I am a pain in the ass when it comes to watch straps. As a caveman who wears their watch on the bone or below the bone, straps are problematic. I also wear my bracelets loose like I am a leathered up, 90 year old, mazal, roasting in the sun on Jones beach, letting my gold Rolex flop around all over the place.
This makes me either the best or worst person to review a watch strap.
As a rule, I stick to suede Veblenist or nubuckThreaded Leather), metal, a Nick Mankey if an underwear elastic is acceptable for the time and place, or a Crown and Buckle adjustable chevron strap.
It might be of interest to note that, from my vantage point, double pass NATO style straps, with all that excess material tucked all over the place, looking very much like a goiter hanging from the side of a cats neck, or perhaps an abscess on a cows ass, is a crime against humanity. I can’t stand seeing stuff on the other side.
The problem with this paradigm is that I am always looking for a good fabric strap. Leather is smelly in the summer, sometimes you don’t want a bracelet, underwear elastic around your wrist is comfortable but not classy, and a single pass nylon can feel unbalanced on a taller watch or a watch with straight lugs.
I’ve tried many fabric straps but have previously only found pain, tears and loss.
Those fabric straps with the knitted holes make me feel like an 8 year old going off to summer camp carrying a metal canteen. Then there are the ones that look like an old man knitted sweater. Two piece nylon are invariably stiff and look like an after thought. You get the point.
I once owned a fabric strap that I loved. It was a Postale strap made by a dude named Sampo in Finland. It was custom for a watch that I sold and the dude demanded that the Postale get sold with the watch. I never replaced it because Sampo went quiet for a while and there was always a several month turnaround.
Earlier this year, I found myself texting with Matt from Substation about an old Helbros watch I was thinking about servicing. Somewhere along the way, the conversation took a left turn he mentions that he makes waxed canvas watch straps. The conversation went something like this:
Me: what are these made out of again?
Him: waxed canvas
Me: thinking to myself “what the f&ck is waxed canvas?” I ask, “what is waxed canvas?”
Him: like a Barbour jacket.
Me: thinking to myself “what the f$ck is a Barbour jacket?” I ask “what is a Barbour jacket?”
Him: like a jacket made out of waxed canvas.
Me: thinking to myself FFS. I ask “Ok like I am 5 what are we talking about?”
Him: have you ever seen a Postale strap? Kind of like that.
Me: Ill take two.
Until about a month ago, I didn’t know what a Barbour jacket was. I don’t exactly understand why people would buy not quite waterproof clothing that is supposed to be waterproof and/or clothes that need maintenance but I develop my own film so who am I to judge.
If we are using the Postale strap as the archetype for this genre, the Substation straps look similar from the outside but they feel a bit different. I believe they are made from similar material but my Postale was softer and more flaccid than the Substation. The Substation is, perhaps, semi erect, compared to the Postale but not anything I would call firm. Completing the circle, a nato is an impotent, 90 year old, ex-professional cyclist. A floppy and unruly mess. I believe that the wax and glue are the factor resulting in the differences between Postale and Substation. Postale is unwaxed and, therefore, more flaccid.
We have already established that I am no expert on waxed canvas but I have enough experience to know the word has little descriptive meaning when it comes to watch straps. In researching this piece, I tried waxed canvas straps from a few other vendors. All of the others were stupidly firm and I never made it past the break in period. Conversely, the Substation (and Postale) straps are two layer construction with no stitching, no backing, and require no break in.
Some have called this genre”rolled canvas” but that usually refers to the unkempt mass of fraying fabric sold to the Paneristi. “Glued waxed canvas?” “Unstitched wax canvas?” I am going to call them “stitchless waxed canvas.” Maybe it will stick.
Stitchless was canvas straps like Substation are a more substantial alternative to a Nato.
It is difficult to make generalizations regarding nylon straps because there are unrefined versions with (heinous) ribbing, vulgar shiny ones, abominable two piece NATO’s with the sewn in eyelets, and those shockingly bad ones with the gigantic ovoid keepers that should only be worn by people who were actually in the military. For this comparison we will consider the only nylon strap I wear – the Crown and Buckle, matte, adjustable, Chevron. In my opinion, it is classy enough that you can use it to dress down a dressy watch or put it on grungy vintage watch just the same.
The Substation strap is more unrefined and a bit rougher around the edges than a Crown and Buckle Chevron but not so unrefined that I feel like I am pretending to be Indiana Jones for Halloween. The (sic) unrefinededness, bordering on military cosplay, but not crossing the line, particularly for the green and brown, limits my use case to vintage, dive, and the like. I find the black straps have a significantly wider use case because you don’t see the grittiness and texture of the canvas as much. A black lives on my Speedmaster. For reference, I tried them on my King Seiko 44KS and vintage Seamaster but I just couldn’t get there. Part of the issue is that they are non tapering and the wide keeper just overpowers the smaller, vintage, and polished watches for me. Your mileage will likely vary. I am sure Lange on a Nato could make them work anywhere.
This is the point in a strap review where people comment on quality. Like camera lens reviewers watch and strap reviewers comment on quality like a caveman. These feel good to me but I know nothing about textiles, glue, fabrics, or have any domain experience to responsibly comment on quality. The best I can offer is that this review will be updated in about a year when I know more about how these straps will hold up. I imagine they will patina somewhat. I am also looking forward to wearing them in the summer. I am cautiously optimistic these will be all season straps.
Full disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. Substation did not ask for this review. I paid for my initial straps. I am paying for my second batch. I have no business relationship with Substation.