What's soft, blue and takes forever?
Riddle me this? Let me introduce you to the concept of The Hook Strap. I really like the Marine Nationale straps, I feel they are probably the most comfortable way to wear a watch. Secure, soft and expands easily in hot weather – I’ve reviewed a few here.
That said, I started researching other options (as you do, being a watch fan is seemingly like an endless quest for more) and I soon came across Nick Mankey Designs. There are forum posts that praise these for being supremely soft and strong, so despite the lengthy wait times, I thought I’d have a go. |
Whilst the rubber dive strap on my Seiko Samurai is very appropriate for diving, I dive roughly once every 20 years so I was looking for something a little nicer since I truly love my Samurai. A navy blue would look nice on the Pepsi dial, decision made.
When looking at options, two things concerned me slightly (other than having to wait 4 weeks+ for it to be even made up for me), the seemingly origami like application process and the double strap like approach around your wrist, would it be too thick? |
Hook Strap from Nick Mankey Designs
So first, how does it work then? On pictures and also upon delivery, you basically get one long strap with a hook in one end and a metal square the other. I have to admit, I just opened it all and put in on my desk and did nothing. I am lazy by nature and obviously it’s very hard work to open the website, check how it folds and then attach it to my watch.
Eventually, I had a coffee, procrastinated a bit more, couple of YouTube videos on the Snowflake and finally worked up towards tackling this 2 minute project… |
I followed the instructions exactly and only at the very last step, an A-HA moment…this was pretty easy actually. I’m not sure how exactly I folded this to work so beautifully but here we are. What I really like with this system (and if you have a watch thicker than 12mm, pay attention here), the back of the watch is left free. Yes, unlike the Nato straps, MN etc. you have full visual access to those decorated and/or see through watch backs AND there is no added thickness from your strap. If you wear a Rolex with their blank backs then you probably couldn’t care less, but any other watch, all our favourite brands do make quite an effort to decorate these to please us so why cover them up?
So secondly, how easy is it to put your watch on when the wrist band is all attached? Well, I’d say that if you are planning to unhook the…hook each time, then you’ll be cursing Nick Mankey and his origami design, BUT fear not, there is very little reason to ever unhook this strap. It’s so elastic that you simply slip it over your wrist. Does this mean that it’s loose when on your wrist? Nope, this material is very stretchy and soft so no concerns there. |
What about the double strap feel then? It does add some thickness to the strap, but it’s already pretty slim so that little bit of added thickness on your wrist is a non issue. Since this design can not taper, a 22mm strap, like the one I got, is fairly wide around your wrist which is a small thing to be aware of.
How about choice? There are a lot of different colours, some interesting Bond/Space options and also many options for the hooks. I opted for an aged silver which suits my watch nicely, but to be honest, you barely see the hook and square as it is so I’d not agonise about this choice too much. |
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So what are the downsides here?
One only. Delivery times. At this point, they are quoted as 6 weeks before they can even be shipped out of the US. That’s a tough nut to swallow for many of us and it makes you wonder, where do you source them from Nick, Jupiter? That said, the future of buying online is definitely personalisation and that is to some extent met by the many options available.
In these times of instant gratification, and watch fans being particularly impatient at times, why so long? I reached out to Nick and asked him. He sent me the following: From Nick: 1. The first real step each morning is a good strong cup of coffee. Then it's all about looking at the multiple concurrent product lines and order queue to determine the first production batch of the day. This is done to best serve all "standard" strap orders versus the "printed" variety that have a longer production window. 2. Once the order batch is assembled, they are reviewed for any last minute changes, and production begins. At this point, I've deployed a pair of shears and my trust straight edge to measure and cut each band of elastic from the 52 available rolls according to its user's desired length, width, and color choice. 3. These freshly cut bands are then rounded off at each end using the shears, and finally sealed using a torch. 4. Each band is then paired with their chosen hardware color among the 40-piece organizer they reside in, and are ready for final assembly. 5. The selected thread color is then installed on my sewing machine, and each band is carefully double-stitched on each end, sealing the hardware in place. It is not uncommon that stitching is redone at this stage if the appearance of the first pass doesn't reach the ideal quality standard, which can definitely eat up some time, but it makes a huge difference in the end result. 6. Once the straps are built, then comes the packaging phase. Each band is wound and wrapped in a printed adhesive label for tidiness, and then packed into biodegradable clear plastic bags that have a printed adhesive label with the user's build information handwritten upon it. A pair of springs bars and a business card are then inserted into the packing as well. Followed by a final adhesive label seal that contains the web link to the assembly instructions. The Limited Edition straps have a series of individually numbered cards and envelopes that require more careful attention however. |
7. At this point, I manually review all shipping labels to ensure accuracy of the final destination, print them out, and package each order. Then they're out the door and off to the post office!
8. Prep then begins for the afternoon production phase, which is usually where the "printed" straps are created and constructed. Without giving too much away, an extra 1 to 2 hours are required to develop an equally-sized batch to that of the above round of orders when constructing a series of printed straps. 9. And somewhere among these steps I am fielding customer service emails, messages, social media posts, dwindling supply chains, future product development, accounting, and everything else that comes with a rapidly evolving business. And I couldn't be happier to do it all :) |
So in short, if you’re prepared to support a small business, a guy that’s doing his best to help our community with a unique strap option, you can’t go wrong here. The pricing is very good, there are always promo codes floating around and it’s fun to build your ideal strap.
My advice, order it, forget about it and then 2 months later it’ll appear on your doorstep as a nice little present.
I like it and am considering ordering another couple.
Cheers,
Esbjorn
My advice, order it, forget about it and then 2 months later it’ll appear on your doorstep as a nice little present.
I like it and am considering ordering another couple.
Cheers,
Esbjorn