Poll 10 Marathon Watch enthusiasts on the topic of the best way to wear their watch, and you are guaranteed to get a wide range of responses. Some purists will say the standard “vanilla” rubber strap is just fine. Others — likely businessmen — will argue that the metal bracelet shows off the 316L stainless steel-cased watches the best. The trendy, fashion-conscious aficionados might argue that the camouflaged rubber straps are the way to go.
Marathon has offered a wide range of strap and bracelet options for some time now, and recently released three 20mm colorful NATO-style options that are perfectly suited for Tritium Search and Rescue models.
Independent Marathon sales representative and admin at the Marathon Watch Enthusiasts Facebook Group, Shawn Bush, sourced a black/grey strap for me and I’ve been wearing it ever since it arrived two weeks ago. This is my first NATO strap on a Marathon, but it definitely has the high-end strap feel that Shawn said Marathon executives were hoping for in this new offering.
These “Seat-belt Weave Nylon NATO Watch Band/Strap with Stainless Steel Square Buckle” pieces are available in Black/Grey, Red/White and Red/White/Blue, at total lengths of 12 inches. The 316L surgical-grade, monogrammed buckle and loops are the perfect accents against my TSAR’s case. The strap material is textured to lie flat and prevents the curling I have experienced at the running end of some of the less expensive fabric NATOs I’ve worn on my Seiko SKX007 when the TSAR is in the shop. This suits my long sleeve office attire perfectly, but I’ve found myself rolling my sleeves up pretty frequently, just to let the watch get a breath of “fresh air” and let the black accents blend into the black dial.
The other strap color combos appear at first glance to be perfectly suited to the new white dial search and rescue quartz watch which Marathon released in 2019. With enough customer input, it could even become a band option to supplant the steel bracelet or rubber strap that are current choices for this “Arctic White” model. You just never know, just like most would have never thought that Marathon would launch its first all-white dial in decades.
The new Seat-Belt Weave Nylon NATO retails at $40.00 USD MSRP. The weather is getting warmer in Dubai and I hope to report back about the strap’s durability after weekly wear in the pool and weekend beach days in the Persian Gulf.
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