# Straps For A Few Chinese Watches On A Skinny Wrist



## freestyle_gus (Oct 17, 2010)

I have been loitering for some time, and now I'm completely sure you guys know what you're talking about(!), my first post is a request for advice on straps for the following.

Alpha PVD (7716-US0532-PVD) I was thinking a nice nato? 22mm I think.

Darch Military Time (black face) also a nato? Not sure of the width, probably 18mm.

MM198 from Jackson (black face & hands) - Have a feeling a deployment strap word work nicely, also 22mm I think.

The problem? I have very skinny wrists, about 6" on a warm day(!), so are any nato straps going to fit me as the wholes are pre-made? Will the mechanism for the deployment work too?

Thoughts and recommendations much appreciated!

I have been checking the straps on RLT and thestrapshop, lovely stuff.

R


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

Welcome to the forum mate 

NATO straps will fit a smaller wrist, no problem. They look quite long, but the trailing end can be folded back on itself through the metal rings, if that makes sense? I have just started experimenting with a few different NATOs and they seem to suit most styles, even larger watches.

They are comfortable and sit nicely on the wrist as well ^_^

Might be better to post a few pics of your watches so people on here can see the styles and make suggestions.


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## freestyle_gus (Oct 17, 2010)

Thanks for the friendly welcome 

It's good to know that the Nato's will fit, excellent.

I don't actually have the watches yet, after a bit of a splurge (reading this and various other forums makes you buy too many watches!) all three are at various points in the international mail system.

A good shout though, I'll post some decent pics once they've arrived safe and sound.

R


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

Here are the ones I bought recently, just to try out:



















And here's what they look like on the wrist:



















I hope that helps anyway mate


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## citizenhell (Jul 12, 2010)

Welcome. It's nice to have someone on the Chinese trail to balance out the rest of us Russian collectors.

Don't forget to post pics when they arrive. :thumbsup:

Ian.


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## Chromejob (Jul 28, 2006)

freestyle_gus said:


> ... The problem? I have very skinny wrists, about 6" on a warm day(!), so are any nato straps going to fit me as the wholes are pre-made? Will the mechanism for the deployment work too?
> 
> Thoughts and recommendations much appreciated!


No problem, in your case the buckle of a conventional NATO will probably reach the middle of your (bottom) wrist, whereas on my 7-1/4" wrist, the buckles sit near the side, which I don't like. You can always trim the end of the strap off (I'm finishing a tutorial on converting a NATO to RAF-style with fabric keeper, and discuss how to trim the bands).

I like the Phoenix straps, Roy's regimental Bond (grey with red borders) is superb, worth the Â£. Corvus' "Real Bonds" are I believe made by the same manufacturer, and though pricey are spot on for the original.


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## freestyle_gus (Oct 17, 2010)

David S - Thanks very much for that advice, much appreciated 

Citizenhell - I definitely will post pics, you may also find me joining the Russian bandwagon, I'm hoping to get a Strela in the new year!


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## citizenhell (Jul 12, 2010)

freestyle_gus said:


> David S - Thanks very much for that advice, much appreciated
> 
> Citizenhell - I definitely will post pics, you may also find me joining the Russian bandwagon, I'm hoping to get a Strela in the new year!


 :wub: Strela's - but haven't got one yet. Kutusov on here managed to bag a really nice one recently for a fab price, I'm still looking but will get one eventually. Russian bandwagon is a nice place to be but it's VERY addictive, however you can assemble a really nice collection for few pennies.

Ian.


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## Draygo (Mar 18, 2010)

David Spalding said:


> freestyle_gus said:
> 
> 
> > ... The problem? I have very skinny wrists, about 6" on a warm day(!), so are any nato straps going to fit me as the wholes are pre-made? Will the mechanism for the deployment work too?
> ...


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## freestyle_gus (Oct 17, 2010)

Okay, so I'm back from holiday and have had a chance to quickly snap the first two of my three new watches (apologies for iffy iphone pics).

Here's the Alpha (22mm strap, the leather one that came with it is horrible):










Here's the Darch (for the princely sum of Â£4, it's a smart little watch, 18mm strap):










I'll grab a shot of the MM198 as soon as possible.

So, advice please people, remember 6" wrist so I may need to adjust the strap/add holes. As these are fairly cheap watches sensibly priced straps is probably the way to go 

Thanks!


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## citizenhell (Jul 12, 2010)

Nice looking watches.

IMHO the Alpha is crying out for a nice carbon fibre strap to go with the dial pattern to keep the whole thing high tech. The Darch would suit a nato or a woven perlon. All can be had from our host RLT sales site (top left) & are found in the budget area of his strap section. Neither suggestion is expensive.

Ian.


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## freestyle_gus (Oct 17, 2010)

The Carbon fibre is a great shout, thanks!

A naive question probably, if I need to make extra wholes for that strap, would you advise a specialist tool?


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## freestyle_gus (Oct 17, 2010)

So here finally is the Jackson MM198.

I have to say for Â£45 it is a really nice little (40MM) homage. The deployment it comes with is razor sharp though, so what strap to put on this?










Thanks!


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