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My expereinces with Barton straps

Discussion area for watch straps, boxes, winders and other accessories.
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tnmats
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My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by tnmats »

I posted this on another part of the forum, one kind suggestion was to re-post it here also. It's regarding my experiences with Barton straps. What prompted it were some of their recent deals, namely the canvas straps on Amazon's Prime Day deals



and the hybrid leather strap



I have both of those Barton straps, I bought the leather two months ago along with their hybrid cordura straps. . The leather is similar to the Hirsch 'performance' line but the rubber isn't as supple/flexible as what Hirsch uses, it's more plastic-like. The cordura is pretty nice but thin, the canvas I've had for a couple of years and they're pretty nice too but way, way overpriced (you can find the identical straps on AliExpress for $8 shipped or less).

The real gripes I have are:

- Spring bar retracting pins fall out easily from Barton straps, it's a common gripe in reviews. I've had two do that to me in just the past month, one is a hybrid cordura/silicone straps and one in the above listed leather hybrid. Both straps were under 2 months old. Luckily with the leather one I was able to find the hole where the pin was and retract the bar and remove the strap from my watch. In the cordura case I had to cut the blasted thing off my watch with wire cutters. Barton, to their credit, replaced the strap with zero fuss.

- The leather in the hybrid is dodgy in how uniform the insert's thickness is. I have a few of the Hirsch Performance straps (a couple of Robbys and one Ayrton). With the Hirsch straps the leather insert is uniformly 'submerged' where it butts up against the rubber backing, so the leather isn't easily lifted out of the rubber backing along the edges. In the Barton that's not the case, I had to exchange one of the straps twice since when I inserted the strap into the keeper loops the leather was lifting up on the leading tail edge. I could tell in both straps the leather was sitting above the edge of the strap in several places but the tail edge was the real concern. The leather itself shows scratches easily and will pucker when you bend the strap backward (like when you insert the tail end into the keepers). This leaves visible lines in the leather around the holes, a bit of thumb 'massage' of the leather will make them go away. The Hirsch straps don't remotely show this tendency as badly but they are 10x as expensive.

For the price they're asking the leather isn't bad but be aware of the issues. At a minimum get rid of that POS quick release bar if you buy them. And unlike the Hirsch they will never really conform exactly to the wrist over time but they're "good enough". Hirsch is stiff too out of the package like this Barton strap but the Hirsch will conform quite well given a few weeks of wear, over time the rubber backing in the Hirsch proves a lot more comfortable.

And regarding the Barton canvas straps, I've bought some canvas straps from AliExpress for $8 each, including shipping, that seem to be identical to what Barton sells. Even the buckle design was exactly the same. Barton's canvas straps are way overpriced in my opinion but not of shoddy quality, what you do buy is quick shipping and if something goes wrong the company will stand behind them. They better since the markup is at least 300% ($8 is for a shipped AliExpress strap, buy them in bulk and the price drops to under $6/strap if not lower).
Last edited by tnmats on Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Klaatu3
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Re: My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by Klaatu3 »

I received two hybrid leather/rubber two-piece Barton straps from Amz yesterday. The one shown below is an “Oak” color, size 20mm. They are pleasing to the eye on first inspection, but I can see reasons for some of your concerns, @tnmats.

A few notes to accompany the pictures:
1. The strap came well-packaged in a cardboard Barton box, with no plastic in sight
2. My sample came “pre-distressed” with several small scratches on the short side of the strap. Not a big deal, I knew this was saddle leather and the marks are supposed to show character, or something. The leather insert appears almost paper-thin.
3. When flipped over, one end exhibits a gap (red arrow) where the leather wraps around inside its rubber cradle. The glue seems intact—and I won't "pick" at it--but this does not inspire confidence in the long-term durability.
4. Looking at the tail end of the strap, you see the thin leather insert sitting just inside the rubber. It's plausible here that the leather insert may tend to separate after repeated bending.

As to the QR spring bars, I have about ten Barton straps of various styles and so far have not experienced problems with them coming apart. But after hearing tnmats’ tragic tale, I may be inclined to replace them with conventional spring bars. In this case, I’d need to figure out how to remove the QD bars without damaging the leather insert or rubber.

For what it’s worth, I also recently picked up a Barton Cordura hybrid, and comparing the two I’d have better expectations about the Cordura’s sturdiness, mainly because the insert is sewn in around all four sides.
Barton-hyb-leath-01r.jpg
Barton-hyb-leath-02r.jpg
Barton-hyb-leath-03r.jpg
Barton-hyb-leath-04r.jpg
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tnmats
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Re: My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by tnmats »

The sunken leather inside the rubber in the final image you posted is actually good. In one of these straps I have it sat above it, so when you inserted that tail end through the keeper looks it would pull up on the edge a bit. Some rubbing with my thumb put it back in place. I also put a thin strip of Elmers glue on the edge to just keep it from pulling up.

Another thing I dislike is the buckle, it'll scratch the leather a bit. I replaced it with another buckle style that's smoother on it's edges, no more scrapes.

