Recommendations is needed where to get tropic and waffle strap in 18mm?
Every time I try to put my watches in tropic and waffle strap and cat get in 18mm size🥺.
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Yeah if the outside of your lugs is roughly 22mm then cutting a 22mm down to 18mm should look pretty good as it will match the shape of the watch. Depends on the watch style maybe.
https://cnswatchbands.com/collections/tropic-rubber-watch-bands
18 mm – CNS & Watch Bands (cnswatchbands.com)
I cannot recommend CNS (or Barton, for that matter). Their bands are made from TPU which is a stiff, inflexible plastic that feels awful on the wrist. If you want the feel of a genuine Tropic strap, neither of these brands comes close. (Yes, I have tried them all.)
Unfortunately, I'm not aware of anyone that sells a new 18mm tropic band in decent FKM rubber. You can, however, find NOS vintage versions online and on eBay. If you can live with a 1mm gap, Oris has a 17mm version (OEMd from Tropic itself) for the Diver 65 36mm. Oris dealers will sell the band alone.
I cannot recommend CNS (or Barton, for that matter). Their bands are made from TPU which is a stiff, inflexible plastic that feels awful on the wrist. If you want the feel of a genuine Tropic strap, neither of these brands comes close. (Yes, I have tried them all.)
Unfortunately, I'm not aware of anyone that sells a new 18mm tropic band in decent FKM rubber. You can, however, find NOS vintage versions online and on eBay. If you can live with a 1mm gap, Oris has a 17mm version (OEMd from Tropic itself) for the Diver 65 36mm. Oris dealers will sell the band alone.
Thank you did not know about tpu and fkm
Strapcode. Their FKM straps are very good and they have a large selection in 18mm.
Strapcode. Their FKM straps are very good and they have a large selection in 18mm.
Strapcode is indeed good quality, but (at least currently) they don't list any rubber straps in 18mm. The only 18mm straps they list are NATO, mesh, metal, and leather. The smallest rubber straps they list are 19mm.
It's not tropic or waffle, but as your 18mm options are limited, I would recommend the Barton Elite Silicone. I got one for my 36mm Seamaster 300m and it is very pliable and comfortable. Bonus points for quick release springbars and a pretty low price.
I have some of the waffle straps identified in this thread and agree they are terrible. Way to stiff--and they are not pre-curved to fit around the wrist. Terrible!
It's not tropic or waffle, but as your 18mm options are limited, I would recommend the Barton Elite Silicone. I got one for my 36mm Seamaster 300m and it is very pliable and comfortable. Bonus points for quick release springbars and a pretty low price.
I have some of the waffle straps identified in this thread and agree they are terrible. Way to stiff--and they are not pre-curved to fit around the wrist. Terrible!
Silicone is kind of the opposite of TPU. It's soft, pliable, and comfortable, but it is not nearly as strong as FKM rubber. (TPU is strong like FKM, but not soft or comfortable.) Silicone is also not as resistant to heat, chemicals, etc. Especially with quick-release spring bar cutouts, there's a higher likelihood that the band eventually breaks.
It's likely okay for short-term use as long as you're careful the watch, but I wouldn't count on it to last long term.