Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
While natural vulcanized rubber is more resistant to salt water and sweat (which is also a form of salt water if you think about it), silicone is synthetic, softer, and more elastic. If price is a factor for you, silicone is a good choice, though most top rubber watch brands prefer to use rubber. 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. So a 'diver' with a wrist about 6" around (would be very skinny then, if around 5'8" tall, like some 'navy' or recreational divers - I mention the height because 'scuba' equipment IS large AND HEAVY) may be able to use this strap - but not me. From the stylish details down to the quality of the rubber, these bands have it all. Spend just a moment in the rubber watch world, and you’ll become familiar with Bonetto Cinturini —provider of high-quality Italian rubber for over forty years. The Zuludiver uses this superior rubber to stand apart from the rest. It (the Phoibos rubber strap) was I assume designed to be worn OVER a wetsuit, as it is so 'grippy' that is is VERY uncomfortable but the strap is also so short it barely fits at all around my 7.1" wrist, & I am only 5'2" tall, but not exactly a fat or large bodied person either!
There are a couple of nice touches in Barton watch bands which made me choose them over the alternatives: In case anyone wonders why I gave 'only' 4 stars (for the Barton Watch Band) that is because I don't give 5 stars to anyone. 5 stars is 'perfection' - & that does not exist. That left me in a conundrum because at that time I didn’t have any 18mm straps, and had to go on a hunt. I tried several straps and brands until I settled on a bi-colored silicone watch band from the Elite range of Barton. This was the first experience I had with silicone straps in general and Barton in particular. Your rubber watch straps are worthless without choosing the appropriate lug size. The lug is the area where the band meets the watch, and integrated or not, you’ll need to know your watch’s lug size so the straps will fit properly and you can shop accordingly. Most are between 20 and 24 mm. Color On the wrist the strap feel very soft and it follow well the contour of my wrist, but there is more to comfort than softness and this is where I think that the strap fall a bit short. because silicone has a very distinctive feel and I'm not sure I like it at all. It's purely personal of course and YMMV as usual.
It’s easy to see why people have gravitated to the Tropic watch strap over the years. Even if you can’t get your hands on the best rubber watch strap, you’ll want a nice pattern that’s preferably breathable and made of high-quality rubber or silicone. The strap is a little thinner than I anticipated. It’s not too thin, but it does taper a little more than I expected. 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! So the material of the 'rubber' is likely ideal to wear OVER a wetsuit, but it would have needed to be at least 1.5 inches LONGER than it is to do that. The Vostok Amfibia is charming in its own rough and primitive way but the bracelet that came with it didn’t have a single redeeming feature, beside fitting very nicely inside the trash bin.
Less positive is the fact that silicone act like a flypaper for dust. There is absolutely no way to keep it clean and I end up each day looking as if I spent my time digging in a talc mine.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. A VERY nice watch, with the best 'lume' I have ever seen on a watch dial, but with a HORRIBLE rubber strap. And even the camo has variations in color. With so many choices, go ahead and choose a few from our guide to match your outfit and show off your personality. Final Verdict TWO LENGTHS INCLUDED: Each band comes standard with different two lengths of the ‘long side’ of the strap (the side with the holes), assuring a perfect fit for nearly any wrist. Fits wrists 5" to 8" in circumference, but watch geometry may also impact fit.
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