HR watches & Nato straps

Where do you guys buy your Nato/Zulu straps in the UK/Europe?

Nearly every link I follow or brand name I hear of have straps at 20mm or 22mm and a few have 24mm but very rarely have I seen a 26mm that we need for the 5X.

Amazon.co.uk have some but with so many brands to choose from and some usually with fake reviews you can never tell the quality until you have it in your hand.

Thanks again.

DaLuca works for me...
20, 22, 24 and 26mm.
PVD, polished, brushed...
They have the heavy duty 'stuff'.

Quite. I had a NATO strap on my 310xt because the spring pins on that were pretty weedy. On the F3, the strap itself is more likely to part than the bars.

I had the buckle fail on a NATO strap. The strap was still on the watch, the watch was not still on my wrist.

Hi all.

I'm seriously considering getting the 5X and if I do I will be using a Nato/Zulu strap with it.

Now many watches these days have wrist based HR sensors and I'm wondering if anyone here knows of any company that makes a Nato/Zulu straps with a space already cut into them for the sensor.

I've seen diy attempts at them so I know I can make them myself but I would prefer to buy a professionally made one if they exist.

I'm in the UK by the way.

Thanks all.

Natostrapco are brilliant. Get a two part strap in my opinion, not a cut out.

Where do you guys buy your Nato/Zulu straps in the UK/Europe?

Nearly every link I follow or brand name I hear of have straps at 20mm or 22mm and a few have 24mm but very rarely have I seen a 26mm that we need for the 5X.

Amazon.co.uk have some but with so many brands to choose from and some usually with fake reviews you can never tell the quality until you have it in your hand.

Thanks again.

I import them from the company listed above.

Natostrapco are brilliant. Get a two part strap in my opinion, not a cut out.

Thank you for the suggestion.

To me though a 2 piece defeats the purpose of a Nato/Zulu, the safety, the quick change. Especially now that the 5 series is being promoted with the Quickfit straps.

I am quite rough with my gadgets when I'm out. I don't deliberately set out to destroy them but I also don't protect them. I like to go out and do what I'm doing without worrying about whether my strap will break.

Despite early reports on the Quickfit as being secure I am almost certain to unclip one end at some point, hence the need for a safe Nato/Zulu.

Thanks again for your suggestion.

two-piece ZULU/NATO and buckle position?

As I mentioned all those weeks ago, I've started collecting straps for my 5X. I've a good selection now ready for the arrival day, whenever that might be.

I have one two-piece ZULU, and a couple of different one-piece ZULU straps. It looks like the two-piece only allows the buckle to be positioned in a fixed location on your wrist, whereas the one-piece strap can be rotated to place the buckle anywhere on the wrist.

On my two-piece, the buckle sits right at the base my wrist, with the one-piece straps the buckle can be placed out of the way closer to the watch body itself - in the position shown in this Bravo Tactix photo.

Before holding the straps in my hands, I hadn't thought about that.

Thank you for the suggestion.

To me though a 2 piece defeats the purpose of a Nato/Zulu, the safety, the quick change. Especially now that the 5 series is being promoted with the Quickfit straps.

I am quite rough with my gadgets when I'm out. I don't deliberately set out to destroy them but I also don't protect them. I like to go out and do what I'm doing without worrying about whether my strap will break.

Despite early reports on the Quickfit as being secure I am almost certain to unclip one end at some point, hence the need for a safe Nato/Zulu.

Thanks again for your suggestion.

The strap I bought from them is simple to install, you unscrew the bars and thread them through the straps. It is nowhere near as quick as the Quickfit system but it is definitely stronger/safer. I'm fairly sure the strap I have can hold my entire weight. I think you are possibly inventing a problem that doesn't exist because you're not familiar with how the strap is designed but it's equally possible I don't understand something; I can't see how you would break it.

I don't like Garmin straps that much because 1) The slider device has a notch that latches into the strap, and it's annoying 2) I've heard reports that they can go brittle and snap altogether.

Thanks guys.

I think I'll get a cheap one piece Zulu and see how cutting the hole out works. I have a feeling that now the OHR is recessed more than on the 3HR it may not actually work correctly, if at all.

I do prefer the buckle at the side so I really did want a 1 piece but if that's not feasable then I'll look at the 2 piece ones.

Thanks again.

Hey guy's, I found this thread trying to find the answer for the Nato strap with a hole for the HR.

This is something I want to do as well, I just don't know if it will work on the new Fenix 5 with the HR sensor that is now flush with the back.
I was looking at the two piece Nato but now, the watch attachment is different . I really hope someone either comes out with a Nato strap that has the hole or a two piece that has the new attachment for the 5 series.

I have one of theirs on my 5x (installed it as soon as I got home from its inaugural run yesterday) and like it a lot. Then again I had one of their single-piece ones on my F3....