Strap Maker Showdown!

[WatchEater666]

After going a bit nuts with straps this year I figured I’d do a review post of them all. In no particular order.

1. Terrycrafted. Very pricey but also insanely detailed. It’s just Terry making each strap. Padding is very cleanly executed, keepers are tight like they should be, holes are closer together so you can get a better fit, very tight fit with the buckle. Leathers are really really nice and carefully matched. I’ve handled 4 of his straps now and they’ve all been very very well made. If you’re going for a gator strap, then the delta on pricing is smallest here and he probably makes the most sense. Communication and his mockups are great. I don’t think it gets any better than Terry. His straps remind of the first time I bought really nice shoes from Edward Green. It's hard to go back! :) You really get the "wow this is art in and of itself" feel with his straps, and I think that's worth something.

2. Aaron Bespoke. Nice work, but quite pricey and IMO if I’m paying this much I’d rather go with Terry and get a lot more attention to detail for the money. Terry is a bit more, but it’s worth it I think. Aaron does have a very nice selection of leathers, and seems to get a lot of cool super matte leathers in. He also has a lot of unique fabrics. To be clear, I’d still order from here if I saw a really appealing leather and I much prefer Aaron to any of the $$$ euro brands.

3. Camille Fournet. I’ve had mostly good experiences with their off the shelf product but, I think I’d rather cough up more for Terrycrafted OR I’d go with a cheaper option like Delugs.

4. Jean Rousseau. IMO a bit of a step down from Camille Fournet. I’ve had two of these straps wear down surprisingly fast. Hard pass for me. Weird middle ground where you should just spend less and go Delugs.

5. Delugs. A well priced option with excellent customer care. They have a variety of leathers and options. Will do custom work too. I really love their new rubber sailcloth and their spring deployants. I think this the best bang for buck brand around. Have had multiple straps from them with no big problems.

5. LIC. The buffalo they do is reallllly soft. I love it. One of my favorite straps. Quality is good, but nothing crazy. Wouldn’t bother with them outside of the buffalo option. I just checked their site out again and can't seem to find it anymore, I guess they got rid of it! They are the ones that made the buffalo for Gronefeld.

6. Tuns. Cheap but hit and miss. I have some straps I love from them. However I’ve had two mediocre/bad experiences with them out of I think, 10+ products I’ve ordered. Unfortunately they were not great to deal with either time. Not sure I’ll be ordering again. Issues were basically related to my relatively simple and very clear instructions not being followed or in one case they straight up substituted a leather I ordered with another significantly different color, then tried to get me to pay to send it back. It's not really worth my time to email them back and forth, so I'd rather spend more and go with something like Delugs on the "value" side or vGreen.

7. Hirsch. Don’t love these. Seem to wear pretty fast in general. Meh.

8. Tropic. Overpriced. There is the same quality on aliexpress from Juelong but 10x more expensive lol

9. VGreen Co in Vancouver. I ordered a few straps recently in-person. David is nice to deal with and very attentive. Quality is somewhat similar to Delugs but a cut below. I think he is my new go-to for testing wacky ideas like a nuclear bright yellow alligator I had him do recently for my Panerai. He also has shark leathers which I haven’t seen before! They are very cool in person. Will post my Breguet up with those once swapped in. His straps are made in vietnm or Vancouver depending on what you order.

10. Molequinn. Similar quality to Delugs but more expensive...just buy from Delugs and save some $

[AEC]

Cool. Thanks for the write-up.

I'll mention a couple:

1. Veblenist: I like the quality and the availability of Horween Shell Cordovan. Also, it's nice to have options for quick-release and curved spring-bars (my JLC Master Control calls for them). Ordering and communication were easy. Made in the USA

2. Fluco: Quality is so-so but prices are low. Maybe for my Hamilton Khaki but I'm not putting one on my JLC

I liked the Camille Fournet straps that I have tried but lately they haven't gotten the nod simply because quick-release spring-bars aren't available. Everyone else is offering them! I don't want to jam a tool between the strap and lug unless I really have to.

[-dustin]

Originally Posted by WatchEater666

7. Hirsch. Don’t love these. Seem to wear pretty fast in general. Meh.

8. Tropic. Overpriced. There is the same quality on aliexpress from Juelong but 10x more expensive lol

Don't understand why Hirsch and Tropic get so much love.

[dchang81]

I did not like my veblenist strap when I got it. Was cut crooked, the cordovan underside had stains and lines in all different directions was told that's normal. I get that unlined cordovan can be a bit rough but this was not good. That was years ago so hopefully it's improved since then but wasn't impressed with the product nor the service.

Bang for buck was always delugs but their prices have gone up even faster than AP price increases. Still a decent deal but not like before, so I've been going back to Camille custom straps these days

[F131F]

Originally Posted by dchang81

I did not like my veblenist strap when I got it. Was cut crooked, the cordovan underside had stains and lines in all different directions was told that's normal. I get that unlined cordovan can be a bit rough but this was not good. That was years ago so hopefully it's improved since then but wasn't impressed with the product nor the service.

Really? I have 7 Veblenist straps and one on order. They are all near perfect in every way. Clearly they must have improved since mine are all 2023-2024 orders.

[Vipes]

Originally Posted by F131F

Really? I have 7 Veblenist straps and one on order. They are all near perfect in every way. Clearly they must have improved since mine are all 2023-2024 orders.

