I really like her straps and will stay clear of the knock offs as she is the "original" designer for this type of strap.
I'm not certain she was the original designer (as I thought these were originally fashioned from cut up parachute bags by soldiers), but she was certainly the first person to popularize and broadly market this style of strap.
My judgement is still out on the quality of the $20 knock-off. If it begins to fray or the hardware rusts, then the $20 was wasted. Then again, paying $100 for what is essentially underwear banding and bra hardware is also a bit of a mental stretch.
Good to know on the designer. FYI, I bought one a few months back and they were 50 Euro's or about $55 USD including shipping. Has the price gone up? I'm willing to pay that for a decent quality strap made in house.
This is DWC where people happily spend hundreds$$ for straps made out of Canvas, one of the cheapest fabrics available.
No one finds it weird she calls here strap the Original MN strap? Which is far from the case.
She told me in NYC she bought a sewing machine to sew here straps. In the article posted it says she bought some looms. Pretty badass and a huge move. She must being doing great.
I really like her straps and will stay clear of the knock offs as she is the "original" designer for this type of strap.
I'm not certain she was the original designer (as I thought these were originally fashioned from cut up parachute bags by soldiers), but she was certainly the first person to popularize and broadly market this style of strap.
My judgement is still out on the quality of the $20 knock-off. If it begins to fray or the hardware rusts, then the $20 was wasted. Then again, paying $100 for what is essentially underwear banding and bra hardware is also a bit of a mental stretch.
Good to know on the designer. FYI, I bought one a few months back and they were 50 Euro's or about $55 USD including shipping. Has the price gone up? I'm willing to pay that for a decent quality strap made in house.
This is DWC where people happily spend hundreds$$ for straps made out of Canvas, one of the cheapest fabrics available.
No one finds it weird she calls here strap the Original MN strap? Which is far from the case.
She told me in NYC she bought a sewing machine to sew here straps. In the article posted it says she bought some looms. Pretty badass and a huge move. She must being doing great.
I'm actually surprised that sex offender guy hasn't patented the "MN" name like he did with "NATO".
I really like her straps and will stay clear of the knock offs as she is the "original" designer for this type of strap.
I'm not certain she was the original designer (as I thought these were originally fashioned from cut up parachute bags by soldiers), but she was certainly the first person to popularize and broadly market this style of strap.
My judgement is still out on the quality of the $20 knock-off. If it begins to fray or the hardware rusts, then the $20 was wasted. Then again, paying $100 for what is essentially underwear banding and bra hardware is also a bit of a mental stretch.
Good to know on the designer. FYI, I bought one a few months back and they were 50 Euro's or about $55 USD including shipping. Has the price gone up? I'm willing to pay that for a decent quality strap made in house.
This is DWC where people happily spend hundreds$$ for straps made out of Canvas, one of the cheapest fabrics available.
No one finds it weird she calls here strap the Original MN strap? Which is far from the case.
She told me in NYC she bought a sewing machine to sew here straps. In the article posted it says she bought some looms. Pretty badass and a huge move. She must being doing great.
I'm actually surprised that sex offender guy hasn't patented the "MN" name like he did with "NATO".
I really like her straps and will stay clear of the knock offs as she is the "original" designer for this type of strap.
I'm not certain she was the original designer (as I thought these were originally fashioned from cut up parachute bags by soldiers), but she was certainly the first person to popularize and broadly market this style of strap.
My judgement is still out on the quality of the $20 knock-off. If it begins to fray or the hardware rusts, then the $20 was wasted. Then again, paying $100 for what is essentially underwear banding and bra hardware is also a bit of a mental stretch.
Good to know on the designer. FYI, I bought one a few months back and they were 50 Euro's or about $55 USD including shipping. Has the price gone up? I'm willing to pay that for a decent quality strap made in house.
This is DWC where people happily spend hundreds$$ for straps made out of Canvas, one of the cheapest fabrics available.
No one finds it weird she calls here strap the Original MN strap? Which is far from the case.
