 20 years n never heard of this method, it just feels so much better, well for me at least.
Thanks for sharing it! The traditional setup makes the strap look so bulky. With this alternative setup, it looks much better and it's just as comfortable! I'm rocking my Seiko SKX007 with the black and grey NATO :D This combination is awesome!
Today my first NATO strap arrived in the mail, and the instructions were very vague and when i put it on my wrist something seemed off. After watching your video, I made the same adjustments and the function and fit is absolutely amazing. Thanks!
Instead of buying a G10 style NATO, you could get a RAF style strap that comes without the extra strap part and third ring … And the benefit of the extra strap piece: The watch can't slide off the strap when you take it off whereas with a RAF style strap it can.
Yeas, the second understrap is there to prevent watch case accidentally sliding from the strap down to the floor. But to me it is good to have both options available on one strap. Nevertheless, alternative option actually helps that watch strap does not fully accidentally slip away while strapping or unstrapping the watch. To me it happened two times on a classic band that the watch slipped and fell on the floor mainly while unstrapping it.
Also I’ve just discovered that with a bit of coaxing you can slide the watch face to get it right in the middle of your wrist by feeding a bit of strap either way as desired, also it won’t move out of place on its own. Again such a simple idea 💡 but works better in so many other ways
WHY DID RU-vid JUST RECOMMENDED ME THIS NOW? I WEAR NATO STRAP ALL THE TIME BUT THIS NEVER CROSS MY MIND AT ALL, U JUST BLEW MY MIND AND SAVE ME 5MM OF WRIST BULK, THANK YOU!
I've been wearing my Nato straps like this ever since I first caught your video a year ago. Great look and feel over the traditional method and lets your watch remain the prominent feature on the wrist.
Magnificent!!! Very sneaky. I suppose in theory the nato under this method serves as a zulu strap as well. All I have are nato so I guess I have options now....a ZuNat if you like😬😬😬😬
Very well presented and useful video, well done sir. Mine NATO just dropped in the post and installed using the default method and hated it, far too bulky. Yours was the 3rd video I watched and your stroke of genius has saved the day. It is now very comfortable to wear and looks great. Many thanks indeed for taking the time do this.
I live for comments like this! Thank you so, so, much, Sam. This brought a smile to my face today. Happy to have helped and I'm so glad this configuration made the difference!
Thank you so much for this video! I have a 6 1/4” wrist and like wearing larger divers on NATO but they always look and feel top heavy. Just tried this and it’s perfect! Super comfortable!
Stumbled across this video by accident when researching for my first NATO, and it's been invaluable. Prefer this method a thousand times over conventional way. Had to use a clothes shaver to wear away a sharp edge that was digging into my skin but after that it's been flawless. Thank you for your wisdom.
I’ve just discovered this technique and love it, but I’ve had the same issue with a sharp edge digging in. I don’t have a clothes shaver, do you think a nail file would work?
this just turns a nato into a 3 ring zulu. The purpose of the extra strap on the nato is to stop the watch moving around and dangling off the underside of your wrist if the springbar breaks. The advantage of not having the extra strap piece under the watch is that large heavy watches aren't elevated too much off the wrist
Appreciate the comment, man. Since I do these video's on the fly, I can't always turn a phrase that well haha! Very nicely explained about the function of the securing part of the strap.
Perfectly explained. Makes perfect sense what your saying. Imagine a soldier in the heat of battle having his watch dangling off, if his spring bar was to break. That would be a most undesirable occurrence for him. So yes, it makes perfect sense what your saying Adrian that the extra strap would prevent this happening to a commercial user like you and l . I also agree with your other comment about this method of not having the extra strap piece underneath the watch makes heavier watches less elevated off the wrist.
The watch is still only secured by the 2 springbars. If one breaks, the watch will still hang off as it doesn't matter how many layers of strap are beneath, the watch is ONLY held by the bars... In the '70s I owned a super wide strap which mounted the watch on top - yet still, the only more secure method to secure the watch is 1. Solder the springbar or 2. Contain the watch and view through a window.
Wow this is absolutely mindboggling!! I would have never thought about this in a million years!!! I'll never wear my NATO the "traditional" way again! Thank you so much! :)
That actually works. Thanks. I just got the new Seiko 5 sports with the khaki green strap. (I did a RU-vid video about it) and il be wearing it with your method from now on.
@@Zeratsu Why? I guess it works. Depends on how cleanly you csn cut it, an unless you stich down the end nay be an itrritant. Cut too close may compromise existing seam. So again, why?
