One of the eye catching features of the new TAG Heuer Formula 1 special editions is their funky textile straps: we had the lime and grey Formula 1 with its own strap and then the orange dial WAZ101A also got its own strap, and it doesn't take a degree in watchology to work out that sooner or later either TAG Heuer will offer the (so far bracelet only) orange and grey version on this strap, or that you could buy it and fit it yourself.
I love my WAZ101A orange dial Formula 1 and I am 100% convinced I made the right decision to buy it. I also think the strap looks really, really cool... but for me at least, comfortable it is not. First of all I thought it was the strap retainers, which while they are radiused are still quite sharp. So I took them off and bought some aftermarket rubber ones. They didn't look that great, but... they did improve the comfort a bit.
I wore the watch for a few days and realised that if I wore it under a sleeve it was fine, but as soon as I wore it with a T-shirt, it was not. I concluded that because the strap has limited fit options (being a pin and buckle style strap rather than a clasp) and also being quite thick and inflexible it was difficult to get it to stay still on the wrist and this was causing the irritation. I did try pulling it tight and doing it up to the next hole, this helped, but after I took it off I could still feel it for three hours, so that obviously wasn't the answer!
So, reluctantly I decided that I would purchase the BT0724 (FT8024) rubber strap found on the carbon effect/yellow dial Formula 1 (among other things) and use that instead. My other 43mm Formula 1 (WAZ1014) came on a rubber strap and I have nothing but good things to say about that, so why not.
I had to return my watch under warranty because the date wasn't sitting square in the window and when it came back I removed the old strap and fitted the new rubber one. Granted, I don't think it looks quite as good, but... it was instantly comfortable and I immediately enjoyed wearing the watch, which was a lot different to how I felt about the watch before it went away.
I'm told by other owners that if you wear the watch for a couple of weeks the original strap will eventually soften and become more comfortable to wear. Which is fine, I guess... but now I've bought the rubber strap I find it difficult to imagine that I will put it back.
Another watch which has recently been given a makeover is my WAY208C Aquaracer. Even before I bought this I saw a photo of the watch (on A Blog to Watch) taken off the golden/brown textile strap and fitted with a black Isofrane rubber strap and I thought it was the coolest looking watch ever. Consequently when I finally managed to track down and buy my WAY208C the first thing I did was order a TAG Heuer fitted rubber strap to go with it.
Unbelievably it took me two years to pluck up the courage to fit the rubber strap, so worried was I about scratching the PVD coating, but the other day I finally took the plunge and doesn't it look amazing? I really think TAG Heuer should have sold it on this strap in the first place
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