perlon primer

[ayres]

hi all, i've been meaning to post some perlon impressions for some time now. i bought several straps from different sellers last year, and i've had an opportunity to wear them extensively. for anyone interested in buying one and wanting to know a little more about the perlon strap, below are some need-to-knows.

i bought three: initially, one 20mm strap and one 18mm strap, and later a rios 1931 20mm. the first 20mm and 18mm were bought from RLT watches website. at the time, they advertised navy, but it was sold out, so the 18mm was dark brown, which i came to like. after receiving these two, i purchased a rios 1931 'sailor' 20mm from an ebay vendor (watchparts24). (the sailor style is just the single strip - not like a nato.)

first of all, not all perlons are equal!

the first 20mm i bought (from RLT) was fine at first, but it proved to be poorly made. the ends were sealed by simply burning the edges - unlike the 18mm that i received from them. (pictured is the 20mm rios and 20mm unknown RLT strap)





given the natural looseness of the perlon, as well as the wear-and-tear that straps incur, i found this sealing technique soon failed. bear in mind, the sealing is what keeps the strap from unraveling and falling apart.

so make sure that the perlon you purchase is sealed with silicon pads (as seen in the above photos) - particularly the tongue end that repeatedly is pushed in and out of the buckle. often online photos don't show the ends, so ask!

secondly, be aware that the manufactured and advertised width of the strap will change as you wear it. the following pic is of an exp2 with poorly-made 20mm perlon:



and here's a pick of an 18mm on a date with 19mm lug width:


so as you can see, the 20mm strap (despite its inherent looseness) widens to beyond 20mm. and the 18mm on the 34mm date widens to 19mm and fits perfectly! so don't be afraid - there's no 1mm gap.

lastly, be aware that with time, your perlon weave will show some evidence of your favorite 'holes' where the buckle pin rests. but as long at the strap ends are sealed well, there should be no problem. i haven't found yet that a certain location becomes too loose with wear - as generally happens with the holes of nylon straps.

a few more images:

notice the quality difference in the two 20mm straps (rios 1931 in the middle). there doesn't seem to be much width difference between the 18mm and 20mm rios.


the 18mm is in the middle, the 20mm rios 1931 on the left, generic 20mm on the right. the rios is silicon padded on both ends. the 18mm has the tongue end padded, and the other side is seared, but seared really, really well. notice the buckle end of the cheap 20mm... it hasn't frayed like the tongue end - due to not being pushed in and out of the buckle repeatedly.


notice in the last pic that the rios perlon has an extra loop for holding the tongue. i never used it and may have removed it, as i like to adjust the strap so that there is not much slack once the tongue is weaved through the buckle.

i hope this information helps... and please post your impressions of anything and everything perlon

[EdwardM]

Thanks so much for your review of various perlon straps - it was really helpful and lead me to getting a Rios strap that I like a lot!

[paltak]

Been looking at perlon as well; good to know where I can get them. Thanks.

[cop414]

Those look great, I never knew exactly what they were called, thanks for the tips.

[77T]

Good info for everyone to consider.

Order -2mm below watch's lug width.

Be sure edges and tag end are sealed well with silicone.

Some have keepers of varying widths.

[Nycturbovr6]

They look interesting