@@Cheetorblz done it yesterday, it's pretty much neat looking, less bulky. I just melted the ends with lighter so any seam wouldn't come off. I've watched guide how to do it in youtube. Also i shortened it, so i don't tuck it anywhere.
I too don't like how a traditional NATO strap wears, for all the reasons you mentioned. I have an even better solution though. I wear my diver on a quality rubber strap. Problem solved.
What a simple but great idea! Thank you for explaining. I’ve always disliked NATO straps because of the bulk of the end of the strap being tucked back on itself. I’m tempted now to buy a NATO just to try it out!
I just bought myself my first field watch on a NATO strap and I must say, this was something of a revelation to me haha thanks mate. I know it’s super old this vid but hey, if it works, it works! Thanks!
One of the very best nato strap tips I've seen on RU-vid. This video has finally persuaded me to get a few. I also love the trivia. A very informative and entertaining vid. Thanks! Another subscriber here.
No. It's an 18mm RAF strap with green center lines and red trim on a black background, that was put on an issued Rolex Mil Sub with 20mm lugs that had the bars welded on. The watch was borrowed from an actual SBS veteran who was issued the watch by the Royal Navy. The strap that was on it was not the issued G10 diver strap (commonly called a “NATO” today) that it was issued with, but instead a shorter strap the owner put on but that didn't fit on Connery's wrist. So they went out to a street stand that sold straps (it was popular at the time) and bought the RAF strap you see in the movie. That is also why the strap didn't fit the lug width of the watch. It was an 18mm RAF strap that was made for smaller dress watches. It was not a Zulu. Zulu straps are the U.S. equivalent to the G10 (again, commonly called the "NATO") except they are thicker, more durable, the buckles and keepers are generally oval instead of squared off, and they come in 3 ring and 5 ring versions. Finally, for the video, that extra piece of strap is NOT to “keep the watch on should a pin break”, it’s there to keep the watch from sliding off the band. That is why it exists.
Thanks VeteranAJ. I had heard some slightly different things about the Connery watch in that the director or someone in the film crew loaned him the watch with the strap because Connery had shown up with a dress watch, so that’s interesting about the strap purchase and other likely owner.
Thank you very much for a great tip. Most watches will look better without the extra fixing strap under the case, and most don’t need it. But also, the second, fixing strap serves a purpose under the buckle, adding comfort by giving a smooth surface and extra distance to the metal. And hey, if you know you’ll be operating in areas of risk, like on a boat or something, you can even eliminate the risk of buckle pin failure by simply folding strap end back from the buckle and under the fixing strap loop! Looks a bit strange, but it works! Just try and simulate pin failure, and the buckle will give a little and lock against the fixing strap loop.
Thank you, Eirik. I was speaking with a bit of inexperience at the time (and also ad-libbed most of it) But I fully agree with the point you made. I hope you get to enjoy this method and that it makes your strap wearing experience all the better. All the best!
This is a game changer for me! I’ve never been a huge fan of nato straps but I this has changed my mind! I have several natos and was actually putting my orient ray 2 and Casio duro on a nato strap and THIS will be how I wear them!
I brought my first nato about a month ago. I was actually already using this method without seeing a tutorial. The ways shown on youtube often has the excess bunching on the sides of the wrist. I don't like that look. But this video did show me how to hide that extra buckle better underneath my wrist. Thank you.
G’day IDGuy, In fact there is no such thing as a NATO Bond watch strap. The Bond film, ‘Goldfinger’ was filmed in 1964. Nine years later, in 1973, the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) developed the watch strap you are using in this video. They invented it. Originally it was called a G10 NATO watch strap. G10 was the name of the form soldiers had to fill out to request the strap and like everything in the first world’s military, the strap had to have a NSN, a NATO Stock Number. So the short form name for this watch strap was G10 NATO strap. The correct NATO Stock Number Item name for this piece of equipment was, ‘Strap, watch, MOD’. Sean Connery was wearing a thinner watch strap that just happened to be long. I like your hack on wearing this type of watch strap to move the bulkiness to the back of the strap. Cheers, BH.
you can just cut that underside piece off as well. But as others have said that section is generally to keep the watch from sliding off the strap. This only really happens if the watch rather freely moves along the strap. If it doesn't really freely move, the space between the case and springbar is tight enough to hold the watch in place anyway, then it's fine to cut that underside section off. Makes the whole thing thinner.