She told me in NYC she bought a sewing machine to sew here straps. In the article posted it says she bought some looms. Pretty badass and a huge move. She must being doing great.
Maybe she had to bump her price up to cover the overhead on the looms. Per the article, she improved the quality with the new looms.
dnslater wrote:I really like her straps and will stay clear of the knock offs as she is the "original" designer for this type of strap. Takes some getting used to on connecting the clasp, but pretty easy once you get the hang. Just super comfortable straps and I always like when you can communicate directly with the maker.
I’ve never owned one, but like the concept of infinite adjustability. Often I find myself between holes on a nato or zulu, so this could solve that.
My concern is that the elastic would be too constricting, especially with a heavier watch head. Does this happen or is the material thick enough to support the watch without being cinched up tightly?
To better explain: the Pelagos clasp is nice and I’d like to wear it in the sliding springy position, but it just pulls too tightly for my comfort. Would the EO be like that?
dnslater wrote:I really like her straps and will stay clear of the knock offs as she is the "original" designer for this type of strap. Takes some getting used to on connecting the clasp, but pretty easy once you get the hang. Just super comfortable straps and I always like when you can communicate directly with the maker.
I’ve never owned one, but like the concept of infinite adjustability. Often I find myself between holes on a nato or zulu, so this could solve that.
My concern is that the elastic would be too constricting, especially with a heavier watch head. Does this happen or is the material thick enough to support the watch without being cinched up tightly?
To better explain: the Pelagos clasp is nice and I’d like to wear it in the sliding springy position, but it just pulls too tightly for my comfort. Would the EO be like that?
In my experience, Hop, no. I have been wearing the Certina (heavy watch head) on this el'cheapo version all day. The watch has remained centered on my wrist but I can still easily fit a finger between the strap and my wrist. It is about as snug as the cuff of a new sweatshirt.
The only thing is you need to be able to remove the springbars from the watch in order to mount the strap. If your CWC has fixed bars it wouldn't work (or at least not without cutting the strap clasp off first, then mounting the watch, then resewing the clasp).
*** Edit *** I just noticed CWC sells a version that might work with fixed bars. It is the older / original military style with only two pieces of hardware. 45 GPB / $60 https://www.cwcwatch.com/products/73038
Last edited by Ryeguy on Wed Dec 04, 2019 11:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
dnslater wrote:I really like her straps and will stay clear of the knock offs as she is the "original" designer for this type of strap. Takes some getting used to on connecting the clasp, but pretty easy once you get the hang. Just super comfortable straps and I always like when you can communicate directly with the maker.
I’ve never owned one, but like the concept of infinite adjustability. Often I find myself between holes on a nato or zulu, so this could solve that.
My concern is that the elastic would be too constricting, especially with a heavier watch head. Does this happen or is the material thick enough to support the watch without being cinched up tightly?
To better explain: the Pelagos clasp is nice and I’d like to wear it in the sliding springy position, but it just pulls too tightly for my comfort. Would the EO be like that?
In my experience, Hop, no. I have been wearing the Certina (heavy watch head) on this el'cheapo version all day. The watch has remained centered on my wrist but I can still easily fit a finger between the strap and my wrist. It is about as snug as the cuff of a new sweatshirt.
The only thing is you need to be able to remove the springbars from the watch in order to mount the strap. If your CWC has fixed bars it wouldn't work (or at least not without cutting the strap clasp off first, then mounting the watch, then resewing the clasp).
Sounds good. I’ll keep the CWC on natos, but this might work for the Grand Shogun or U1P?
FWIW - the German site I referenced compared Erika's to the Cheapnatostraps version. The German guy felt Erika's were better, but at 5X the cost, they ought to be (that is a quote from the link, not me making an editorial comment).
The cheaper versions look to be slightly different with the sliding keeper and just a loose end. I bed you could use that style on a watch with fixed lugs. You could just unthread the keeper, thread the strap through the lugs, then thread the keeper back on.
Ryeguy wrote:FWIW - the German site I referenced compared Erika's to the Cheapnatostraps version. The German guy felt Erika's were better, but at 5X the cost, they ought to be (that is a quote from the link, not me making an editorial comment).
