Zealand Rubber Band Review

[Chadridv]

So as many of you know, I am a huge fan of Everest Bands. To me Everest is not only a shining example of how a business should operate, they make a killer product of the highest quality.

So I came across this Zealand Rubber Band preowned and figured I would give it a try. I was originally going to make a "Head to Head: Comparison Review" with my much loved Everest Band.

As you will see in the review, I'm not overly pleased with this Zealand Strap, and ultimately didn't even find it to be in the same league as Everest (or Rubber-B for that matter). After some thought, I decided that an "Everest Band VS Zealand Strap" review would kind of be like doing a "Head to Head: Mercedes VS Hyundai" review. It's simply not apples to apples, or even apples to oranges! It's more like Apples to A Raisin. OK, that was the last metaphor! ;)

So with that said, you'll see, while this is not a "comparison" review I will still compare it to my Everest Strap simply because that is the standard this company needs to aspire to if they want to sling this piece of rubber around my Rolex!


Zealand Band: Black
Everest Band: Green



Product Info:
Strap Made for Rolex Ceramic Submariner 116610
"Jet Black Curved End Rubber Tang Buckle Watch Strap" - $97

Product Description:

Tailor Made to fit your Rolex model - made by our Swiss manufacturers
High Quality Genuine Rubber with UV, Dust, Water and Chemical resistant
Super Comfortable, Durable and Flexible Vulcanized Swiss Rubber
Curved End Rubber Watch Strap

BOTTOM LINE:

I'm gonna start backwards here because there's so much wrong with this strap IMO that I'm not sure where to begin lol! So I'll jump to the conclusion which is that, this strap is not worth half it's price. In fact, I would never even wear it on my watch if you paid me to. The design is poor, the feel of the band is cheap, and I simply would worry about the safety of my watch with this band on my wrist. Rough start i know! haha.

Packaging:

The packaging of the Zealand strap is actually my favorite thing about the product. While I feel it slightly copies the packaging of Everest, it's the only aspect of this product that might even have a leg up on Everest. The push buttons work great, and the extra long envelope allows me to re-purpose it immediately.



Overall Design:

While I'm mostly putting Everest on a pedastal here, I'd be remiss to not mention this strap looks an awful lot like the design of a Rubber B Product. And while I've never owned a Rubber B strap for Rolex, I've handled them and owned one for a Panerai. I can attest that the quality and feel is excellent and certainly rivals Everest in that regard.

The design of this Zealand Strap definitely takes after Rubber B, but again falls short to be considered a real rival or competitor, In my opinion.

I'm not sure about Rubber B, but the curve of this Zealand band is very unnatural coming immediately off the watch case. Notice in the photos, both on and off the wrist how the Everest Band, perfectly fits around the wrist (with extreme comfort) and while the Zealand strap isn't exactly uncomfortable, it simply looks silly and feels like a rubber band that's about to break.






Quality of Rubber:

The thickness of the Zealand Strap is an all around issue for me. Unfortunately I don't have a scale but I'm sure there is a significant weight difference when compared to the Everest Band. This is not only an indication (to me) that the Everest Band is a heavier duty, more durable product, it's also an important spec when considering you're coming from the amazingly well balanced, well made and tank-like Stainless Steel Oyster Bracelet w/Glidelock! Of course no rubber strap will ever feel like the OEM bracelet will feel, but you certainly want the balance shift and weight change to be a comfortable transition. Definitely not the case with the Zealand Band.





The End link integration with the watch case is terrible. The rubber is so soft and crappy that it can shift in and out of place easily. However, the fit is so bad that it actually prevent me from being able to rotate the bezel. Obviously an issue if you dive or just simply like your watch to function properly.



Fit & Comfort:

Again, the fit is just off. Aside from feeling cheap and too thin, it does not securely hug the wrist in anyway. It folds and flops all over the place. It's just bad.

The inside surface of the Zealand Strap also lacks design quality that I find Superb in both Everest and Rubber B products. A rubber strap is designed (at the least) to be a suitable alternative in hot, sticky and wet conditions. IF you have a quality product a rubber strap makes perfect sense. If your product is not built and designed well the advantages of having a rubber strap will certainly backfire. It's not just a question of Very Comfortable VS OK. It's the difference between extreme discomfort, trapped sweat and moisture, potential odor and accelerated band deterioration.




Hardware:

I'll let the pictures do the talkiing here, but the buckle on the Zealand Band is basically garbage. It not only feels cheap, but it won't even align properly, buckled or unbuckled, as well as on and off the wrist. Compared below of course to the Everest Buckle, which is comparable if not better in quality to any major luxury watch brand out there.





