What Makes the NATO the Perfect Strap for Your Apple Watch?

One of the great features of the Apple Watch is that it is made for the outdoors. For people who want to dive into a lake without the slightest care for their watch need the Apple Watch due to its ability to submerge up to 50 meters. For fitness freaks who want to make sure they know exactly how fast their heartbeat is beating, the Apple Watch will be a companion of theirs that they will never let go of.

It is truly one of Apple’s greatest achievements which has resulted in the Apple Watch becoming one of the most successful technological innovations that the world has ever seen. This is the world of Apple and Apple has dominated it for time immemorial.

Today, however, the Apple Watch has been combined with another invention that has its own special place in history. First used in 1973 and commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defense, the NATO strap quickly became a favorite not just in the quarters of the military but also everyday consumers.

It is interesting to understand exactly why the NATO strap has become an icon of military-influenced design. It has a rugged look that is complemented by the fact that the original NATO strap was made from extremely tough nylon which makes sure that only the most extreme of situations would be able to tear the nylon apart. The Apple Watch has one fatal flaw which has always hindered it to some extent: the fact of the matter is that the band that the Apple Watch comes out of the box is quite plain when it comes to its aesthetics and is not all that strong.

If you are a daredevil who wants to push the limits of the Apple Watch, a NATO strap is going to come in handy because of its high resistance. I mean, if the strap is considered to be strong enough to be preferred by the UK Military of Defense, it should be good enough for a normal consumer’s use as well.

Powerful Aesthetic Combination

The Apple Watch’s design language is a continuation of Apple’s design philosophy that is present in all Apple Products. If you put an iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch side by side, you would see that they are cut from the same cloth when it comes to how they look. It can be described as modern design that has technology at its heart.

However, for a lot of people who prefer ‘more noise’ in design, it can often seem plain. The NATO strap is the best answer for that due to a plethora of reasons. The first is that the NATO strap belongs to a family of products like camo pants or high boots that have their roots in the military. On one side, you have sleek design that is the brainchild of former Apple supremo, Steve Jobs, a man who still casts a tall shadow on whatever ventures Apple goes into. On the other side, you have a design that is purely there to maximize utility.

The reason camo pants look the way they do is that they are supposed to blend into environments that soldiers might find themselves in. The same reason is the cause of the NATO strap’s design.

One would assume that both of these things belong to the opposites side of the aisle and would not really mix together well. However, the plain and sleek design of the Apple Watch case is colored by the NATO strap’s nylon-made construction. It adds functionality to something that often feels airy and creates a very potent effect. No one could conceive that it would work but it works, nevertheless.

Nylon Is Better for the Skin

Although Apple has done everything in its power to optimize the default watch band that comes packaged with the Apple Watch, there have been several complaints regarding the band triggering allergic reactions on the skin of the wearer. Some people’s skin is extremely sensitive and reacts badly to it.

Nylon on the other hand is extremely comfortable and has the ability to dry fast. So, if you have been working out and there’s a lot of sweat building up on your skin, the nylon will cause the sweat to dry faster on the wrist. A rubber band would be extremely ill-equipped for such an assignment as they tend to trap the sweat under the band and you end up feeling quite uncomfortable when using it.

Nylon is also extremely easy to wash so a quick wash will completely turn it into a new beast. Even its colors are generally quite shiny and ‘lustrous’ which gives the nylon a characteristic ‘sheen’, making it quite recognizable even in the first instance.

Invoke Your Inner James Bond

You might have heard that the NATO strap first arrived in Hollywood on the wrist of James Bond in the movie Goldfinger in 1964. Interestingly enough, this is a complete myth as there was no NATO strap to begin with, at that point in time. However, the false correlation ended up creating an eternal relationship between James Bond and the NATO strap.

One of the most interesting moments of this ‘history’ is the fact that Daniel Craig (the latest James Bond actor) was actually given a watch with a NATO strap on it by the original producer of the James Bond films’ daughter. Daniel Craig ended up wearing it at promotional events for James Bonds films which reignited the myth.

The connection of James Bond with the NATO strap means that there are people out there who wear the band solely due to the reason that James Bond wore it. It was a significant move to use a fancy watch with a strap that can be described as ‘utilitarian’ gaining widespread acceptance for such a contrast-inducing combination.

The usage of a NATO strap apple watch is something that a lot of people might find controversial. However, history has always proven that people who have dared to create what others were afraid of doing are always rewarded. In that way, you have to adopt the NATO strap as the perfect marriage with your Apple Watch simply because it is unconventional. It opens up a whole new door to stylistic considerations that flip the script.

After all, fashion is all about being able to try new things. The horological industry has always been known for being one of the most open to innovation. There are manufacturers like Patek Phillipe who have survived for so long because they know that in order to provide a value proposition that the customer is going to love, one has to take a risk.

Even Apple itself has been known to take bold decisions. A few years ago, everyone was criticizing it for removing the headphone jack from the iPhone 7. Today, it is becoming increasingly rare to see new phones with headphone jacks. In order to succeed, one has to be bold and brave.