The cheaper versions look to be slightly different with the sliding keeper and just a loose end. I bed you could use that style on a watch with fixed lugs. You could just unthread the keeper, thread the strap through the lugs, then thread the keeper back on.
Thanks pal. I’ve ordered an all black with brushed hardware to try with the GS. If it fits me well I will likely order more for the U1P and maybe Squale (since it hasn’t sold).
Ryeguy wrote:FWIW - the German site I referenced compared Erika's to the Cheapnatostraps version. The German guy felt Erika's were better, but at 5X the cost, they ought to be (that is a quote from the link, not me making an editorial comment).
The cheaper versions look to be slightly different with the sliding keeper and just a loose end. I bed you could use that style on a watch with fixed lugs. You could just unthread the keeper, thread the strap through the lugs, then thread the keeper back on.
Thanks pal. I’ve ordered an all black with brushed hardware to try with the GS. If it fits me well I will likely order more for the U1P and maybe Squale (since it hasn’t sold).
I'm glad I was able to help spend some of your money! It has happened to me enough times here
The only negative I have with the Erika style strap is if I unhook and quickly slide open the strap, the hook end can whip around and smack on the watch crystal.
I've never damaged a watch by doing this, but I still cringe when it happens. Just remember to unhook and slide the band open a bit slowly - or just don't be a spazz like me.
Ryeguy wrote:FWIW - the German site I referenced compared Erika's to the Cheapnatostraps version. The German guy felt Erika's were better, but at 5X the cost, they ought to be (that is a quote from the link, not me making an editorial comment).
The cheaper versions look to be slightly different with the sliding keeper and just a loose end. I bed you could use that style on a watch with fixed lugs. You could just unthread the keeper, thread the strap through the lugs, then thread the keeper back on.
Thanks pal. I’ve ordered an all black with brushed hardware to try with the GS. If it fits me well I will likely order more for the U1P and maybe Squale (since it hasn’t sold).
I'm glad I was able to help spend some of your money! It has happened to me enough times here
The only negative I have with the Erika style strap is if I unhook and quickly slide open the strap, the hook end can whip around and smack on the watch crystal.
I've never damaged a watch by doing this, but I still cringe when it happens. Just remember to unhook and slide the band open a bit slowly - or just don't be a spazz like me.
I’ll try not to be a spazz. I’ve experienced similar snapping with my thong.
amckiwi wrote:I also find myself between holes from time to time
The solution is to just use whichever hole the pointy thing naturally falls into. To force it elsewhere can cause discomfort, although either can work depending on the climate.
FWIW - the German site I referenced compared Erika's to the Cheapnatostraps version. The German guy felt Erika's were better, but at 5X the cost, they ought to be (that is a quote from the link, not me making an editorial comment).
The cheaper versions look to be slightly different with the sliding keeper and just a loose end. I bed you could use that style on a watch with fixed lugs. You could just unthread the keeper, thread the strap through the lugs, then thread the keeper back on.
Good on her if she has already gotten the patent. I was just being a bit of a wise ass.
Weird she would patent a name that was started by someone else
It looks like she trademarked "MN" strap. There are a bunch of on-line sellers marketing "Marine Nationale" straps.
Because the term was used before she decided to trademark it, just like NATO. No telling if she plans on enforcing it.
Yeah, it’ll be something to see if she did trademark “militare nationale” and tried to enforce it. There are probably 10 or 12 companies selling straps with that phrase as the description - some, like CWC, likely larger than Erika’s business in revenue.
I know you’ve been impacted by this more than anyone, so probably nice to remain a spectator on this one!
BTW- your review video above is a good one. Nice job!
amckiwi wrote:I also find myself between holes from time to time
The solution is to just use whichever hole the pointy thing naturally falls into. To force it elsewhere can cause discomfort, although either can work depending on the climate.
Mine is usually more rounded than pointy, but agree that the hole of least resistance is the best choice.
No telling if she plans on enforcing it. 