Other Details:

The buckle holes are pretty ordinary, but again, I couldn't help but look to the Everest Band to see how it should be done. See pic below. It's small design details that separate the Zealand band from the heavy hitting Everest. The angled, slightly more squared off holes on the Everest band ensure a tight and secure fit.



FINAL CONCLUSION:

My first impression of this strap was that it wasn't worth half it's asking price. I quickly decided it wasn't worth a quarter of the price. After mounting the strap and wearing it on the wrist, you seriously couldn't pay me to wear the strap. It looks terrible, feels terrible, lacks important design features and most importantly just does not feel like a safe band to mount my beloved Submariner. Sorry Zealand! Hope you see this is an opportunity to improve your product.

ONE LAST THING:

Apologies to Hyundai. I hear they make perfectly reliable cars these days, and to compare it to a product I just bashed is not really fair.

[HRV]

Interesting read, thanks for posting

[GB-man]

So you're not a fan! Thanks for your thoughts. I'm always seeking other strap manufacturers but I'll stick to my rubber b. Never tried an Everest because I honestly don't like the look of them. Subtle difference from rubber b but just my thoughts.

[Chadridv]

Originally Posted by HRV

Interesting read, thanks for posting

Thanks for commenting!

Originally Posted by GB-man

So you're not a fan! Thanks for your thoughts. I'm always seeking other strap manufacturers but I'll stick to my rubber b. Never tried an Everest because I honestly don't like the look of them. Subtle difference from rubber b but just my thoughts.

Yeah I have no argument there. As mentioned I owned a rubber B for Panerai and thought it was an excellent product. The quality definitely rivaled Everest. My guess is that the Rubber Bs for rolex are no different.

The good thing for us and for each of those two companies is that the design IS quite different and therefore appeals to different customers. I like the streamlined smooth integration of the everest, as opposed to the blocky end Link look of the rubber B.

No wrong or right IMO, just aesthetics.

[nursejm]

Now I appreciating more my Everest band after reading this.

Its the small details (e.g., that angles squared off holes on everest) that make a product stands out or became a trash.

By the way I'm a hyundai car user, that disclaimer at the end make me feel better.


Best regards,

[Devildog]

Nice review, thanks.

There's a reason Everest and RubberB are "expensive" for "just" a rubber strap.

[PrinceT]

Thanks for the honest review! Really annoying to see those sponsored posts especially on Instagram these days where false marketing is ever so prevalent. I'm so glad I have my Everest band on right now strapped to my hulk too! I won't settle for less. A Friend once told me.. A cheap strap on a Rolex is like a Ferrari on Toyota wheels!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ejvette]

Great write up and review Chad I have a rubberB on my expII its a quality strap and Everest does not make a strap for the 42MM Exp. I also have an Everest leather strap that I used on my SubC very high quality and perfect fit right out of the box.

[Chadridv]

Originally Posted by nursejm

Now I appreciating more my Everest band after reading this.

Its the small details (e.g., that angles squared off holes on everest) that make a product stands out or became a trash.

By the way I'm a hyundai car user, that disclaimer at the end make me feel better.

Best regards,

Haha! I'm sure you drive a fine car. I realized right at the end that I should probably clear that up.

I stand by that it makes no sense to compare a $15k car to a $60k car. But year, this strap really shouldn't be compared to Hyundai at all.

Originally Posted by Devildog

Nice review, thanks.

There's a reason Everest and RubberB are "expensive" for "just" a rubber strap.

Yeah, neither product is cheap! But you pay a premium that's appropriate for a luxury accessory. With that said, it should be up to at least the same standards, which I believe Everest and Rubber B are.

Originally Posted by PrinceT

Thanks for the honest review! Really annoying to see those sponsored posts especially on Instagram these days where false marketing is ever so prevalent. I'm so glad I have my Everest band on right now strapped to my hulk too! I won't settle for less. A Friend once told me.. A cheap strap on a Rolex is like a Ferrari on Toyota wheels!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your friend is right! I saw this company all over IG too which is where my interest began. I always like trying new products and believe me, it brings me no joy to write a scolding review, but I honestly don't want my friends here on TRF to waste their money. If you're gonna spend the money, spend some more and get the product that is suitable for your watch.

Originally Posted by ejvette

Great write up and review Chad I have a rubberB on my expII its a quality strap and Everest does not make a strap for the 42MM Exp. I also have an Everest leather strap that I used on my SubC very high quality and perfect fit right out of the box.

The rubber b - ExII combo is awesome! Pics? I was very pleased with my Rubber B for PAM.

[SemperFi]

A well thought out review Chadri. I certainly appreciate the time involved in putting it together.
I've never tried the Everest strap and currently have a RubberB on my Explorer which I have absolutely zero complaints about. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Most things being comparable between the two, I decided on the RubberB because I liked it's aesthetics better, plain and simple.

[Blue_Lume]

great write up!

