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| Joined: | Sun Nov 22nd, 2009 |
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| Posts: | 15 |
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I'm relatively new to watches and was looking for a weekend watch. I decided to purchase a Lum-Tec Combat B3 which comes with what's advertised as NATO straps.
So I didn't know the first thing about NATO (or Zulu) straps until getting this watch. When I first put it on, I noticed that the strap was too long. Thinking the right thing to do was to size it so the strap didn't loop back, I cut the strap to fit.
BIG MISTAKE for a couple reasons:
- first was that the end frayed. I ended up going to a craft store to purchase some sewing glue that is made to hold material together. That worked but it also discolored the strap. So then I looked into dyes. The folks at the craft store noticed that the material is a polyester blend - which doesn't dye after manufactured. I ended up using a sharpie to try to blend the color. (my wife really loved making fun of me through this process).
- the second mistake was that I later realized I liked how the strap looked when it looped over on the end...
So I then started looking to buy straps. I got hooked and bought about five - from three different places and different colors. While they are ok, I never could find a strap of the same quality as that came with the original Lum-Tec. They were all too thin.
From what I can tell - and I'm far from an authority on this - NATO straps have less substantial rings and are made from a thinner material than ZULU straps. Now the strange thing is that what Lum-Tec calls a NATO strap sure seems to be a ZULU strap from what I saw from other straps - and the Lum-Tec strap is definitely the best I've found in the market.
I hope this helps others.
Steve