B & R Bands Black Rubber Waffle Strap
October 12, 2020
Anytime I buy a new watch, regardless of price, the search for a strap begins before the UPS man graces my door with the box containing the new timepiece. Maybe that is a window into my obvious lack of patience or my belief as an engineer, something can always be improved. Regardless of which character flaw I should attribute this, shopping for the strap (for me anyway) is as much fun as buying the watch. What this boils down to is I base all my reviews for Strapsense on straps I want to own, not just straps I want to review.
This week’s watch strap purchase was dictated by the watch like the rest, but was also guided unerringly by history and quite frankly, that was not something I wanted to mess with. In 1965 Seiko produced its first serious diver, the venerable 62MAS (1965-1967). This seemingly simple design aesthetic that was both rugged yet refined, purposeful yet beautiful, has produced many highly desirable offspring in the form of the SLA017 and even the SBDC101 I used for this review (Plus a great many more variations on the theme with the accompanying Seiko alphabet soup nomenclature to keep things properly muddled).
Two of the straps chosen by Seiko then and now was the effortlessly vintage Tropic Style strap and the equally iconic waffle style strap. With the rebirth of the popularity of the 62MAS and its associated offspring the interest in these kinds of straps has exploded and engulfed the strap aftermarket like a Kanagawa Wave. I have what I believe to be one of, if not the best version of the waffle strap sold in the aftermarket today. It is brought to you by Strapsense stable, B&R Bands. I will do my very best to explain why I feel this way, and which straps I compared it to in an effort to bolster my case. But before I do that, let me let B&R Bands say a few words about their own product as written on their website:
Our waffle style strap is made from a quality dust proof rubber material to prevent any lint from sticking to the strap. Designed in the unique waffle style giving the strap that retro vibe. The strap is extremely flexible ensuring maximum comfort from the moment you strap it on your wrist. The strap is equipped with a vintage style stainless steel buckle complimenting the retro look. Instantly transform the look of your watch with one quick strap change
DIMENSIONS
My new SBDC101 came with 20mm lugs so purchased that version of the strap. It is also available in a 22mm as well, but as of this writing on other sizes are listed. Mine strap came in at 19.6mm at the lugs which then quickly narrows to 17.5mm for the rest of the strap on both sides. The thickness is varies depending on if you measure on one of the molded details or on the base thickness of the strap, so I will give you both. The straps base thickness is 2.8mm thick. However, if you measure on top of one of the waffles or ridges, it increases to 3.2mm. Either way it is not so thick that it becomes a tire tread on your wrist whilst still being visually substantial enough to handle any 13 plus millimeter diver it may be attached to.
Diver straps often run longer than most as they may be pushed into service at any time to fit over a wetsuit. While not likely happen to me, it is still good to know function was not left to wither for style. My strap measured 130mm on the free end and 80mm on the buckle end. What this means to you is that on my 7” wrist I am on the 6thof 10 adjustment holes. This strap will fit anyone from Pinocchio to Bigfoot.
DESIGN
When B&R Bands decided to make a rubber strap they were faced with the same challenges that face anybody who make rubber straps. I have long stood on the fact that the two columns of rubber strap design are the two M’s. Material and Mold. It is always a balancing act with these two, the more detailed the mold, often the more plastic like the rubber will tend to be as that rigidity is needed to capture fine intricate details. The basket weave pattern in a Tropic style strap is a particularly good example. In the realm of making a waffle strap, the intricate details are not nearly as present as the finicky Tropic, so an emphasis can be placed on the most luxurious feeling rubber possible that will still be durable enough to be up to the task.
I am very pleased with the rubber choice made by B&R Bands as it is neither a dust magnet nor is it fragile. The strap feels robust and very much able to tackle anything thrown its way, while still being ductile and soft to feel a little like silicone. Again, a strikingly good balance has been achieved and while it does not smell like vanilla ( I know some people think this is a beneficial thing ) it does an admirable job of feeling like an upmarket option for your watch.
The waffle name, I have concluded comes from the tiny square peaks all over the outside of the strap. I wish I could tell you there were functional but I think they were chosen for aesthetic purposes only. They give light coming from any direction a place to rest and gives the strap a textural tone to it without relying on contrasting stitches or loud colors. Overall I think this is just clever design that caught on and has been refined over the years.
