BluShark AlphaShark Blue and Charcoal NATO Strap
September 21, 2018
I have before me another NATO strap. But since my relationship with NATO straps is far more removed than what I have for fine leather products, I have to really search for what I want to say and make a review worth reading. NATO straps have a very utilitarian like beginning as a purely functional tool of the British military. From such humble beginnings though they have evolved into some extremely impressive and well-designed watch accessories. I think that is what I have before me today in the BluShark AlphaShark NATO.
Driven by the ultimate crucible of improvement, the open marketplace, manufacturers have stretched the very definition of what a NATO can be. One piece, two piece, Zulu, Military, parachord, embroidered, even Lumed, and the list goes on. There is a NATO strap for darn near anything imaginable. It is a simple recipe. A few keepers, a buckle and some water resistant material and you have a NATO. However, that is not really doing the venerable NATO justice as in all things simple in appearance, their lies infinite complex details and variations that real meaningful differences materialize.
I firmly believe in order for a vendor of a NATO strap to be successful, they need a niche. Not everybody can tell the difference between medium quality seat belt material and ultra-durable polyurethane nylon. The weaves are as unique between strap manufacturers as feathers are to a bird. Which is better? I honestly think that is a personal preference on individual user likes and dislikes. I will not attempt to use my feeble vocabulary to try to rank them from best to worst. Rather I think it would be more constructive to see what BluShark is offering and tell you why I bought the strap I did. Out of all the choices why did I buy the AlphaShark this time and not a NATO from another manufacturer?
Before I get into that let us see what BluShark say about their Alphashark.
Our luxury nylon watch strap, AlphaShark, in the Bond striped pattern with navy and charcoal gray stripes. Crafted from high tensile strength “seat belt” nylon webbing with deluxe hardware, including a premium stainless steel buckle and flat stainless steel keepers. The nylon is weaved to provide a softer feel with a higher sheen than standard nylon straps. Superior to standard nylon straps, the AlphaShark, is comparable to far more expensive offerings.
DIMENSIONS
The AlphaShark NATO is 11.4 inches long and 1.4mm thick. It comes in at 20mm wide as advertised. As you would expect it does not taper and is uniform along its entire length as a NATO strap should be. Depending on how you wear it, this will add 1.4-2.8mm in height to your chosen watch. Keep that in mind. Adjustment holes are plentiful and finding the right fit is easy on any size wrist. Also keep in mind the thickness. At 1.4mm thick, this is not the thickest NATO on the market, but it certainly leans to be durable and rugged first, while looking good at the same time being a benevolent and appreciated side effect.
Just a friendly reminder to always double check to ensure you have the room between your spring bars and watch case prior to ordering. In most cases it will not be an issue, but it never hurts to be sure. This is true for ANY NATO strap.
DESIGN
In reality all NATO’s have the same set of advantages from a design point of view that make them so popular. They are all flexible, comfortable, water resistant (except the leather ones of course), and all offer double security on the spring bar (zulu and standard nato configs). By my accounting when choosing a NATO you must pick from a set of variable attributes that are truly random among vendors but in reality make the most difference in deciding who you will buy from.
- Color
- Thickness
- Material
- Design (single pass, double pass, sliding keepers, theme, etc)
All of these are equally important, and any one of these can make you choose a particular vendor over the other based on your personal metrics. I found BluShark offers a vast amount of colors in varying levels of quality (from good, to great, to ultra premium) in a material that has a great many attributes with a design that is customizable and easy to wear. BluSharks vast inventory allowed me to find a strap for my Bremont Supermarine in a color and construction I wanted. Many other vendors do not offer such nice features as the BluShark in such a dizzying array of colors. The sheer volume of options and inventory was a strong selling point to me as was their stellar reputation for making good NATO’s.
Okay back to design. The BluShark NATO is 11.4mm in length as I mentioned which means that it will fit any wrist with ease. Typically, any NATO over 11” you will have to fold over and tuck back in. This is true with BluShark NATO’s as well and how you feel about the fold over and tuck is very individual and I will not pontificate which is better. I do find it is a polarizing thing as either you like it or you do not. I fall into the later camp. I am not a fan and I want to minimize it at all costs, but that is just me.