HORUS STRAPS ARE ALSO GARBAGE!

[mjclark32]

Well done
Never heard of that company... Glad I bought an everest though

[2106]

Thanks for providing such a detailed review.

I was almost about to purchase a Zealande strap. Might go with the rubber b or everest now...

[axjimenez]

Thank you for taking the time - I have been going back and forth on adding an Everest strap and while this other brand was not on my radar, I am glad it to know in case I came across them.

[AJM914]

Great review.....thanks!

[elcoyoote92]

also heard some bad comments of guys who couldn't assemble the bracelet

[Apia]

Thank you for this review.

Even if I find you very hard with Zealande on some points, which I will allow myself to detail below.

First of all, my name is Alexandre and I am the new owner of Zealande.

I will not under any circumstances denigrate the Everest bracelet because like RubberB, I think it is one of the best on this rubber straps market.

However, it is still necessary to weigh your comments because there is a lot of subjectivity in your review, which is "comparative".

Let's start with the shape of the bracelet, it is different from that of Everest, with a more pronounced curvature and this just looks a little closer to the less round oyster than Everest... so two different design choices.

The quality of the rubber, it turns out that it is strictly the same, it is the FKM vulcanized rubber.
Everest and Zealande share the same Swiss manufacturer, we can only notice a slight difference in the choice of finish and grain between the two brands, one has a "smoother" aspect and the other a more "glittery" aspect.

The flexibility of the rubber, here too, Zealande's choice was to make a rubber strap more flexible and comfortable than its competitors, again a different choice between its two brands.
Under no circumstances does this make it more fragile or less resistant than a thicker Everest.
The properties of vulcanized FKM make it extremely resistant and that's why I decided to guarantee my straps for life.

Concerning the ABS plastic insert embedded in the rubber for a perfect connection with the watch case, it is the same manufacturing process for both brands, and under no circumstances does it leave its place....
As for the adjustment on the box of a 6-digit Submariner, in fact, you are right, there is 1 or 2 tenths of a mm that prevents the bezel from rotating as easily as usual, we will fix it in a future version of our rubber strap.
It should be noted that few customers run their bezel regularly and even fewer use their Submariner to dive....

I don't even prefer to comment on your passage on the adjustment and comfort so much it is a feeling that is specific to you, based on no technical detail since we have seen above, the rubber is strictly the same...

Concerning the buckle, there too, you're very hard, and it's very easy to make sure that the part that fits into the bracelet is not properly aligned, even with the Everest bracelet... but we'll blame it on your objectivity.

As for the holes, they are in no way ordinary, they have a different design from those of the
Everest, quite simply.

I would like to point out that I have a strong esteem for Everest, which since its arrival on the rubber strap market has been able to innovate and participate in the democratization of rubber straps.

In conclusion, Zealande is a different alternative on this market of premium rubber straps made of vulcanized FKM and not silicone.
Potential customers will be able to make their choice according to the design that suits them best and the budget they want to spend on a quality rubber strap.

[dan993]

Don't see much wrong with the quality of the strap mouldings per se just a different approach to supply of a rubber strap. I agree the cut outs for the buckle hole do seem of a better design on the Everest.

[enginerd]

Zealande, not Zealand. Maybe he reviewed a knockoff Zealande strap.

There's a motorcycle manufacturer in China called Hongda. It's definitely not a Honda.

[SPMN]

Thanks for the review, Chadriv, and thanks as well for responding Apia. I take slight issue with your statement that few customers utilize their bezel, as that's difficult to quantify, and shouldn't matter as an aftermarket item shouldn't interfere with the basic utilization of the product. Having said that, it's good to know you're taking steps to fix that issue, and it probably isn't your fault as you're the new owner. Really, the only thing any of us can hope is that a manufacturer listens to feedback, and works to improve their product.

[peterpl]

Not a fan of any of these rubber straps. Ruins the watch imho.

[Apia]

Originally Posted by SPMN

Thanks for the review, Chadriv, and thanks as well for responding Apia. I take slight issue with your statement that few customers utilize their bezel, as that's difficult to quantify, and shouldn't matter as an aftermarket item shouldn't interfere with the basic utilization of the product. Having said that, it's good to know you're taking steps to fix that issue, and it probably isn't your fault as you're the new owner. Really, the only thing any of us can hope is that a manufacturer listens to feedback, and works to improve their product.

With pleasure ;-)

When I said that most of the customers do not use the bezel it is because I think, perhaps wrongly, that the Submariner is one of the most sold watches by Rolex, and that the customers who dive with it are "few" (in %).

Nevertheless, I agree with you that I bought Zealande with this rubber, which has many qualities but also has potential awesome improvements, and this is excellent news because I intend to improve it by taking into account the opinions of customers that I systematically identify.