Turn the strap over and you are greeted with shallow reliefs in the shape of pyramids that have a path to the outside of the strap. This type of feature is prevalent in purposefully made dive straps as it gives a place for the water to escape so your skin can dry after time spend looking for underwater treasure. This is a faithful recreation of an original design feature found on many of the 60’s rubber dive straps.
KEEPER AND BUCKLE
The B&R Bands waffle strap comes with two keepers but unlike other straps, these both of these keepers float freely on the strap. This is especially smart, as often time, rubber dive straps come either with one keeper which cannot possibly keep the extra-long piece of strap secured effectively (looking at you Oris 65), or one fixed and one floating which also cannot ideally control the extra length as well as two floating keepers. The way B&R Bands did this is the right way more dive strap makers should follow suit. The keepers are rubber and have a three vertical ridges that run normal to the horizontal ridges on the tail of the strap. With both the strap and keepers made of the same rubber at times the friction to feed the strap through is higher than normal, but over time this decreases to a manageable level.
The buckle on this strap is described as a vintage style buckle. It is very organic in shape and minimalist in construction. If you would peel back all the fat from other buckles, and be left with a skeleton of a buckle, this would be it. The buckle had a uniform linear brushing and is void of anything that would remotely resemble a sharp edge. At first I thought this ran so contrast to the geometric pattern on the strap it would look awkward, but that is not the case. Its organic flowing lines serve to highlight the strap and minimize the friction of rubber against steel while you feed the extra length through. Overall the buckle will not win any innovation awards, but like many other buckles, it is pleasantly forgettable.
HOW DOES IT WEAR
This strap effortlessly makes the transition from a strap that just looks nice on this watch, to a strap that looks like it was always there to begin with. This is quite possibly the hardest thing for an aftermarket strap to achieve. Granted, it benefits greatly from the fact that this is the style strap Seiko chose for the watch in the first place. However, that alone is not guarantee of a perfect symbiosis like we are seeing here. Every detail in the strap comes across like an OEM strap with all sides and surfaces well thought out. This is especially evident near the spring bars, where the strap has a wonderful rounded end that wraps around the spring bar rather than just being cut flat like an afterthought. Many Kudos to B&R for getting this detail right where so many fail.
The rubber is a wonderful consistency and feels great against the wrist. It is not too thick nor too thin to be out of place as both a daily casual strap or a rugged dive strap. It shrugs off any job in the yard and was perfectly happy cleaning guns after a day at the firing range. It is as close to indestructible as one could hope for in a non-military application. I think the real treat is how well it works with a dive watch. It provides visual interest without overpowering the watch it is attached.
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR
I think it goes without saying this is absolutely a shoe in for ANY Seiko diver ever made. But let me say it anyway. Get your SKX, your SUMO, your SAMURAI and this strap will work its magic on it. It has enough thickness at the spring bar to use beefy Seiko ‘fatty’ spring bars (hint, add a light drop of dish soap to the outside of the spring bar first) and is rugged enough to fill the lugs with a balanced appearance. Its design echoes back to the greatest Seiko divers ever made and it brings that credibility with it in spades.
I would venture to say that any watch that can handle a rubber strap would be a candidate for this watch. A tough field watch or rugged casual daily in need of something waterproof would work well here. Nothing too dressy though as it would probably look out of place. This strap is as happy in the water as a Labrador Retriever. With the vent holes in the bottom your wrist will be happy as well. I recently took this watch on an off shore fishing trip and the fish guts, salt water, and day on boat failed to leave any kind of mark on it.
WHERE CAN I GET IT
The best place to get your B&R Bands Rubber Waffle strap is from B&R. Enjoy the fantastic selection and lightning fast shipping.
https://www.bandrbands.com/retro-waffle-style-rubber-watch-band.aspx
SUMMARY
I have been on the search for the perfect rubber strap for a long time. I come very close to finding it often, but there is always a fatal flaw somewhere in the product. Either in the keeper design or the strap shape, or rubber selection is somehow off, and granted it is small, but also unmistakable. I have found some really good straps like the Uncle Seiko GL831 and of course the factory Oris 65 Tropic (which is close to perfect), but this particular band from B&R is absolutely perfect for the Seiko SBDC101 full stop. I wager it would look this amazing on anything that is plagued with the alphanumeric gumbo that a Seiko Reference number. Buy without hesitation and enjoy.