NATO straps have come to be known as a cheap alternative watch band. It’s now something that you can buy multiple of without worrying too much about the price. To achieve this, most companies that sell NATO straps stick around the $15 per strap price range or cheaper. For me personally, this is a price that I’m comfortable with and allows me to essentially buy a different strap for every day of the week. BluShark, however, has moved away from this by introducing their AlphaPremier collection which costs about $36 per strap. The question is, is it worth it?
First, let’s take a look at the materials of the strap. The BluShark website claims that the AlphaPremier collection combines the best features of all BluShark collections to create their highest quality nylon strap to date. To me, this is the main reason for buying the AlphaPremier. You are paying for the upgraded, more premium nylon. For me personally, the AlphaPremier provides the best, most comfortable feel of all my NATO straps and that’s attributed to this nylon. There is a stark, night and day difference between this material and that on my other straps. In terms of the comfort of the nylon, I have no other NATO straps that even comes close to the AlphaPremier. As you can see, the nylon weave is extremely tight and this helps the strap to be very smooth. This very much so feels like a seat belt, in terms of smoothness, but it’s softer. You can easily glide your fingers across the surface and not make out the individual threads. This is in contrast to the cheaper and more traditional nylon featured on other NATO straps, where you can feel the individual ridges of the strap.
The strap itself measures in at 11.4 inches in length and 1.2mm thick. In terms of dimensions, this is just a slight bit shorter and thinner than what I’m used to but that’s not a bad thing. On my 6 3/4 inch wrist, I find that the length provides plenty of room for adjustment and still enough of a tag end to tuck the excess without it looking weird. As far as the thinness, I would say that I’ve not even noticed it but that’s because I typically wear a NATO strap that’s 1.25mm in thickness. That’s a .05mm difference so very minimal and almost indistinguishable. However, if you’re used to a thicker strap, switching to the AlphaPremier may be a big advantage because the thinner straps do add to the comfort over time.
When it comes to the nylon, for me, it is important for the strap to be reinforced in the areas that have been cut and are exposed. This means at the sizing holes and at the tail corner. If these locations are not reinforced, over time and with normal use, these areas will begin to fray and this is likely the biggest reason for needing a new strap. It may be difficult to see, but the AlphaPremier does feature these reinforcements. All of the holes are stiff and so is the tail where the material has been cut. This should help to prevent these areas from getting any fraying and help the strap last longer.
In terms of hardware, the AlphaPremier is held together by what BluShark calls premium stainless steel. What I appreciate about the hardware is that BluShark allows buyers to have the choice of either a premium polished or premium brushed finish. This allows the buyers to match the straps to their watch case on another level. This option is something that I’ve only seen a few brands offer and only with BluShark when it comes to NATO straps. This is something that I really appreciate and definitely took advantage of just to make things match that much better.
Another thing to note about the hardware is that with some of the BluShark NATOS, one of the keeper is left unstitched and this allows it to slide freely. This is implemented for a more practical design. When you wear the strap, the floating keeper allows you more easily lock the excess strap end down. With straps that stitch all of the keeps down, you sometimes run into the issue of just having the excess strap hang. This is such a minor thing but can make a big difference in use.
Lastly, I’d like to talk about the shape of the keepers themselves. As you can see, these keepers are actually thicker and more squared off than what you get with the typical NATO strap. I personally do not like the thinner circular keepers. Because of their size and shape, they tend to fall over and rest against the strap. This means that when you want to use them, you’ll have to manually lift them up and that just wastes time. BluShark’s thicker, more squared off keepers, on the other hand, never fall over. They’re always upright and ready to go. Again, this is a minor detail but adds to the overall value of the product. To me, this is what the AlphaPremier collection from BluShark is all about, little refinements that actually add up to create something that may not have even realized that you needed.
At the beginning of this blog I asked if the BluShark AlphaPremier is worth the $36 per strap. Well, that’s kind of hard to say because it is kind of hard to justify spending more than double what you would with a competitor, but most competitors are not going to provide you with the quality and little refinements that BluShark AlphaPremier does. In this sense, the AlphaPremier is in a league of its own. It’s doing something that most other companies are not offering. If you want the choice between premium polished or premium brushed keepers, a floating keeper or squared off keepers, you should definitely be looking at BluShark. But to be realistic, BluShark does offer a few other collections that feature these things but at a lower price. The main thing that you are paying for with the AlphaPremier is the upgraded more premium nylon. You have to ask yourself if the highest level of comfort is important to you. If it is, the BluShark AlphaPremier is absolutely worth the money.
BluShark was kind enough to send me 3 AlphaPremier straps for review. I’m not obligated to say anything about the product. My opinions are my own and they are how I truly feel about the product.
https://www.blusharkstraps.com/
BluShark Nato Straps https://amzn.to/2H9JmuN
BluShark AlphaPremier Ultra Luxury Straps https://www.blusharkstraps.com/collections/alphapremier
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