These Are the Best Rubber Watch Straps

Traditionally, there’s not been a whole lot of sexiness associated with rubber watch straps. Certain watch collectors and aficionados have been known to argue the finer points of vintage Tropic and ISOfrane straps — but generally, the fervor surrounding rubber straps doesn’t reach that of, say, vintage, folded-link Oyster bracelets, or Gay Freres beads-of-rice bracelets. (Though that reputation is changing with modern rubber watch straps thanks to Rolex’s Oysterflex Bracelet, Patek Philippe’s Aquanaut and basically Richard Mille’s entire catalog.)

All of this is interesting given the popularity of dive watches, and especially vintage ones — after all, rubber straps were meant to be the perfect strap for, you know, actually taking your watch in the water, which was the dive watch’s intended use. However, given that most dive watches sold today tend to spend their lives as “desk divers” and never actually see any underwater time, a rubber strap’s original use is mostly redundant as well. That, however, doesn’t discourage many modern watch lovers from enjoying them.

What follows, then, is a guide to some of the best rubber straps available at various price points. Because whatever your budget, you should be able to afford a good rubber.

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

Best Overall Rubber Watch Strap

Synchron Watches

Tropic Strap

Specs

Material	Vulcanized rubber
Sizes	20mm, 22mm

• $79 at Synchron Watches

The Swiss-made Tropic strap is one of the most beloved rubber models of the 1960s. With its thin size, diamond-shaped outer pattern and waffle pattern on the reverse side, a Tropic is instantly recognizable. Used as an alternative to the stainless steel bracelets of the era, Tropics often shipped on Blaincpain’s Fifty Fathoms, the LIP Nautic and various Super Compressor-cased watches, including the original IWC Aquatimer. Unfortunately, most original models from the 1960s haven’t held up well over time, meaning that finding a vintage one can be a difficult, costly proposition.

In response to the growing popularity of the vintage models, various companies have resurrected the design and begun producing their own variants. In recent years, however, Tropic returned as a brand produced by the Synchron Watch Group, which also makes ISOfrane straps and Aquadive watches. Available for 20mm and 22mm lug widths in a variety of colors, the straps are made in Italy from vulcanized rubber, which is hypoallergenic and resistant to temperature changes.

Photo by Zen Love for Gear Patrol

While not as supple as an ISOfrane or certain other modern designs, the Tropic is a classic, and its comparative thinness means that it helps a smaller-diameter watch maintain a slim profile on the wrist. While several companies are making Tropic-style straps these days, the dedicated Tropic variant is well-made, robust and packs a ton of ’60s style.

Best Budget Rubber Watch Strap

Barton Watch Bands

Barton Elite Silicone Quick Release Strap

Specs

Material	Silicone
Sizes	18mm, 19mm, 20mm, 21mm, 22mm, 23mm, 24mm

• $24 at Amazon

The Elite Silicone Quick Release from Barton is a modern, affordable strap available in myriad colorways and buckle options. They come in more lug widths than any other strap in this guide and feature quick-release bars for easy strap changing without the need for tools. The silicone used is incredibly comfortable and features a premium textured top with a smooth bottom in either a matching or contrasting color. Two lengths, a long and a short, are included with each strap, meaning that there’s no way you should end up with a strap that doesn’t fit, no matter your wrist size. Each strap features a 2mm taper from the watch head to the buckle, as well as two floating rubber keepers.

For around $20, there’s a ton of choice and value here. Five different buckle colors are available with each strap, including stainless steel, black, rose gold, gold and gunmetal. There are also over 20 different colorways to choose from, meaning that no matter what kind of watch you own, you should be able to find a Barton to go with it.

Best Upgrade Rubber Watch Strap

Watch Gecko

ISOfrane Rubber Strap

Specs

Material	Synthetic rubber
Sizes	20mm, 22mm

• $180 at Watch Gecko

ISOfrane straps from the 1960s represented the pinnacle of functional, comfortable strap technology aimed at professional divers. The company was the OEM strap manufacturer for models from Omega, Aquastar, Squale, Scubapro and Tissot, and it was professional scuba divers who trusted ISOfrane to keep their timepieces attached firmly to their wrists. Their iconic “ladder” strap shipped with the Omega PloProf and represented one of the first usages of synthetic rubber compounds outside of the automotive industry.

However, sometime in the 1980s, ISOfrane went out of business, and in recent years, vintage models have seen their prices skyrocket on auction sites. Because many ISOfranes were cleaned using chemicals that actually ruined the synthetic rubber, very few survived in good condition.

