>>365151Their success is in fact originally mostly owed to James Bond, pic related.
NATO G10 straps became one of his trademarks, and watch amateurs are all about swag, so they just HAD TO have the same watch as James Bond. Plus it's provocative as hell to fit a $10 military strap on an overly expensive Rolex watch, kinda like a Gransfors Bruks axe with a plastic handle would be. Though they aren't as bad as they sound, more like the opposite.
Like most military gear, those straps are designed to be:
- Durable, and they are, mines show no sign of aging like leather, they can't bend or break like metal, and can't tear nor be affected by varying temperatures and sun exposure like silicon. They only need warm water and soap to be new again.
- Universal, they can fit any watch, only their width changes.
- Easily replacable, taking one off and back on takes 10 seconds, no need to send it away to have it replaced, but you probably won't need to replace it, ever.
- Easily produced and cheap, like all military gear, but they're still of higher quality than any other strap.
Among other advantages, they're much longer than the average strap: divers can wear them on top of their wetsuits, and fighter pilots on top of their g-suits. Oh, and they're very comfy, and contrary to heated debates around leather/metal/silicon straps, most people like NATO straps. And the fact that they're affordable and easily changed has people buy several and regularily change color, an important thing for /fa/gs.
