How to Wear a NATO Strap Watch (While Looking Sharp as Hell) (2024)

A (Quick) Bit of History:

What is a NATO strap?

Originally developed for the British special forces, a NATO strap – also sometimes called a G10 strap or a Zulu strap, although there are some subtle differences between the two – is a watch strap made from a single piece of material, which slides underneath the watch case.

Unlike traditional watch straps, a NATO strap is a one-piece strap that slides underneath the watch case (which is what watch aficionados call the clock part), rather than two separate pieces that attach to the case’s top and bottom.

Advantages of Wearing a NATO

1 – Practical Advantages

From a practical standpoint, a NATO strap is both one of the most comfortable straps you can choose, and safer than attaching a watch case in the traditional way.

Single-Pass Strap

Since a NATO is a single-pass strap, it’s a lot less likely to break or fall off, which is as helpful for modern men who are cannon-balling into a pool as it was for our grandfathers, who were ducking from cannon fire while jumping into a trench.

(And thanks again for doing that, Grandpa. Life is much, much better now because you did.)

(Usually) Lightweight

In addition to staying on their damn wrists, NATO watches also allowed soldiers to escape the weather-related pitfalls of other watches.

AsFortune magazineexplains, a NATO is the perfect summer watch. “It’s great on hot days because the nylon wicks moisture away from the skin.”

(Also Usually) Affordable

The original straps issued to servicemen were made from nylon, which is not lighter weight than leather, but a lot more affordable.

With that said, today you can find NATO straps in almost any material, including a wide range of nylon, leather and faux-leather, at almost any price point.

2 – Sartorial Advantages

Super Versatile

From a fashion standpoint, the real beauty of NATOs is that they let you easily swap out your current watch strap with a new one in a different color or material.

In addition to nylon and leather, you can find NATOs in canvas, polyester and perlon options, among others.

It’s a great way to change up the look of your watch without having to buy a whole new one, and unlike with traditional watch straps, it doesn’t require a spring bar tool to swap out the bands.

Manly Military Origins

And the fact that the modern NATO strap evokes the original military watch straps is also a plus.

Many a classic look owes its origins to a military uniform, including aviator sunglasses, bomber jackets, dive watches, trench coats and more.

Today you can find them in almost any material, including nylon straps and leather straps, and at almost any price point.

NATO straps provide a great, lightweight, and usually more casual watch option that still looks great and evokes a classically masculine, military-inspired sense of style.

But, what’s the deal with the name??

If you’re wondering what one of the most classic men’s watch styles has to do with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, you might be surprised to learn that the answer is “surprisingly little.”

Most guys (myself very much included) assume that the strap must have been issued to NATO troops, and took its name from the organization.

But while NATO straps definitely have military roots, they actually have nothing to do with the North Atlantic (or any other part of it, for that matter).

Gear Patrol provides an excellent explanation of the NATO strap’s origin, including how they developed their (actually somewhat misleading) moniker:

Interestingly enough, the term “NATO strap” came into use as a shortened version of NATO Stocking Number (NSN), and otherwise has very little to do with the strap carrying its namesake. The more appropriate name for the “NATO” strap is actually the “G10”… In 1973, “Strap, Wrist Watch” made its debut in the British Ministry of Defence Standard (DefStan) 66-15. For soldiers to get their hands on one, they had to fill out a form known as the G1098, or G10 for short. Subsequently, they could retrieve the strap at their unit’s supply store of the same name.

Why the name “NATO strap” became more prevalent than “G10” in the popular consciousness is a bit of a mystery, especially because NATO had so little to do with it.

Maybe other NATO countries just wanted to ape the stylish watches worn by the British Military (and who could blame them)?

Wait, didn’t you say something about James Bond?

Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me.

As with so many other menswear staples, we have 007 to thank for propelling the NATO strap into the pantheon.

In 1964’s Goldfinger, Sean Connery rocked a Rolex on what appeared to be a navy blue NATO strap decked out with red and green stripes, which has come to be known as the James Bond NATO strap.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t love everything Connery wore as Bond (cough, onesie, cough cough).