HI, I was using BluShark Alpha Premier standard NATO straps until recently. BluShark introduced a PerFit model which only has a single pass under the watch and it has an adjuster so you can create the optimal length of strap. So I asked my daughter to get me two for Christmas and I was astounded by the fact that even though they only have a single pass under the watches neither of the watches slide up and down the strap. They stay where you put them which eliminates the need for a NATO strap with a double pass. Id highly recommend them. Dave Cooke
This is brilliant! I probably have over 20 different Nato straps and I have always cut off the under side; simply because I absolutely hate the bulkiness it creates when wore as it supposed to. I have a few brand new ones I have not cut the under side and will be using them like this. Thanks!!!
I bought a new cheap strap. This video popped at my attention and da da da da here I am It's quite ...... difficult to find a proper word, to say that an entire world is wearing a strap in the same way, with no doubts at all (I write this because sadly this strap thing is so enormously meaningful for everything) and the same way is with a part of it, that is THE part, the one that makes the difference, between this one and all the others, and is used in a way that doesn't make the difference at all. The very difference left unused, and also uncomfortable under the main strap. A so called military thing, a world renown degree for useful no crap devices, with a non useful part. And still no doubts. I became curious and I found so wonderful explanations about this mysterious extra strap. And why is useful left it unused. Military explanations. No doubts. The way to wear this is this. Why? Military. More. In this way, we have the buckle on the side of the wrist. If you think this can keep the watch in position, I can tell you I had a single strap (older model) for 20 years and the watch never moved. I can add that working with my watch on me, neither a pin never broke! Anyway. This single older version already solved the problem of a pin breaking. So? So remained unsolved the possibility of the rupture of.........................................................................(BEETHOVEN).........................the buckle. In this video you have the solution to this problem. With two buckles/rings in the end of the extra strap you would have a friction buckle. If the main buckle breaks, in the first situation (like in the video) you will feel the strap loose around your wrist, thanks the extra strap, (THE part!! remember?), in the second with two paired buckles/rings, the friction of these two will keep the watch more longer around you wrist. In the video the technique is correct to obtain the result, but is not visually clear what happens around your wrist: you're actually inserting your hand in a close loop - here it is, the extra protection - and then you close the strap like every other. No more useless parts. Do it and it's clear. And now, the main buckle is where it always had been. In the center of your inner wrist. I wrote this because I'm not so sure that loosing time is really possible, but you can actually loose your watch. By books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Invented_Reality.html?id=dvkVKAAACAAJ&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y
This is the most philosophical piece of writing I have ever seen. "I'm not so sure that losing time is really possible, but you can actually lose your watch" is beautiful. Thank you for your comment and feedback on the idea! Kind regards!
The under strap keep the watch from sliding off the strap when off your wrist you can then hang it off your bunk as a wall clock it also aids it from sliding around on your wrist if you wear it loose great vidio by the way
Very true, I should have specified that this is more for the casual watch wearer who does not want to modify their straps. I also have ZULU styled straps that work extremely well for purpose (and are truer to form). It goes to show that ZULU straps are just as effective as NATO's.
Thank you for sharing this! I have smaller wrists so I’ve been having the problem of having to pull the strap on my NATO to such an extent that the watch ends up rotating toward the outside of the top of my wrist making my have to rotate it further to see my watch face leading to wrist strain. This method solved my problem beautifully.
I think I prefer this, but it kind just reverses the bulk position for certain straps. Mine have pretty chunky strap retainers, so the buckle sticks out at 6 o'clock rather than a bunch of excess strap at 12. Cool technique for sure.
Technically the old strap cant be called Bond NATO because it was a ZULU strap. The difference is that the zulu only has one layer. There is no underside to protect the watch in case you lose a pin. In a few close up shots from Tunderball you can clearly see this.
I actually by accident also created a new way of wearing the NATO strap. What I did is put the part with the holes inside the smaller understrap BEFORE insering it in the wacth, this way it also doesn't look big and "stuffed".
Absolutely NO NEED for a NATO strap, as the extra strap holder just gets in the way of the watch placement on wrist, dependent on wrist size. As you have shown by losing one strap pin, a NATO is no safer than a one piece strap. Original Bond regimental nylon strap was an ugly affair as it was way too narrow for the watch, looked like a 16 on a 20.
My, you have a thin wrist, when I tried, I had to clamp it to my knee to buckle it up, mind it could be useful when I get a thicker proper NATO standard strap with welded holes (with my Seagull 1963 I'm left with only 2 spare holes (and no tuck under))
