NDCstraps Marine Nationale Strap
November 8, 2018
Who are the Marine Nationale? In truth, they are one of the oldest fighting navies in the world today dating back to 1624. They have been active since then and fought in many world conflicts for as long as world conflicts have been happening. To say the least they are a national treasure to the French and have earned their right to be respected worldwide.
What does that have to do with watches and more specifically watch straps? In the world of marketing being able to trace a design to something with real military heritage is not lost on watch aficionados. Few things in the watch world sell better than a story. Some of these are made up escapades by kickstarters and have about as much depth as the morning dew on a blade of grass. However, in this case, the Marine Nationale strap is as true to the real thing as humanly possible, as not only is it the actual material used, but it is implemented in the same way. Yup, the way this strap is sold and its recommended use are straight out of the Marine Nationale playbook. You do not get much more authentic than that. In the words on the Jackostraps NDC facebooks site:
NDCstraps®has been long established worldwide with military watch collectors as seller of THE ONLY 100% genuine watch strap made from 100% MN parachute parts worn how the Marine Nationale divers wore them in the 60’s and 70’s. In 2018 NDCstraps
I have a good friend who leant me an early production NDCstrap (Thanks Joseph S.) and asked me to review it. I had seen these pop up with increased frequency lately on various popular websites and was curious as to how they would wear. Full disclosure, I am usually not in the market for particularly casual straps (read as NATO), but if the product is well executed and its vision is driven by purpose, I think it definitely worth a look! Let us get to it and see how a real Marine Natinale strap looks and works.
DIMENSIONS
Essentially what we are dealing with here is a very strong piece of flat elastic parachute chord so taking dimensions is not an exact science, but for practical purposes, this strap (for a 20mm lug width) watch is 20.6mm which for a compressible material is about perfect. That is wide enough to fill the lugs without looking bunched up or wrinkled. The thickness is 1.7mm per strand. Thickness is key here as this wears much like a standard configuration NATO strap and any strap under the case back will add height to the watch (in this case 3.4mm of additional height). The unique way the NDCstrap is fastened means no adjustment holes to speak of, but rather an extra length of strap that tucks neatly against the wrist. On my 6.75” wrist, the extra length of strap ends makes it back around to the watch case. This strap will fit ANY size wrist with ease.
DESIGN
The Marine Nationale strap was born out of necessity for a simple reliable way to hold a watch onto the wrist of the navy soldiers in the 60’s and 70’s. They had to use what was available and thusly the NDCstrap was born. As with all things born out of necessity, the resultant product is often singular in purpose and epitomizes the form follows function motif many of us Engineers love.
The Green fabric with the yellow stripe is, to my knowledge, the only color offered. My early version has traces of numbers from the bulk stock of chord still visible on it as you would find on surplus army equipment sold in the United States (like old ammo cans for example). The visibility of those markings and if it adds or subtracts from the strap is up to personal taste, but the authenticity it provides is also not questionable.
The strap is constructed by simply taking a length of chord and folding it over itself. At the crease is a sewn in buckle (hook if you will) and holding the two lose ends together is a metal ring that the buckle engages. It is a simple and effective design which is a credit to it roots. The edges of the strap are bound and by neat clean stitching and should last as long as the watch it is attached to.
Just taking the strap in the hand and stretching it to its stopping point it appears the strap can essentially double in length. To the end user this means the strap can be worn in any degree of tightness desired but make no mistake, this strap is designed to be worn snug rather than loose.
KEEPER AND BUCKLE
The NDCstraps Jackostraps has a singular buckle, that can be described best as a flat stainless steel hook. Its job is to wedge into the metal loop that holds the two loose ends of the strap together. They are not polished and have an ‘as left the machine shop’ finish. This early version of NDC strap I have is void of any markings or embellishments, but the newer versions on the website appear to be updated with NDC proudly displayed on the hook and have multiple color options for the threading that secures the hook. I find these classy additions very welcome and add some distinction to the strap.
HOW DOES IT WEAR
If any section of my review on this strap is a must read, it is this one. The NDCstraps offers a unique wearing experience compared to a leather or NATO strap. The first thing you must come to grips with is how to wear it. I must admit, I was trying to lay it over my wrist like any other strap and buckle it. That proved frustrating to say the least, and many expletives may have been uttered. I found success in sizing the strap by moving the metal eyelet that holds the loose ends of the strap together first to the appropriate length then sliding the hook in prior to sliding it on my wrist. With this technique I was walking around doing my best Marine Nationale impression in no time.
Once on the wrist at the desired degree of snugness (not sure that is a word) the watch stays put and simply vanishes for the remainder of the day. The strap is woven so the skin breathes spectacularly well. The elastic nature of the strap means it does not simply secure the watch to your wrist, but holds the watch in place where you put it and it does NOT move. For a soldier this is of critical importance when seconds count and spending time moving a watch to a position you can see it could mean you have a bad day. However, this will also benefit the casual wearer as well. Perfect watch positioning is rarely achieved with a bracelet or leather as those materials are essentially inelastic. This means the watch must be held on with a degree of ‘slop’ so as to not bind the skin. The NDC strap moves and stretches with you all while securely holding your timepiece with the standard double security a NATO provides.
Simplicity, comfort, water resistance, universal comfortable fit, and reliability are found in spades in the NDC strap. It is a tool and in its design is a singular purpose and it accomplishes that very well.
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR
Like all tools designed for a purpose, this strap is targeted at watches that will get used, and used quite hard. Function over form in all things, this strap will not be the one to pick for a night on the town or a formal gathering, unless you happen to be married to Rambo or Lara Croft, which in that case, buy in bulk. My point being that while you could put this on your Rolex Cellini or Omega Globemaster, I would probably stick to more rugged watches like those in the Sinn, Damasko, or Hamilton khaki field series. If you have to go through hell and need your watch to go with you, this strap would be perfect.
Any active sport, or water sport, this strap would excel as its ability to hold the watch snug but not tight against the skin is incredibly useful whether you are rock climbing or fishing, or even just mowing the yard.
As I have said many times so far, this is a purpose built piece of hardware. This strap should draw tool watch fans like moths to a flame. Its heritage gives it instant credibility and its simple color pallet will be well served on most black/grey/white tool watches.
WHERE CAN I GET ONE
You can pick one of these up at the Jackostraps facebook page found here
https://www.facebook.com/NDCstraps/
SUMMARY
Aside from the learning curve on how to properly size it and wear it, this strap found itself quite quickly on my Hamilton Khaki 38mm field watch. While the Hamilton can wear just about any 20mm strap and look ‘the business’, each one imbues the watch with a different personality. The NDCstrap really gave the little hammy some military muscle and I particularly enjoyed wearing it far more than I thought I would.
I hesitate to make any negative comments as my version is such an early one, I do not know if things have changed. I would need to buy a new NDCstrap to try. However, in full disclosure, when sliding the elastic strap over my wrist, the metal eyelet had some sharp edges that were not comfortable, but that is easily remedied by how you arrange the extra lose ends to cover them up to ride next to your wrist. It is a matter of learning to wear it properly.
I have seldom had a strap surprise me as much as this. It is always fun to discover new things and a strap that wears this comfortably while not suited for every single watch, definitely can give a unique military vibe to a tool watch that not even a NATO can match.