But a Rolex case on an otherwise casual strap with a pop of color? That I can get behind.

More recently, Daniel Craig’s Bond has revived an updated Bond’s NATO strap look, as he has with many of Connery’s most classic styles.

In Spectre, Craig’s Bond can be seen sporting an Omega with a super sleek black and grey NATO strap.

And here’s the great thing about NATO straps:

While the actual Omega Seamaster 300 Craig sports in the movie will cost you more than three grand just for a used model, a black and grey nylon NATO strap that looks nearly identical to Craig’s will cost less than 20 bucks.

So if you don’t have the full support of the Queen’s treasury at your disposal, fear not: you can still look like Bond on a budget—and for literally one one-thousandth of the price!

How to Put on a NATO Strap

Physically attaching the strap to your wrist is fairly straightforward, but if you’re completely unfamiliar with the process,Crown & Buckleprovides a perfect little primer.

Here are the steps they recommend:

1. Slide the long end of the strap through the buckle, and secure the buckle using the appropriate sizing hole on the strap.
2. Next, pass the “tail” of the strap upwards through both of the keepers. For most wrist sizes, there will be excess strap sticking upwards. …
3. The last step is to take that excess bit of strap tail, and fold it backwards into the keeper a second time. This step will hold the tail of the strap tucked in neat and tidy.
4. You can tuck the tip of the strap in either direction. Tucking inward is a cleaner look, but this may not work for very small wrists.

Need a little more help? Here’s a great little video I found on YouTube that lays it all out:

How to Wear Rock a NATO Strap

Learning how toweara NATO strap is one thing; learning how to rock one is another.

To help you with the latter, below you’ll find three ways to wear a NATO that make both the strap, and the guy it’s strapped to (hint: that’s you!), look great.

Look 1: Casual Cool

NATOs are perfect warm weather watches, which means they pair well with the kind of casual outfits you often wear in spring and summer.

Fortunately, the best way to rock this look is also one of the easiest to pull off:

A short- or long-sleeve tee in a dark color like blue or black, a pair of jeans or khakis, and a NATO watch with a white face and a pop of color in the strap itself.

For this look, the Timex Weekender is perfect. I’ve raved about the Weekender at length elsewhere, but what makes it perfect here is the sheer number of straps available.

You can pick up four or five different straps to pair with the classic simplicity of the white (or black) watch face, and essentially get a half dozen durable, stylish watches for less than the price of one leather-strapped variety.

Look 2: Business/Smart Casual

One of the great thing about NATO straps and watches is their versatility.

Not only canyou take the exact same watch and dress it up or down, you can also swap out the NATO band or the watch case to create a whole new look.

The “smart casual” look offers the most versatility and options in terms of watch choice:

You can easily get away with wearing the sort of dressier watch that would look good with a suit, or you can throw on the exact same casual option you’d rock with shorts and a tee.

One good in-between option here is the Timex Weekender Chrono.

It has basically all the same advantages of the regular Weekender, but because it’s a chronograph, it looks just a little more sophisticated.

I particularly love the blue face chrono paired with a brown leather NATO strap, a classic and masculine color combo thatpairs well with the shirts and sweaters that make up your smart casual wardrobe.

Look 3: With a Suit or More Formal Attire

The NATO’s traditional nylon strap definitely makes it a more casual option, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be paired with a more formal outfit—James Bond even wore one with a tuxedo, as you’ll read below.

The key is choosing a sleek and sophisticated watch case to go with your strap.

One of my favorite, most sophisticated NATOs is the Classic Glasgow from Daniel Wellington.

The watch head itself looks like something even those of us without a license to kill could wear with a tux, and the blue and white strap perfectly blends sophistication with comfort.

When wearing a NATO with a suit I actually prefer a sleek nylon strap like the DW one above over a leather strap, which is traditionally considered more formal.

The reason is the width of the band: NATO straps are a uniform 20 or 18 millimeters in width, and don’t taper off to a point the way more formal watch straps do.

For this reason, the leather versions tend to look more casual, at least in my humble opinion.

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