CTS Straps, any good? Yes please – Made Straps

Just like quality on watches has gone up, the accessories have also benefit from the latest manufacturing processes. That is not to say there aren’t several ‘’shady’’ offers we can find in places like eBay or Amazon with low prices and bad quality. That said, there is a group of 3^rd party companies that not only avoid this pitfall but also offering a superior and different quality to the OEMs out there.

And then after we chose our next more, we must think that changing an original accessory from a watch requires some thoughts, not only because it can be the best way to wear it but also because the watch was designed this way.

In the case of straps, it goes even further. A strap is the one of the few parts of a watch that the wearer would be in constant contact with, sort of like a wheel on a car which means that if it feels as low quality, then the whole object would be perceived the same way.

With leather straps the whole process seems a bit easier as the material is more available and there are few more options than their steel or rubber counterparts. For the latter, the quality and full experience must be top notch, mainly because rubber is meant to be used every day.

The latest generation of third party offers for rubber straps is called cut-to-size or CTS. These are different from the ones you attached to the lugs and then have a simple pin and buckle to size it, these new CTS are ‘’tailored’’ made to your wrist. It might sound like a nuance but at CTS strap not only feels superior to the traditional rubber strap, but it is also seamless at the clasp with a pressure mechanism.

These style of straps were popularized by high end brands like Patek Phillipe, offered in full size and cut at the store to fit perfectly on the lucky buyer. Now, we have several dedicated manufacturers offering this style to add to your most popular watches and today we are here to have a look at the offerings from MadeStraps.

Many people choose to go down the CTS route because the watch feels quite original when it comes to looks but, it also feels OEM enough. MadeStraps catalogue caters for watches like the Moonswatch, Apple Watch and the Tissot PRX. We are lucky to have the light blue item for my personal PRX 35mm and then also a generic army green for my Hamilton Khaki field, both look great and let’s begin to check them out.

The Tissot PRX

This is probably the hardest decision on what a PRX owner must do because the steel bracelet that the watch comes with is extremely good. As I said it, the replacement must be very good and potentially superior and the CTS from MadeStraps delivers. The light blue colour of the rubber not only matches my dial to perfection, but it has this conical pattern which gives a bit of more texture to the brushed dial that could be perceived a bit flat. I would imagine that it would be quite a looker with the automatic version which has a similar look on the dial, but I am happy, extremely happy. Another highlight from the strap is how it integrates with the case, it is seamless, not foreign materials and with a perfect fit. This is key if you want to use the watch as an everyday piece.

The pressure deployant is sturdy and feels very high quality, I remember that some people described it as a ‘’magnetic’’ clasp and it is not far from reality, feels that way.

The material used on this particular CTS is quite high, it is thin which mean that it can breathe better while making it feel unobtrusive, to me is how this PRX should look like, and even if I am tempted to swap it sometimes to the original bracelet, the look and feel of the CTS wins every time.

This look is quite good on the summer, next to a pool but because of the ‘icy’ nature of this blue, winter doesn’t feel far off, again versatility is the key.

The CTS for the PRX 35mm or 40mm can be found here and it is prices at 65 GBP which undercuts several rivals by delivering the same quality.

For more information please visit here: https://madestraps.com/products/rubber-cts-strap-for-tissot-prx?variant=54730980098392

The Hamilton Khaki field

There are a handful of watches that can provide as good value for money as the Hamilton Khaki line. If you think about it, this is a hand-wound Swiss watch backed by one of the biggest conglomerates in the watch scene, and still, it is under 600 GBP.

Of course, one of the week points on the watch is the strap, the quality of the nylon mixed with leather is there and does look quite nice, but I think it can do so much better, specially with that beautiful white dial and aged markers.

We paired with the Smooth CTS rubber strap, and it just looks the part. With green, it doesn’t loose on its army heritage and the deployant feels quite luxurious compared to the pin and buckle we can find on the stock strap.

One of the scariest parts of the process is to cut the strap, you do not want to cut more than you need but because of the grooves on the bottom of the rubber are well pronounced, well it’s an easier process. We advised to leave it a bit larger and use the extra holes on the clasp to adjust later.

The Hamilton Khaki in my opinion looks incredible, and then you have that immediate feeling that you want to get more, more variation because it feels at home with a great piece of kit like this, after all it is a field watch.

The CTS green strap is available for 65 GBP.

For more information please visit here: https://madestraps.com/products/smooth-rubber-cts-strap-black?variant=54723545694552

Concluding thoughts

Changing a strap, regardless of the one you choose will give new life to your watch, it is the best way to avoid big spending.

In the case of the CTS from MadeStraps, the quality is quite high, and I have seen in the market a similar proposition (even with inferior quality) at double the price. I believe they are onto something, and I will encourage you for check them out.