STRAP SWAP: Introducing ADPT Strap, the American-made Nylon Watch Strap from Worn & Wound

Like many watch collectors, I turn to Worn & Wound as my preferred and trusted source for watch info. Lord knows, there are tons of watch related magazines and blogs on the Internet, but Worn & Wound rises to the top. This has a lot to do with the style of watches that they review and the brands they prefer. They also just happen to be some of the most detailed watch reviewers on the planet digging deep into what makes a watch design successful or not. Their tastes veer towards affordable tool watches, unlike some other watch blogs that show ridiculous and kinda tacky $100K tourbillion abominations that are about as legible as white text in a snowstorm. Just saying…

Not many watch blogs can survive on advertising revenue alone. That is just a fact. Worn & Wound has a business side to it as well. To support the site, Worn & Wound sells watch products built to their own clever designs and picky standards. There are many great items in the Worn & Wound Store including high-craft leather watch straps, travel cases, belts, wallets, watch tools and even co-branded watches. Many of the earliest products in the store could be considered leather goods, but I have noticed more and more that Worn & Wound has been exploring the use of durable textiles in their products, which comes full circle with the introduction of their new line of nylon webbing watch bands officially called ADPT Strap, the American-made Nylon Strap.

ADPT Straps by Worn & Wound. Photo W&W

The ADPT Strap (pronounced Adapt Strap) is a high-quality, 420D nylon watch band that has many upgraded features worth mentioning. The watch strap and all the components including the nylon webbing and even the thread are sourced, manufactured, and assembled in the USA. ADPT is an acronym for All-Day, Purpose+Terrain and that means you can wear this watch band on just about any watch in practically any location. That means going from the deep ocean to the forest, or to the gym to the office is no problem. The ADPT Strap promo video tells the whole story better than I can. In fact, a visit to the ADPT Strap website, www.adptstraps.com, or jumping right over to the Worn & Wound Shop will tell you everything you need to know about the product from a consumer’s point of view.

Listen to the ADPT Strap Podcast

You might not realize it, but the majority of watchbands and many watch parts sold on the Internet are produced in China in their vast network of state-subsidized manufacturing with cheap-as-hell labor. The days of America being the top industrial manufacturer have long been gone, but there is a movement to try to change that, as difficult as that is. Certain companies like Worn & Wound are making a go at producing high-quality products completely in the United States.

This might sound easy, but the new ADPT Strap took over three years to come to market. The guys at Worn & Wound produced a special podcast to talk about the process and difficulties they faced as they tried to go against the grain of what is considered the “normal” way of making watch straps. Many jaded manufacturers told them that this product could not be produced in the USA… yet here we are. If interested, you should listen to the ADPT Strap Podcast to hear how Worn & Wound’s stubborn determination and “yes we can!” spirit won the day. Anyone wanting to make a product in the United States should listen.

The interesting thing about ADPT Strap is that Worn & Wound is just getting started. They are not just building static products that will never change. Instead, they have devised a fluid manufacturing process. Specifically, they made smart production choices that will give them flexibility in future ADPT Strap models yet designed. For instance, they chose laser cutting because it will allow them to change the size and length of straps in the future. They chose American-made nylon created with a shuttle-loom weaving process, which allowed them to incorporate a slightly beveled and very clean edge to the nylon webbing. Take a look at a regular NATO that has frayed edges and you can instantly see the difference in quality.

The original color options for the ADPT Strap by Worn & Wound. Photo: W&W

Worn & Wound offers what might be standard colors with 3 selections that include black, coyote (dark khaki), and forest green. They also have an amazing navy blue that is a hair brighter than some dark navy colors and my favorite, a greenish-gray-blue sage. I think the latter two colors will be the runaway hits. It would be interesting to see the sales numbers in a year. I would suspect that more colors will be added in the future, and you can expect them to be specified to accent your vintage chronograph or tool watch. Dare I suggest a muted burnt orange, an aged tritium cream or a dark oxblood red with a lot of black in it. That would round out the existing cool palette with some warmer hues. It is unclear if striped options will be available, but I don’t see why not. Like the W&W guys said in their podcast, this is only the beginning.

ADPT Strap website at www.adptstraps.com

The ADPT Strap generally oozes quality with thoughtful options for watch nerds designed by watch experts. To differentiate these higher-end nylon watch bands from the run-of-the-mill generic NATO straps, Worn & Wound went the extra mile:

• ADPT Strap has a contrast color stitch near one of the metal keepers. The effect is subtle but effective.
• The shuttle-loom weaving process creates a cool beveled edge. Think of it as a taper instead of an abrupt edge.
• Worn & Wound chose to use brushed (instead of polished) 316L stainless steel hardware on the ADPT Strap because this finish will work with just about any watch from brand new to vintage, from polished to brushed. Future options might include black PVD or other finishes. Thankfully, they used the flatter metal 3-ring design instead of the fat 3- or 5-ring NATO design that just is not as streamlined.
• The sizing is also geared towards tool watches with the sizes of 18 mm, 20 mm, and 22 mm. Hublot and other wide lugged watches need not apply. Worn & Wound knows their target market and audience.
• A stitched tag rounds out the design.
• The length should fit a wide variety of wrists and still allow for the extra strap to be tucked into the keepers.

I honestly think that Worn & Wound has built the nylon strap that they have always wanted for themselves, but they decided to share them with the rest of us. Pretty nice of them really.

Finally, we get to the price, and there might be consumers who will balk at paying $42 for a nylon watch band. This is a conundrum that is much bigger than just the ADPT Strap. These days, businesses are racing to the bottom based on price alone. In some ways, consumers have lowered their expectations and forgotten what a quality product could be like. We have all become accustomed to incredibly cheap products flooding the market from China, and somehow those became the value standard to beat in our minds. I understand that we all want a deal, but maybe it is time to seriously think about this approach and consider what you are actually buying and from whom.

If you are someone who is solely driven by finding the cheapest watch bands available, then ADPT Strap might not be for you. However, if you want to participate in the revitalization of American manufacturing and get a high-quality watch strap in the process, then put your money where your mouth is. If you value quality over quantity, then compare the ADPT Strap to your flimsy $5 NATO and see what you think. The guys at Worn & Wound do not cheap out on the products that they make, so you cannot simply compare the features of the ADPT Strap with bargain eBay models. Quality components cost money and so does insisting that all components are American made.

Buying an ADPT Strap also supports the fine watch journalism at Worn & Wound, and there is another reason that is just as noble. A portion of the proceeds will be given to a charity that supports environmental concerns in the USA. The ADPT Strap is designed and manufactured in the USA, by Americans who are also giving back to Americans. In my view, everybody wins!