French military what?
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When I became a watch collector, I also realised for the first time in my life that:
A. Changing watch straps is very easy to do yourself with the right tools B. There are SO many more options out there on top of leather straps & metal bracelets. I also learnt over time what a huge difference visually it can make to have a different strap on a watch. There are a few watches rightly (and oddly) labelled ‘Strap monsters’, relating to how well they take to various straps. It's a weird term but some watches really do look good on almost any straps. Just the contrast of an exclusive watch on a multi coloured band can really create some interesting contrasts and allow you to inject a bit of your own personality. |
So, today I’d like to write about the legendary Marine National straps.
The story goes that the French Navy had watches delivered without straps so the men had to find other ways to attach the watch to their wrists, one approach was using parachute material, being strong and also flexible. You’ll see these referred to as MN straps or sometimes French Navy/military straps. The originals were apparently green with a yellow stripe, so these are often part of any colour combinations. What I really like about these straps is how they look, how comfortable they are AND the way they are attached to the watch. Should you have one pin come loose, it won’t mean your watch goes tumbling down to the ground (yep, had it happen) the last pin will keep the watch on your wrist. |
The options for MN straps can pretty much be categorised as follows:
- Erika’s Original Straps.
- Everyone else.
Erika's Original MN
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I originally bought this for my Seiko 5, I felt the sandy colour would suit the green. I purchased it at a Black Friday discount event and it took around 4 weeks to reach me in Australia. It’s a pretty good website, particularly since there are plenty of photos of the straps attached to some very beautiful watches.
I chose the option of a white stripe and also the serial number of the parachute the strap was made from. I stuffed up the ordering process and had to ask for help with a missing option and Erika herself responded very quickly. |
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Wearing it
The material is not overly soft but the strap is very comfortable to wear and the watch does not seem to be gliding around, this is important since the strap is looped through the pins and if the watch moves, it can get a bit annoying to keep adjusting the strap every time you take it off/put it on. The buckle and metal parts used on the strap are of a good quality with Erika’s logo. Not too thin but also not thick and heavy. It can be a bit fiddly to fasten the hook on the buckle, but this is just how the MN straps are. |
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Verdict
These are the best MN straps you can buy, if nothing else, due to the many customisation options. You can have your country’s flag embroidered, several buckle options and an endless choice of colour combinations. However, we’re talking some serious money here. Some light customisation can quickly take you towards a final cost of EUR100. In Aussie Dollaroos that is $180 which is significant. If you’re buying this for your new Submariner..sure, not much relatively speaking..but if you’re buying one for your latest $300 Seiko watch, it’s serious cash. Are they worth that much more compared to other options? Read on…
These are the best MN straps you can buy, if nothing else, due to the many customisation options. You can have your country’s flag embroidered, several buckle options and an endless choice of colour combinations. However, we’re talking some serious money here. Some light customisation can quickly take you towards a final cost of EUR100. In Aussie Dollaroos that is $180 which is significant. If you’re buying this for your new Submariner..sure, not much relatively speaking..but if you’re buying one for your latest $300 Seiko watch, it’s serious cash. Are they worth that much more compared to other options? Read on…
Strapify French Navy straps
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I was keen to try a local option with faster deliveries and of course, a little cheaper overall. The website is easy enough to navigate but the photography of the straps leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. Not quite enough to put you off, but better photography would certainly be my recommendations.
I chose a plain black option and had the strap within the week, with a followup from what I think was the owner/operator. Good experience there. |
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Wearing it
I’m actually wearing this as I type. The strap is a little softer than the Erika one. It’s a generic length but easy to adjust and was also delivered with spring bars which is a nice touch should you stuff up the process and have one shoot off in to the a very far corner of the office where all the cords liv…anyway, you get the drift. Buckles are a tad thinner, branded and I’m not sure why exactly but just easier to slip in to the loop. Possibly since the hook is a bit thinner. |
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Verdict
This is a very good MN strap and worked out at AUD 33 delivered..that’s some serious cash saved. If these were customisable to the point of Erika’s ones, I’d buy these every time to be honest….at least until I finally got the grail watch at which point I’d perhaps splurge. But again, mainly due to wanting a flag, custom print on the strap etc, that Erika can offer.
This is a very good MN strap and worked out at AUD 33 delivered..that’s some serious cash saved. If these were customisable to the point of Erika’s ones, I’d buy these every time to be honest….at least until I finally got the grail watch at which point I’d perhaps splurge. But again, mainly due to wanting a flag, custom print on the strap etc, that Erika can offer.
Cheap ebay option
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Ordering process is of course very easy and whilst the photography was limited to one photo, it looked pretty good so worth a try.
Also, unbelievably, delivered with 4 springbars and the required tools to change everything. Erika talks a fair bit on the site about the rounded edges of the straps and it's easy to see where the sides here would start fraying. |
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Wearing it
Yep, it’s cheap and feels pretty cheap but not to the point where it’d really bother you. The buckles are reasonable, unbranded and easy to hook up. I can’t really imagine that it wouldn’t hold up either (apart from the material as above). It is however a tad more elastic than I’d prefer. Definitely nowhere near as firm as the other two options. |
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Verdict
Very good option at AUD 23 delivered. I’d probably suggest to spend the extra $10 for the Strapify option for what feels to me as a slightly more durable material, but I have no hesitation recommending it for an option to wear every now and then – particularly if you just want to see if these type of straps are for you.
Very good option at AUD 23 delivered. I’d probably suggest to spend the extra $10 for the Strapify option for what feels to me as a slightly more durable material, but I have no hesitation recommending it for an option to wear every now and then – particularly if you just want to see if these type of straps are for you.
Final words
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Nobody needs a Rolex Submariner at $15,000 and nobody needs a $180 watch strap made from parachute material. What Erika’s done is hone in on the one thing that is the future of shopping, online or in person – customisation. Sure, you can buy a plain green strap at EUR75 and it’s really nice, but you won’t when you can customise it to suit your personality. Since you’ll also be doing this to support a very nice lady that runs her own business, you won’t hate yourself.
But if you do want to support local business and is happy to go with generic colour combinations, then you still have the option to shop local, in my case Strapify. The quality is still there and again, you support small business whilst adding more customisation options to your watches. I’d also say that since we all probably own watches with different lug widths, shopping generic means you can afford/justify more straps. So is it worth spending 5-9 times more on Erika’s MN straps? That’s ultimately up to you but in my opinion, if you’re not going to customise the strap then it’s a clear no. The extreme difference in cost does not equal extreme differences in quality. Either way, we’re doing a good thing here supporting local businesses and there are no losers in this equation. |
Cheers,
Esbjorn |