As for your 3rd picture, I saw the same on the strap also. For the price Barton charges they went to some really low-quality supplier and it shows. I know the Hirsch Performance is about 10x the price but it's also 10x the quality.

Your observation about the cordura hyrids is my take also; much higher quality and looks unlikely to have issues of the fabric coming up. I just wish the rubber backing used was thicker. I've seen a few AliExpress variants of this design, they run around $18 each. I've not tried any of them.

And finally, I removed the QR springbars from every watch I own. I don't trust them in the least. If you do remove them, do yourself a favor and try to remove the tab you use to pull back the bar just to get an idea of how easy those tabs pop out. I did, on a Shinola strap, a few cordura straps from Clockwork Synergy, from a Timex and all Barton straps.

The ones form Barton were the flimsiest by far, the tab popped out with little effort (I used some diagonal cutters, not to cut the thing out but pry it out). The Shinola ones were sturdiest (came with a chrono I got from them). The Shinola also has the longest tips and sturdiest spring in it by far. Timex and C/Synergy were in between, with the tabs not being that flimsy to pull out. I replaced them with some rather sturdy 1.8mm spring bars, not the double flanged kind but ones that resemble the bars that you'll see Omega using. they're not cheap but they're vastly better than any QR bar.
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Re: My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by tnmats »

"I’d need to figure out how to remove the QD bars without damaging the leather insert or rubber."

You can't with the hybrid leather strap. I thought I'd damage the strap by using the typical method you'll see Barton describe to remove them. The leather would get ripped.

Instead, pry out the tab/pin you use to pull back the bar. The things pop out too easily you'll find. A set of wire cutters or any fine tip pliers like ones used for jewelry repair will work. Just get the pliers' gripping below the ball-edge of the tab, then just use the strap's edge to form a lever and pry them out. They pop out ridiculously easily in the Barton straps, that's when you'll realize 'man these are shoddy'. To lose those tabs while wearing the watch, TWICE in a few months (a Barton cordura hybrid and the leather hybrid) is enough lesson for me. QR bars are a nice idea but the execution so far isn't sturdy enough for me.

The only place I didn't remove a QR bars is when I use a strap with a watch that has drilled holes on the lugs. At least you can remove the strap if you lose the pull-back tab without damaging the watch.
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Re: My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by Klaatu3 »

Following up in this thread, for those who may be on the fence:

Amazon Prime has the leather/rubber hybrids on lightning deal again today (Aug 10th) for $8.80 in some colors/sizes. Recommend reading the above posts and be an informed consumer.



After wearing mine for a few weeks they aren't bad at all at this price...look nice and I like the rubber underside for hot weather. Here's a pic of my Filson GMT on a 22mm cedar, posted in the WRUW thread:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=32&start=17760#p116557
FilsonGMT01R.jpg
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Re: My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by cortman »

I bought one of these for my bronze Glycine combat sub. My strap came with some dent/crease marks across the leather that I wasn't thrilled about but wasn't bad enough to send back. The leather is super bland and cheap looking, but repeated treatments with Obenauf's boot wax got it a little better looking. It's comfortable enough, and works aesthetically for the watch.
All in all it sold me on the concept of a rubber-backed leather strap, but the execution is not worth more than $10 or so IMO.
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Re: My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by tnmats »

cortman wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:22 am All in all it sold me on the concept of a rubber-backed leather strap, but the execution is not worth more than $10 or so IMO.
To see the hybrid leather/rubber done right, try a Hirsch. Their execution is done very well but they are not cheap. It better be done well for the price Hirsch charges.

I've had a Robby for over 2 yrs. on one watch and it looks as good as the day I bought it. They are kind of bulky straps though.
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Re: My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by cortman »

tnmats wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:18 am
cortman wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:22 am All in all it sold me on the concept of a rubber-backed leather strap, but the execution is not worth more than $10 or so IMO.
To see the hybrid leather/rubber done right, try a Hirsch. Their execution is done very well but they are not cheap. It better be done well for the price Hirsch charges.

I've had a Robby for over 2 yrs. on one watch and it looks as good as the day I bought it. They are kind of bulky straps though.
I've been considering it. If I see a really good sale on one on Black Friday I will probably bite.
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Re: My expereinces with Barton straps

Post by username »

cortman wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:18 am I've been considering it. If I see a really good sale on one on Black Friday I will probably bite.
Keep an eye on Panatime. They usually have a large site-wide discount for Black Friday. That's how I bought all of my Hirsch hybrids.

Edit to add: I bought one of the Barton hybrids to compare to the Hirsch. The Barton hybrid (unlike some of their other products) is garbage that's not worth buying. The leather looks and feels cheap, and the backing is a hard plastic, or if rubber is so hard it might as well be plastic. A friend wanted my sample strap so I gave it away, but I'm not sure it's worth having even if it's free. The Hirsch is a pretty good strap. The leather looks about as good as water-resistant leather ever does, and the backing - while not as soft as I'd like - is far more comfortable on the wrist than the Barton. Worth buying the Hirsch IMO, especially on sale (I would not have bought more than one or two at full price).
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