Waterproof leather straps
There are no such things, are there? For appearance, my favorite straps are leather straps. But as soon as water enters the equation, all bets are off. This includes sweating, which I do a lot of in hot weather, and this is deadly to my leather straps. So I switch to nylon or rubber in the summer. I have some one-piece nylons by deBeers and a good looking rubber strap by Alpine that resembles leather a bit. But it's just not the same. Are there any straps that look like leather but are also impervious to water? I really like the sailcloth look and thought that would be the answer to my problem, but all sailcloths I see are leather on the inside. Am I looking for something that doesn't exist? Thank you all for scoping this out. I haven't seen this question asked yet on WatchCrunch.
Catholic, father of two, born before the Quartz Crisis, worked in hospital for 37 years, retired, also was semi-pro drummer (drumset) in loud rock bands and hand drums drummer (African) in acoustic du...
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Hirsch makes "hybrid" leather straps, and I imagine a few others do now as well.
Hirsch Performance Straps | View Collection | Hirsch Straps
Rubber B make some great straps that look like leather.
Timex have a "water-resistant" leather on the tide-watch, so I'm assuming others do similar. (FWIW I found this too inflexible, but I probably just need to flex it a bit and put it back on.)
Spinnaker makes a waterproof leather, which I believe you can buy separately.
I was about to suggest Hirsch, but have been beaten to the watch strap finish line on that one. Good quality, I have most of my watches outfitted with them.
Sailcloth. There are at least two I know of that have no leather.
Artem makes some of the best high-end.
Geckota/Zuludiver have some single pass and trad style at a cheaper price point. Their Typhoon is pretty legit.
Etsy used to have some custom options but haven't looked in awhile .
You can also look at firehose straps. Colors will be a bit bright, but definitely won't look like a nylon NATO or rubber.
Somebody on here thought these weird Barton straps where they line the leather with rubber were great. I think it's a crazy idea and would rather wax leather, but to each his own.
Here is one of my "secret" strap hacks. Seiko produced a series of premium "Swim Safe - Water Resistant" leather straps that are marked as such on the interior. They are very attractive, come in multiple colors and were for a specific kinetic line no longer produced. Here is one that matches my Alpinist perfectly down to the two tone pin buckle. Challenging to find in good condition at a decent price but worth the effort. Happy hunting!
Hirsch does have an heavy calf. Wich is treated and should be waterproof to 100m. The texture is a bit different than a normal leather nut great strap.
Rubber B would be my choice, if money is no object.
Try the Hirsch James strap mine is black on a sinn 556 I and been in the pool with it loads of times👍👍
Rubber B make some great straps that look like leather.
They don’t look like leather despite their claims. I’ve owned a few of them and there’s always a rubbery/unnatural look to them.
They don’t look like leather despite their claims. I’ve owned a few of them and there’s always a rubbery/unnatural look to them.
Good to know! Was toying with buying one.
finwatchstraps.com has both waterproof leather and sailcloth. I don't recall if the sailcloth is leather lined.