One of the easiest ways to give an old watch a new lease of life is a new strap. We put the Barton Watch Bands Silicone Strap through its paces.
Barton Watch Bands Silicone Strap Review
Last week, I reviewed the WT Author No. 1973 and while I really like the watch, the supplied NATO strap just didn’t work for me. As a result, I shopped around and chose to replace it with a silicone strap from Barton Watch Bands. I paid £20 for the strap from Amazon.co.uk – you can buy one here (please note this is an affiliate link and supports this site if you make a purchase)
The strap I chose is a 22mm silicone strap with a black top and a crimson backing, to match the crown of the WT Author watch. The rubber is high quality, with no smell and the two colours are bonded together well with no bleed-through between the layers. The holes are reinforced with convex windows and perfectly match the 316L stainless steel buckle’s pin.
Unboxing and First Impressions
I took a short video of the unboxing process and as a quick guide on how to fit a watch strap with quick-release pins.
What I Liked
There are a couple of nice touches in Barton watch bands which made me choose them over the alternatives:
- The bands are supplied with both a long and a short tailpiece, to suit different wrist sizes. The longer one is a perfect fit more my 7.5″ wrist.
- The straps come with quick release pins – I think all straps should have these as they save time and protect both the strap and your watch from tool damage.
- The end keeper has a little protrusion that matches up with an indentation at the end of the tailpiece. This presents the end from flapping around. A neat touch!
What I Didn’t Like
- If your wrist is longer than 7.5″ then you may need to remove one of the keepers as even the long part is not that long.
- The strap is a little thinner than I anticipated. It’s not too thin, but it does taper a little more than I expected.
- Like all silicone straps, it’s a bit of a dust magnet. These photos were taken minutes after unpacking the strap and filming the video!
Barton Watch Bands Silicone Strap – the WRUK Verdict
Overall, I am really happy with my Barton silicone strap. It looks great, it matches the colour of the crown on my WT Author watch almost perfectly and it is really comfortable to wear. Because of that slightly thinner than anticipated material I have some concerns over longevity but as it was only £20 it won’t be the end of the world if it wears out. Barton Watch Bands are a WRUK recommended buy.
Buy a Barton Watch Bands Silicone Strap
You can buy Barton Watch Bands from Amazon here. The strap reviewed is this one.
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