Monster Straps Slate Blue Nubuck Leather Strap

The San Antonio Zoo is treasure to the state of Texas. It is nationally ranked as one of the best zoos in the country and provides ecological and zoological conservation efforts that benefit all of us who value the beauty and wonder of mother nature.  Your particular opinion of zoo’s in general may be different than mine, but if run well, I find that at their core they are a place where we can stand in awe of the greatness of what God has created. 

The Zoo spans over 35 acres and to see it in a single day is doing a disservice to yourself.  It is quite easy to get lost in the expansive exhibits and displays and open area viewing of just one particular genre of animal. I have fond memories of going there as a child and walking for what seemed like an eternity. I was exhausted from both the summer heat and wild eyed excitement of what we would see next.  I recall one particular moment in great clarity. We had spent hours looking and enjoying the monkeys and animals of the jungle and I had thought I had seen every animal in the world known to my 8-year-old brain. It was at that moment when we turned a corner and saw an ornate sign overhead for ‘Big Cat Valley’. It was intoxicatingly huge and was akin to discovering a whole other zoo inside of a zoo.  If my brain could have short circuited with a dopamine overdose I am sure I came close.

While dopamine hits of that magnitude are now generally reserved for rumors of a Firefly sequel or coming home to find the lawn perfectly mowed, it is still nice to discover something you never knew about previously. That feeling of discovery melded with a chance to explore all that is new brings back that same feeling of anticipation.  This is a bit how I felt when I discovered Monster Straps.  I have been reviewing straps from vendors who are all over the world for almost two years now ranging from one-person shops to large leading internet distributors. I have always attempted to vary my selection to cast as wide a net as possible with varying degrees of success to show off what is out there and bring more options to my readers. Monster straps appears to be just such an option. With a well-made and easy to navigate webstore and fantastic pictures with well written descriptions of the product you are considering I find it very refreshing and yes, a bit exciting to shop there. The strap I have today was chosen for a particular watch that was given to me by my incredible wife. My 160 year anniversary Silver Carrera. Here is the description written by Monster Straps of the Nubuck slate blue strap I ordered:

We source our soft nubuck calfskin leather in Slate blue from Italy. The hide is buffed with extra care for a consistent and supple finish. Our strap is fully box stitched with matching M30 linen thread then edge painted with matching colour for extra sealing and protection. There is no breaking in required on this strap, it is soft and contours the wrist well from day one. Fits perfectly on your vintage watches as well as modern dress watches. It will look at home on a Speedmaster, Heuer chronograph or any vintage dials with patina. 

The inner lining is made from smooth Zermatt leather from Tanneries HAAS in France, the same type of lining commonly found in Hermès bags. The strap is paired with our signed exclusive manufactured buckle in 304L steel.

DIMENSIONS

Once again I ordered a 19mm strap as I seem to have a plethora of 19mm lug width watches. Rest assured Monster Straps sells this in more common 18mm and 20mm sizes as well as any size you may want as they do fully customized straps to suit any need.  That is always a very nice and customer driven option that I have grown to really appreciate.  My strap came in at 19.1mm at the lugs and 15.9mm at the free and buckled end.  This is spot on with the 19mmx16mm length they reference.  This kind of taper is fits well with most watches, but is especially welcome on vintage or vintage inspired time pieces. 

My strap was 2.3mm in thickness along its entire length which perfectly matches the advertised dimensions. This range of strap between 2.0 and 2.5mm is often very supple due to its lack of thickness and this strap does not disappoint in the areas of flexibility. Immediate comfort and softness is in abundance from day one here. I ordered the standard length strap which is 120mm/70mm on the free end and buckle end respectively which puts me on the third to the last adjustment hole on my Heuer Chronograph (with about a 47mm lug to lug overall length) when on my 6.75” wrist. 

DESIGN

This strap checks the dressy vintage vibe design cues to the letter. It has a beautifully executed taper. It has splendid fully boxed stitching around the strap to not only secure it, but to ground the strap in some bit of formality. The edges are sealed in a complimentary color and the slate blue nubuck leather is a joy to both feel and touch.  I want to address all of these in a bit more detail starting with the leather used on both the outer and inner portion of the strap. 

First let me give you a refresher on what Nubuck leather is. Nubuck is calf leather that has had its outer surface buffed on the smooth side to give it a bit of short nap which is not as coarse as suede but has some of its inherent textural and visual characteristics. The leather is soft to the touch, and is perfectly matte in appearance. The texture of the leather changes as you brush your finger across the surface. Think microfiber and you will be close to how the color changes from light to dark with the swipe of your finger. This texture gives the strap great longevity and wear as scuffs will simple vanish with use. 

