Tropic Anthracite Grey Rubber Watch Strap

It has been a while, but the time has come to dip my feet back into the water of reviewing a rubber watch strap.  I spent a great deal of time in the early days of Strapsense looking for an ideal high end rubber/silicone watch strap for my Oris Divers 65. As my fondness for NATO’s has not dramatically improved, the desire for a truly great rubber strap for moisture bound time pieces still calls to me.  I tried to satisfy the need with forays into the world of sailcloth straps, but the feel of vulcanized rubber still called. The benchmark for this kind of strap has been dominated by OEM manufacturers.  The rubber strap that comes with the Omega Aqua Terra is probably the gold standard of what a rubber strap can be.  Omega imbued that strap with details and a style that elevated it above its more plebian base material.  Oris wisely chose a Tropic style strap to match the vintage aesthetic for the 65 and aside from only including one keeper is the benchmark in tropic straps. A title I believe it still holds today but acts a great segway into this week’s subject of scrutiny.

I was thrilled to hear that the legendary Tropic strap, which was standard equipment on countless watches in the 60’s and 70’s, was back into production. This was the one that started it all or at least had a hand in the solidification of the Tropic style strap on watches of the era. This strap was simple in construction but rife with details. And that is the crux of the issue, as it is these details that so many rubber straps manufacturers get so wrong, and Omega and Oris get so right. I will soon find out if the reinvented Tropic strap can live up to its legendary name.  It is not every watch strap that singlehandedly defines an entire style to the point where its brand name is used universally.

Would this be the single best alternative to the OEM straps from Oris? Or would this be a case of close, but not quite. Let us find out together. 

DIMENSIONS

I ordered the 20mm version, so my strap came in at 19.6mm at the lugs and tapers down to 16mm at the buckle end and 15.5mm at the free end. Admittedly measuring the free end width varies depending on where you choose to measure it, but the point is an authentic vintage taper is found here. Exactly like the original Tropic.  All good so far. The strap at the lugs is about 5.3mm thick, but this is a rubber mold and it tapers gradually down its length.  Most of the strap is about 3 mm which is thick enough to be durable, but still very pliable and comfortable to wear.  Dive straps should be longer than a normal strap as they may need to be worn over a divers suit. The strap is 125mm on the free end and 85mm on the buckle end so length checks out. That should be long enough for just about any sized wrist.  The perforated nature of the tropic means that there will be plenty of adjustment regardless of wrist size and the watch it is attached to. 

DESIGN

A rubber strap is made up of exactly two main things.  The design of the mold and material inside the mold. It is a tricky balance to get both in harmony.  Make the mold extra detailed and attempt to extract every nuance in that mold requires a rubber compound that is stiff enough to hold details and can end up feeling plastic and rigid.  Make a material that moves like water and it will have an extreme difficult time reproducing the finest details in the mold.  Tropic did a good job of striking a balance here and the strap does an admirable job of recreating the characteristic details of what makes a Tropic a Tropic.

The saw tooth shaped ridges that outline the strap are clean and even with no casting flash anywhere to be seen.  The basket weave pattern on the surface is noticeable and catches the light properly to have a natural grid pattern that resembles woven fabric or carbon fiber if you stretch your imagination. The diamond holes in the rubber are precise and cut nicely along its entire length.  So far this is looking like a great strap.  Turn the watch over the attention to detail is still very much apparent.  The diamond shaped recesses on the bottom of the strap hold the rubber off the skin and allow water to drain out with ease.  The word TROPIC is molded into the bottom of the strap proudly and cleanly.  Millimeter for millimeter this is a dead ringer for the Oris Tropic strap so far right down the amazing vanilla scent which is borderline addictive. 

Having squared away the design of the mold was good enough to produce a visually stunning strap that near identical enough to the Oris I had to pause. It was so close I had a spontaneous Eureka moment thinking I discovered where Oris had procured their OEM strap. The vulcanized rubber is made of totally modern materials, and moves almost cloth like in its suppleness.  This is the kind of rubber Seiko dreams of being able to supply on its divers, but has never managed to do so.  Without being a dust magnet, this strap manages to combine all the best features of the greatest rubber straps I have ever felt.  This is turning out to be quite the ultimate rubber strap.  Had Oris used this as an OEM supplier? I am not sure, but the rubber from the Tropic to the OEM divers 65 rubber is practically indistinguishable. Higher praise I cannot give.

KEEPER AND BUCKLE

I have said it many times on this website, I love it when strap makers attempt to innovate and try something new.  Attempts at this are rarely fruitless, as learning what does not work is just as valuable as learning what does.  The buckle on the new Tropic strap is like no other buckle I have seen.  I was curious if it was just misguided attempts at being different or if it was actually an improvement in wearability. 