When you choose a NATO to secure your watch you get all the benefits listed previously, and one unfortunate side effect. You are going to add height to the watch as it sits on your wrist. How much height depends on how you decide to wear it and how thick the strap you purchase is. There are whole videos on different ways to wear your NATO, so I do not feel obligated to describe each, but sufficed to say the watch will not be against your skin. The BluShark Alphashark is 1.4mm thick which means you are getting a very tough strap that if worn in standard NATO fashion will add almost 3mm to the height of your watch. To me this is way too much for my liking. So, the first thing I do is cut the lower portion of the strap off, effectively making my NATO strap a ZULU strap. This may seem like heresy, but one of the core strengths of the NATO is how universal and customizable it is.
With this modification done, I enjoy the smooth texture of the strap while still allowing the watch to sit closely against my arm. The material has a nice rich sheen to it and the colors are deeply saturated and consistent. All edges of the strap are secured by stitching and the buckle cutouts appear to have been burnished to seal the fabric and secure it from fraying.
KEEPER AND BUCKLE
The buckle on the AlphaSHark is nicely brushed and shaped. It is well made with smooth edges and a very well executed BluShark logo laser etched in relief. I really like that attention to detail and pride in one’s own creation. The sides of the buckle have tabs on either side that keep the buckle centered on the cloth.
The keepers are also stainless steel and finished with the same high degree of care to crisp edges and uniform appearance. There are three of them. One is on the extra strap under the long portion of the NATO (which I cut off), the second is sewn into the strap and fixed furthest from the buckle, and the last is next to the buckle and floats allowing the tucked strap to be held securely regardless of how much is left over. This shows thought beyond making it cheap and fast. This shows thought to how the end user will want to wear it and designing that into the strap. Options are good, Well done BluShark.
HOW DOES IT WEAR
Honestly, it wears very well. The NATO moves with you, breathes well and is infinitely flexible. I think the adjustment holes are spaced decently far apart to get a good comfortable fit. Since my strap is more ZULU than NATO (since I cut it) I can put my watch case anywhere on the strap length I like. This allows me to keep the fold and tuck mostly on the bottom of the watch out of sight, much like the extra length of a leather strap would be. This allows me to really enjoy the beautiful stitching and wonderful deep colors offered by BluShark.
In those respects, the AlphaShark has a very premium look and feel to it that not many NATO Straps can compete with. The AlphaShark seems to help elevate certain watches like my Bremont Supermarine to a whole new level, which is the highest compliment I can give any strap, leather or otherwise.
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR
People have put NATO straps on everything from Patek to Invicta. I find NATO’s look the best on watches that will get some use. Working watches like Divers, Field, Active lifestyle watches are best suited to the light, durable and waterproof nature of the NATO. However, with BluShark you have a level of elegance that allows you to push the boundaries a bit. I whole hearted recommend you give them a try. It can be daunting at first as the sheer number of vendors selling various quality nylon straps is intimidating. Stick to the crème of the crop brands like BluShark who offer different price ranges, and huge selection of colors and I think that the amount of fun you can have with a NATO strap is only limited by your imagination.
WHERE CAN I GET IT
For the full range of BluShark NATO you have to go to their website:
AlphaShark – Blu Charcoal Watch Strap
Amazon also sells a bit more limited supply of BluShark straps:
SUMMARY
Color is such a powerful aspect of design. Just like the wrong color choice can give an awkward forced look to a watch / strap combo (especially blue), the right choice, can positively sizzle. When I first threaded this strap onto the Bremont it absolutely sung. The black and the blue perfectly matched the watch construction and together they are a unified package. The endless colors available make finding the right NATO an enjoyable hunt and at BluShark you will be spoiled for choice.
I was very pleasantly surprised with this NATO strap. I tend to gravitate to leather almost exclusively on my watches, but this strap and its ability to highlight certain colors really shows the power of the NATO to enhance your watch wearing experience. My on again / off again relationship with NATO straps may be in for a bit of a rebirth.