Photo by Chandler Bonderant for Gear Patrol

Thankfully, in 2010, ISOfrane was resurrected, and now you can get your hands on an updated version of the classic ladder strap, called the 1968. The new strap, which is available in various colors, uses a hypoallergenic synthetic rubber blend and is engineered in Switzerland and manufactured in Europe. Multiple buckle types in different finishes are available, including the RS, which is forged and hand-finished.

The ISOfrane 1968 is a strap made for the serious diver, and the price reflects this. Then again, you don’t have to be a scuba diver to appreciate the kind of thought and quality that went into this ultra-comfortable strap, and anyone who plays sports or takes his or her watch in the water can use one.

Best Rubber Strap for Diving

Zuludiver

Zuludiver 286 NDL Italian Rubber Dive Watch Strap

Specs

Material	Vulcanized rubber
Sizes	22mm, 24mm

• $81 at Zuludiver

Rubber is a unique strap medium in several respects, one of them being that you can print text on it and include useful information on the strap itself. The Zuludiver 286 NDL strap (not the sexiest name out there, but it’s descriptive) actually has a no-decompression limits table printed on the strap for quick reference (no-deco limits give you the elapsed time you can spend at a given depth underwater without having to make a decompression stop upon ascending). While your dive computer can more easily and automatically compute these limits and stops for you, it’s nice to have them handy and provides a cool throwback to the days when there were no wrist-borne computers to give you this info.

The straps feature brushed stainless steel buckles and floating keepers. The rubber utilized here is the vulcanized variety, perforated with a Tropic/racing-style hole pattern. While the design with its ribbed, wave-like pattern near the lugs is likely not for everyone, these are flexible, comfortable straps, and the NDL table is a very cool touch — you can even flip over the strap to have it visible or hide it against your skin, as the lower half of the strap is essentially reversible.

Most Versatile Rubber Strap

B&R Bands

B&R Sailcloth Quick Release Dive Watch Band

Specs

Material	Polyurethane (PU)
Sizes	20mm, 22mm

• $60 at eBay

Most rubber straps impart a sporty, casual look to a watch in addition to being a practical choice for activities that actually involve getting wet or sweaty. Often, however, they’re not the most stylistically versatile. B&R sells a range of synthetic straps, but its sailcloth-textured waterproof strap helps dress a sport watch up. Handsome and truly comfortable, it’s also fully appropriate for use in the water, of course, as its name implies.

The straps also feature decorative stitching in multiple color options to potentially match any sporty dial highlights. We found the version with white stitching to be highly adaptable. With a steel buckle, the short end has a length of 80mm while the longer end is 120mm, which should be suitable for most wrist sizes. These are soft, pliable polyurethane straps that offer a versatile wearing experience perfect for various watches and situations.

Best Vintage-Inspired Rubber Strap

Uncle Straps

Uncle Straps Standard 20mm Waffle Strap

Specs

Material	Natural rubber
Sizes	19mm, 20mm, 22mm

• $39 at Uncle Straps

The “waffle strap” (technically the ZLM01) was a Seiko invention and the first in-house, dedicated diver strap developed by the brand, way back in 1967 (Seiko divers previous to the release of the 62MAS sometimes came on a Tropic strap). Looking at a waffle strap, it’s easy to see where the nickname comes from — there is a distinctive waffle-iron shape on the top that’s hard to miss. Similar to the Tropic, vintage examples of waffle straps were prone to cracking and breakage, and thus finding one today in good condition that doesn’t cost quite a bit of money is tough.

Uncle Strap’s (formerly Uncle Seiko) black version of the waffle comes in several variants and sizes: the 19mm model measures 126mm on the long side by 75mm on the short end and ships with 2.5mm “fat” spring bars, while the 20mm and 22mm version are available in two sizes, including a shorter version and a longer version. All versions utilize a brushed stainless steel buckle.

As with the Tropic strap, it’s difficult to claim that there aren’t more modern, ergonomic designs out there, but if that vintage style is what you’re after, then the waffle is an excellent choice. What’s more, the Uncle Strap version has been through multiple iterations already, meaning that customer feedback has informed the improvement of the current version, rendering it more comfortable and wearable.

Best Dressy Rubber Strap

Hirsch Straps

Hirsch Urbane Natural Rubber Strap

Specs

Material	Natural rubber
Sizes	20mm, 22mm

• $109 at Amazon

A thoroughly modern strap, the Hirsch Urbane Natural Rubber is notable for looking very much like a leather model with respect to its size and taper, with a complex shape that becomes thicker at the lugs as well as wider. The Urbane is water-resistant, tear-proof and resistant to UV light, chemicals and temperature extremes. According to Hirsch, it’s also perfect for people with sensitive skin. With an integrated as well as a floating keeper and a precision edge, this is a supple, super-comfortable rubber strap that’s much more elegant than technical-looking.