Most buckles are relatively flat and do not curve around the wrist. Buckles are all too often forgotten things which are taken for granted like a door knob or button on a shirt. This can usually be forgiven as mediocre design can be overlooked as simply by being forgettable and do not diminish the rest of the strap as long as it is functional.  However, this can bite both ways, as when a design is truly poor it stands out like pimple on prom night.  Overly flat buckles can result in the buckle sticking out at strange angles and hanging on things especially in thicker more robust straps like rubber dive straps.  Conversely, when done right, the results beg to be noticed and appreciated.  Tropic did something clever in giving the buckle about a 70 degree bend which gives the lose end of the strap plenty of room to pass through.  The flat portion that the pin sits on rests on the contour of the straps outer surface. This clever mod allows the buckle to closely follow the curve of the strap and give ample room for the strap to pass through.  This is a very function driven design change in a part that many strap vendors just overlooked. This kind of detail adds to the wearing enjoyment and longevity of the strap.  Very well done. 

Also unlike the Oris Tropic, this strap maker has seen the wisdom of giving two keepers on this new improved Tropic strap. Two keepers on a strap as long as this is vital to retaining all the extra length of the free end.  One keeper struggles with being positioned either too close to the buckle resulting in an antenna look to the free end, or too far around the wrist and the unsupported free end bows out.  Two keepers are the simple and correct solution to this issue. Hope you are listening Oris. 

HOW DOES IT WEAR

This straps exceptional flexibility and suppleness is realized the instant you wear it.  Let me be perfectly clear the feel and texture of this strap equals the best Tropic straps ever produced with a heft and density that exudes quality.  However its comfort and ease of use is not where this strap is let down.  In 1988 Summer Olympics Matt Biondi lost the gold medal in the 100m butterfly to seemingly unknown 20 year old Anthony Nesty by one-one hundredth of a second.  To get so close to victory and lose it over a small stroke miscalculation is the thing of nightmares.  I feel this Tropic strap with all that is done right may suffer the same affliction. 

As well as this strap conforms and fits and functions on the wrist it pains me to say the aesthetics on how it was made is its Achilles heel.  Tropic chose to create the mold for this strap where the spring bar end of the strap stops completely flat.  Perhaps they were driven by historical accuracy, which I can understand and I am sympathetic. But having taken the opportunity to improve the material and the buckle they should have given the strap end the same thought. Let me explain.

When the strap is lying flat this design flaw, and that is what it is, is not apparent.  You are left to see the beautiful basket weave pattern in the strap and the subtle curves and taper. However, when the strap is fastened to the wrist, and the completely flat face of the strap rotates into view, you see nothing but a dull, barren flat piece of rubber which betrays the smooth curves of the rest of the strap. Absolutely no effort was spent to endow this portion of the strap with a pattern or curve and it looks completely unfinished. For me all the enjoyment of the strap is gone and that is a real shame. It is akin to setting a world record in the 100m dash only to find out you left 0.01 seconds early and the result is void.  A rubber strap is made up of two main parts. The material and the mold. The material chosen by Tropic is a clear unabashed hit. No question. But the mold needs work. It is unfinished and the whole strap suffers for it.  It looks like it was molded as one strap and cut in half.  I can think of only one style of watch this would work well on and I will discuss this next.

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR

As the strap is designed I struggle to recommend this for any round case watch with one exception. When this strap was popular case designs were not all like they are today. Take Seikos first popular serious diver the original 62MAS. The lugs came together in a perfectly flat surface versus a rounded one that follows the crystal like most modern watches today.  This flat surface could perfectly pair into the flat face of this particular Tropic strap if the spring bars are positioned just right. This is something I intend to find out. I have a Seiko SPB143 on order and it may be a match made in heaven, or it could be just another disappointment. I will have to wait and see.  But as this design is today, I would recommend this strap for a person rather than a watch. I would recommend this strap for people with larger wrists, say 7.5” or larger. The larger wrist will make the strap stay more flat on the top of the wrist which will hide the unfinished portion of the strap as it will be parallel or rather coplaner with the case. If you have a larger wrist I think the extra length and comfort this strap can provide will be outstanding. 

WHERE CAN I GET ONE

Not exactly sure all the places where Tropic sells this strap, but I can tell you that Aquadive’s online store has a great selection of colors and ships respectably fast. 

https://shop.aquadive.com/product-category/tropic/

I had good luck browsing and my buying experience was pleasant and quick. 

SUMMARY

My quest for the ultimate rubber strap is quixotic in nature. I will never stop looking for that perfect blend of softness, detail, fit, and function.  You can count on me to keep looking until the perfect one turns up. This one was painfully close but in the end missed out on the details which left me wanting for a better mold design.  To come so close to perfection and not achieve it is frustrating. Perhaps Tropic will listen and make a Mark II of their design to address this. I certainly hope so, as I will be the first in line to buy it and review it.

This strap is so incredibly good at all other details I think it still deserves your consideration. However, if you have small wrists or the lugs on your watch are long, you better be okay seeing a flat bit of rubber sans all that beautiful molding pattern which is abundant on the rest of the strap.  Consider this your warning.  I rarely spend time on a review that comes across as overly negative. I like to think all the watch straps I review are worth buying to a particular customer. If the watch strap is rubbish, I simply do not spend the time to review it.  This strap is NOT rubbish but it has a flaw and I want my readers to know about it. Are its plentiful redeeming qualities enough to make up for it? I think that depends on your physical dimensions and persona. It is certainly worth your consideration.