[jstevens43]

Great points. My question to you is, If you share the same manufacture & rubber then why such a difference in pricing between both? thank you.

Originally Posted by Apia

Thank you for this review.

Even if I find you very hard with Zealande on some points, which I will allow myself to detail below.

First of all, my name is Alexandre and I am the new owner of Zealande.

I will not under any circumstances denigrate the Everest bracelet because like RubberB, I think it is one of the best on this rubber straps market.

However, it is still necessary to weigh your comments because there is a lot of subjectivity in your review, which is "comparative".

Let's start with the shape of the bracelet, it is different from that of Everest, with a more pronounced curvature and this just looks a little closer to the less round oyster than Everest... so two different design choices.

The quality of the rubber, it turns out that it is strictly the same, it is the FKM vulcanized rubber.
Everest and Zealande share the same Swiss manufacturer, we can only notice a slight difference in the choice of finish and grain between the two brands, one has a "smoother" aspect and the other a more "glittery" aspect.

The flexibility of the rubber, here too, Zealande's choice was to make a rubber strap more flexible and comfortable than its competitors, again a different choice between its two brands.
Under no circumstances does this make it more fragile or less resistant than a thicker Everest.
The properties of vulcanized FKM make it extremely resistant and that's why I decided to guarantee my straps for life.

Concerning the ABS plastic insert embedded in the rubber for a perfect connection with the watch case, it is the same manufacturing process for both brands, and under no circumstances does it leave its place....
As for the adjustment on the box of a 6-digit Submariner, in fact, you are right, there is 1 or 2 tenths of a mm that prevents the bezel from rotating as easily as usual, we will fix it in a future version of our rubber strap.
It should be noted that few customers run their bezel regularly and even fewer use their Submariner to dive....

I don't even prefer to comment on your passage on the adjustment and comfort so much it is a feeling that is specific to you, based on no technical detail since we have seen above, the rubber is strictly the same...

Concerning the buckle, there too, you're very hard, and it's very easy to make sure that the part that fits into the bracelet is not properly aligned, even with the Everest bracelet... but we'll blame it on your objectivity.

As for the holes, they are in no way ordinary, they have a different design from those of the
Everest, quite simply.

I would like to point out that I have a strong esteem for Everest, which since its arrival on the rubber strap market has been able to innovate and participate in the democratization of rubber straps.

In conclusion, Zealande is a different alternative on this market of premium rubber straps made of vulcanized FKM and not silicone.
Potential customers will be able to make their choice according to the design that suits them best and the budget they want to spend on a quality rubber strap.

[Burlington]

Thanks for sharing the comparative review. Nice clear photos and opinions.

Rubber makes for such a comfortable and practical solution!

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by Apia

With pleasure ;-)



When I said that most of the customers do not use the bezel it is because I think, perhaps wrongly, that the Submariner is one of the most sold watches by Rolex, and that the customers who dive with it are "few" (in %).



Nevertheless, I agree with you that I bought Zealande with this rubber, which has many qualities but also has potential awesome improvements, and this is excellent news because I intend to improve it by taking into account the opinions of customers that I systematically identify.

Kudos for joining the discussion so openly. Lot of respect for that.

Great potential consumer pool on TRF you could use to help in the design phase too.

[Apia]

Originally Posted by jstevens43

Great points. My question to you is, If you share the same manufacture & rubber then why such a difference in pricing between both? thank you.

Each company has its own pricing strategy, mine is to offer a rubber strap at an "affordable" price that allows me to develop Zealand by selling directly but also through a network of resellers.

[Apia]

Originally Posted by Burlington

Kudos for joining the discussion so openly. Lot of respect for that.

Great potential consumer pool on TRF you could use to help in the design phase too.

With pleasure, as I mentioned earlier, I take note of what I read on the forums, customer feedback and the desires I receive.

[exador]

Originally Posted by enginerd

Zealande, not Zealand. Maybe he reviewed a knockoff Zealande strap.

LOL and here I thought for a moment that some of my compatriots in New Zealand were making rubber straps

[Everest]

Originally Posted by Apia

Everest and Zealande share the same Swiss manufacturer, we can only notice a slight difference in the choice of finish and grain between the two brands, one has a "smoother" aspect and the other a more "glittery" aspect.

This post is written by Michael DiMartini, CEO of Everest Horology Products. I just want to clarify something that was told to the forum by this new strap maker, we do not share the same manufacturer whatsoever. I am not going to reply back beyond this point, as each designer chooses their own design path, but again we do not use the same manufacturer in Switzerland.

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by jstevens43

Great points. My question to you is, If you share the same manufacture & rubber then why such a difference in pricing between both? thank you.

Don't believe everything someone tells you.

The reason for the pricing difference is the quality. Just look at the pictures above and you can see the difference.