Agree. I’ve had 2 and both are excellent quality. Perfect stitching and attention to detail. I’ve had a few from DeLugs but I like Veblenist more.

Monstraps is another favorite of mine.

[dchang81]

Originally Posted by F131F

Really? I have 7 Veblenist straps and one on order. They are all near perfect in every way. Clearly they must have improved since mine are all 2023-2024 orders.

This was over 4 years ago so that's definitely good to hear.

[mongrelnomoad]

I’m usually Jean Rousseau as there is a store near me where I can choose the specific leathers. Love Camille Fournet but tend to only buy from their store when I’m in Tokyo.

Haven’t tried Terrycrafted, but I will now!

Huge fan of Accurate Form in Tokyo. Great straps at a good price. Awesome QC.

[enjoythemusic]

May i humbly suggest also checking Etsy, lots of guys in Indonesia will hand-create whatever you desire at quite reasonable pricing. Give them the specs, padding preference / materials spec and they'll create it :)

[Wingman244]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

May i humbly suggest also checking Etsy, lots of guys in Indonesia will hand-create whatever you desire at quite reasonable pricing. Give them the specs, padding preference / materials spec and they'll create it :)

Have any specific stores? The last 2 I got were just crap.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by Wingman244

Have any specific stores? The last 2 I got were just crap.

Gosh darn..... Would love to, but it's been a year or so and they left Etsy. Maybe i got lucky with etsy?

Great review / write up.

[Wingman244]

Great post thanks for the info. I have gotten a couple of good (not great) straps off the Hamilton Watches website - Leather strap and clasp for $100. Not a great strap but a great strap with a clasp for only $100.

I have purchase a couple of OEM Omega Straps - NATO and leather - nice but $$$

Most stuff I have purchased on Etsy is crap.

[rolexjackson]

This a great thread! Following


Life is short buy the watch.

[enjoythemusic]

ooops, wrong thread. mods delete

[GB-man]

I really like the ACM straps for comfort and price but they aren’t necessarily the most durable option.

[bioyuki]

Originally Posted by GB-man

I really like the ACM straps for comfort and price but they aren’t necessarily the most durable option.

Funny you said this, I just got my first ACM strap two weeks ago, and was surprised by how soft/pliable it was out of the box. My first thought was, “this can’t possibly last that long,” and that seems to be confirmed with your statement.

[shafran]

1 aaron bespoke
2 handdn.com
3 delugs
Had 1 made through abp .was beautiful but overpriced

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by bioyuki

Funny you said this, I just got my first ACM strap two weeks ago, and was surprised by how soft/pliable it was out of the box. My first thought was, “this can’t possibly last that long,” and that seems to be confirmed with your statement.

Yeah honestly I’ve had a lot of them kind of fray/crack at the side where the strap meets the lugs. Still love the comfort level.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by bioyuki

Funny you said this, I just got my first ACM strap two weeks ago, and was surprised by how soft/pliable it was out of the box. My first thought was, “this can’t possibly last that long,” and that seems to be confirmed with your statement.

Yeah honestly I’ve had a lot of them kind of fray/crack at the side where the strap meets the lugs. Still love the comfort level.

[GB-man]

.

[cactakla]

After a few customs from Camille Fournet, including a nice buffalo leather strap for an old bubble back, I shifted to ABP Concept (https://www.abpconcept.paris/). Their team jumped from CF and does amazing custom work. I’ve been very happy and they’ve been great to work with on some designs (“love what you did, can you do that, but with this instead…”).

I tried some straps from Hodinkee during their recent sell-off. I wanted to see what the fuss was about and play with some colors. I was very disappointed in the look and feel… they felt better matched for cheap white label quartz camping watches than the vintage watches I paired them with. So back to ABP I go.

[John Doyle]

Factory straps according to the brand

[NardinNut]

I second the value you get from Delugs. Their new sailcloth straps are awesome.

My favorite right now for higher quality leather straps is Atelier Romane. Fantastic straps for the price. Turn around takes a bit but worth it. I have about a half dozen from them now and every one is great quality.

https://www.atelier-romane.com/en

[subtona]

Pics needed:)

[Mastergreenhand]

I think my favorite is Wotancraft. Very talented fellow and his straps are butter soft. I like him for my Panerai but he has excellent straps for all brands.

[manoop1856]

Good thread. I’ve purchased at least 5 straps from each of delugs, molequin, and Veblenist over the years, as well as one custom from Aaron.

All have their strengths and I think there’s more nuance to the decision making.

Molequin saffiano straps are hands down superior to delugs and well worth the 15pct premium. Also. They have no min spend reqs for shipping and it is always very fast. Their “short” size of 105/70 is also a sweet spot for slightly smaller wrists (compared to delugs 115/70). I do wish, however, that molequin gave an option of a polished standard buckle on all orders. Saffiano comes with brushed whereas the gator comes polished.

Veblenist is fairly priced IMO and I’ve been happy with the quality, esp their shell cordovan. Downside is the fulfillment times vary and tend to be on the longer side. Though their customer service is quite responsive.

Delugs, of course, has insane variety and their social presence is great to see “in real life” images of straps, quick release as a standard is good (for me, anyway). When I had an issue with a CTS clasp straight up breaking on me, they quickly remedied the issue and sent a new one. I just wish the shipping minimum was lower.

Returns from the US for both molequin and delugs are pretty painful, so you need to be pretty sure or what you want!