The slate color does its best to confound my eyes with every shadow and light it reflects. Blue and Grey shift back and forth seamlessly as your brain desperately tries to settle on one or the other. The way a foggy day can be grey and a hazy day can have blue tones embodies the way this strap plays with colors.  Due to the textural quality of the nubuck leather, every encounter with you or the world around you adds more color variations, depth and interest as the nap of the leather flows in all directions uncovering more variations of the grey/blue strap for you to enjoy.  

The stitching of this strap adds to the color meld as well. It is a hair shade lighter than the parent leather material, again depending on the light. It simultaneously reinforces the blue and grey tones so that in any light the fully boxed stitches keep the magic of the leather uninterrupted.  The match is so close (may actually be the same color, but at times, it isn’t) that the stitches often vanish which adds a healthy dose of dressiness to the strap. 

The underside of the strap is made from Zermatt Leather. Zermatt Leather hails from France as the description says. It is a top grain leather that is double tanned and extremely soft. It is often found on purses and bags and items that need to look and feel nice, but also must endure daily use and neglect.  The orange color is a brilliant contrast to the slate blue upper. Much the same way some IWC straps are lined in Orange or Breitling straps are lined in yellow, this bit of hidden color adds to the special feeling awarded only to the owner who knows of its existence. 

In a nod to much loved practicality, this strap has quick release spring bars graciously installed by the maker and slight monster straps logo on the inside surface.  On the sides the strap are sealed neatly with a protective coat that closely resembles the shade of blue (or grey) of the leather and provides just a very polished look to the whole strap solidifying it for use on watches that gravitate dressier in personality.

KEEPER AND BUCKLE

The nods to subtle design cues continue with the buckle on this strap. Very highly polished and with a dramatically curved side profile the buckle is worthy of a second look.  The shape is smooth all over with no brushing of any kind.  The sides are notably absent of any spring bar holes to ruin the polished surface. It makes a difference on a dressier strap, which this certainly is.  Lightly etched on the strap in all capitals with a serif free font is MONSTERSTRAPS which comes across as very professional and elegant. 

The keepers on this are made of the same grey (or blue) leather as the rest of the strap. It plays with light in the same ways and are sized just about perfectly if maybe on the slim side.  Feeding the strap through these feeders (one is fixed and the other is floating) can take a second or two until they break in, but eventually it happens with more and more ease. They have a light roll mark on the edges and equally well sealed sides for longevity and neatness. 

HOW DOES IT WEAR

True to their word, this strap is comfortable from day one. Once removed from the very snazzy packaging the strap has a purposeful quality about it. The finish is without flaw. The suede-like nubuck will have you rubbing your fingers across the surface to witness it lighten and darken. The edges feel robust and durable without feeling rough or stiff.

The vintage taper pays huge dividends in comfort on the wrist aided equally by the relative thin construction. I felt the smoother inner lining of leather was expertly chosen as it endured many rain storms and Houston humidity with apparently zero degradation and without any accompanying irritation to the skin.

But the runaway star of this strap is the lovely muted blue (okay maybe grey) tones of the strap. It is evenly colored if not monotone, but due to the texture does so without a hint of boredom or threat of being considered plain. The opposite is actually true. This color has the ability to pull shades on the blue end of the spectrum out from silver dials in almost a magical way.

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR

I would be negligent if I did not say Monsterstraps perfectly picked the watches for this strap. It does look masterful on a vintage (Or watches that like to pretend to be vinage) Heuer. Same could be said for any Speedmaster, or dressy three hander. I think this would look amazing on a white JLC Reverso. I think most straps would look ideal on a good field watch, and this one is no exception, but I would prefer to see this strap on something from Grand Seiko or one of Longines Master Collections.

This strap definitely leans to a dressier shade of any watch. Dressier sport watches included. The matching color stitches and elegant taper combined without any padding just ooze well restrained class to me, and I think this would shine on thinner watches.

WHERE CAN I GET ONE

The only place where I found this is directly from the monster straps website. They come all the way from Singapore but with astonishing speed and exceptional packaging:

SUMMARY

Monsterstraps is an exciting breath of fresh air for Strapsense. It is always fun to find a new brand of straps made with this much quality and at such a welcoming price. Most of all it is exciting to find a strap manufacturer committed to such high standards starting off with superb raw materials and carrying that same dedication to quality throughout the production process. This design ethos puts them on par with some of the big names in online watch strap sales. I have enjoyed wearing this watch strap for 3 weeks now and I can enthusiastically recommend Monsterstraps products as I looked forward to wearing each and every single day. I look forward to seeing more of what they have to offer in the months to follow.