The Urbane is made from a premium caoutchouc (unvulcanized rubber) and is approximately 120mm X 80mm long — the 20mm variant tapers to 16mm at the buckle, while the 22mm tapers to 18mm. While the Urbane will function perfectly well as a dive strap, it’s also a good option for someone with sensitive skin who’s looking for a rubber alternative to a leather or alligator/lizard strap on a dress watch.

Best USA-Made Rubber Strap

Shinola

Shinola Rubber Strap

Specs

Material	Vulcanized rubber
Sizes	20mm, 24mm

• $95 at Shinola

With its messaging focus on American manufacturing, it’s no surprise that even Shinola’s rubber watch straps are made in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Specifically, these straps are made in Minnesota by a company called Stern that’s been making rubber products since 1969 (see more about it and even some of the process of straps being made in this promotional video from Shinola).

Made of vulcanized rubber, this is no dainty strap: it’s thick and will complement that brutish dive or tool watch perfectly. Its design features a thick ridge in the middle and a textured underside to keep it grippy on the wrist, as well as some details such as the Shinola lightning bolt embossed on the long end and in orange on the underside of the buckle. It comes in traditional rubber strap colors of black, dark blue and orange, and in 20mm or 24mm sizes.

Best Rubber Strap for Rolex

Everest

Everest Universal Curved End Rubber Strap

Specs

Material	Vulcanized rubber
Sizes	20mm

• $180 at Everest

The venerable Everest band is among a handful of companies making rubber straps specifically for Rolex watches. Founder Mike DiMartini (who also later founded Monta Watches) was willing to leave his previous job to begin manufacturing what he believed to be the most comfortable, over-engineered aftermarket strap available for Rolex sport models, and several million straps later, his decision has proven to be a prudent one. The curved ends on the Everest are made specifically to fit a Rolex case, and as such, they have a very particular curvature and ship with heavy-duty, Rolex-style spring bars. Simply pick out which Rolex model you own on the Everest website, and you’ll be shown the proper strap option for your watch. (The version above is Everest’s Universal model, which will work with non-Rolex models.)

Swiss-made and with most models available in an array of custom colors, an Everest rubber strap is vulcanized, hypoallergenic, UV-, dust-, water- and chemical-resistant and is 120mm x 80mm long. The rubber is incredibly comfortable, and each strap ships with a heavy-duty, 316L stainless steel buckle and two floating keepers. The straps arrive in a thick plastic envelope with two velcro enclosures, which is itself packed in an envelope with replacement spring bars.

There are plenty of great aftermarket rubber strap options out there for Rolex such as Rubber B and Horus, but Everest’s quality and attention to detail make it competitive even at premium prices.

Rubber vs Silicone

Photo by Hunter D. Kelley for Gear Patrol

Are rubber and silicone different? Is one better? Should you care? They offer some of the same benefits, but their relative merits are hotly debated by watch enthusiasts. For this guide, we’re including both together, so it’s helpful to know their pros and cons.

Rubber and silicone aren’t themselves specific materials, but types of materials — so not all straps made from them are created equal. The debate around rubber versus silicone in watch straps usually centers on a couple of properties: The softness and comfort of silicone versus the durability of rubber — but, unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple.

Silicone straps tend to be extremely soft, pliable and comfortable, even in the affordable range. Though perhaps less rugged (and tending to attract some dust and lint), it’s not as if silicone straps are delicate and particularly easy to destroy — unless you’re doing something that might also seriously test your watch’s durability. We have no qualms about recommending silicone straps for day-to-day wear.

On the other hand, there’s a lot of variability within watch straps described as “rubber.” There’s natural rubber (you know, from actual rubber trees), also called caoutchouc, as well as a range of synthetic rubbers. You’ll see the term “vulcanized rubber,” which is natural rubber that’s been hardened with a treatment of heat and sulfur. When people complain about rubber straps, it usually has to do with them being inordinately stiff — many watch nerds even recommend boiling a rubber strap to help break it in. Some types of straps have been known to crack with age.

But a high-quality rubber strap will be soft, comfortable and durable — overall an excellent choice, but you’ll often have to pay more for it. We recently spoke with Edouard Meylan, CEO of Swiss luxury watch brand H. Moser & Cie., which has some of the most supple rubber straps in the business. When asked what the secret behind Moser’s soft straps was, he shared that the brand took no special steps in manufacturing: They just use very expensive natural rubber.

So when it comes to rubber straps, as with anything else, you get what you pay for.

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