A great pairing elevates the two individual elements to create something new and delightful, like chocolate and peanut butter or Lennon and McCartney. It turns out that sailcloth and fluoroelastomer is another stellar example because StrapHabit‘s Sailcloth and FKM Hybrid might just be my new favorite sports strap.
I’ve always liked sailcloth as a summer strap material. The tight weave of the synthetic fibers is water resistant, looks tidy, and doesn’t fray like canvas. As such, it lends itself well to padded and tapered construction. I find them to be rather dapper, like the lovely leather-lined examples from Avel & Men. Artem also offers some excellent sailcloth straps, including the HydroFlex, which has a classic look but is also FKM-lined.
The StrapHabit Hybrid, on the other hand, sets its sail(cloth) on a very different tack. It eschews the traditional strap pattern employed by those two for an unpadded, tapered, square-tailed design with rubber-reinforced adjustment holes. The result seems less like a sailcloth strap backed by FKM than an FKM strap topped with sailcloth. It’s more utilitarian and tactical, yet still mighty damn attractive.
As I’ve said before, FKM is really the only rubber worth wearing as a watch strap. It has all the malleability of silicone but without the lint attraction. It is hypoallergenic, highly chemical resistant, and fragrance-free.
A pair of black FKM keepers secure the tail, and while neither is fixed, the rubber-on-rubber friction keeps them in place. StrapHabit lists the strap’s thickness as 2.3mm 4.2mm. The thicker bit is only at the quick-release spring bars, which makes the Hybrid wonderfully lightweight and pliable. There is zero break-in required.
Flip it over, and you can appreciate the recessed channel for the full stitching and similarly sunken section to accept the folded tab of the sailcloth. Both of these features make for a smooth, comfortable lining. This is one nicely made strap.
StrapHabit offers the Hybrid in two sizes (20/18mm and 22/20mm, both 80/120mm long), four colors (green, khaki, black, and blue), and two signed buckle options: brushed stainless or the brushed PVD black shown here. They also have a line of notched straps (18mm flaring to 22mm) to fit the Timex Q and several Casio models, including the beloved AE1200 Casio Royale. Those come in 12 colors and might be the next items on my shopping list.
Speaking of shopping, price is another area where the StrapHabit Hybrid shines; you can snap one up for just $38 or 15% less if you buy three.
I fitted the army green to my Seiko SNDA65 and the khaki to my Undone Aqua Pro-custom “Santiago.” In both cases, the strap looked fabulous and incentivized me to get those old-timers out of the case and onto my wrist.
There is no better way to shake up your watch collection than to fit them with new straps, and the StrapHabit Sailcloth and FKM Hybrid is an excellent choice
