Review : First Impression of the Isofrane Rubber Strap

The packaging was alright, actually; and with only a rubber strap in there, it was actually an overkill.

Inside the package, you would find a rectangular box containing the Isofrane and the warranty card, that stated that the product was warrantied for 12 months. A rubber strap with warranty- that's a nice touch actually. I have bought many watch straps and I don't recall any of those offering any warranties, except for replacement in case of defects upon arrival. This gave me even more confidence on Isofrane rubber straps.

In this review, my order was for the 24mm Isofrane Black with IN buckle. I find that the IN buckle was more modern and the curve would match nicely with the protective shroud of the watch that I had in mind i.e. Seiko Kinetic Tuna from Baselworld 2014.

Point to note was that the lug hole on the straps would only accommodate thinner lug pins. If your watch comes with big fat diver pins, you would have a hard time getting them in. The Kinetic Tuna came with just those fat pins that I mentioned. So I made a quick trip to the neighbourhood watchsmith and bought a pair of thinner 24mm pins for just RM5, which fitted as snug as a bug in a rug thereafter.

From the pictures above, you could see that the Isofrane was a good fit between the lugs, and there was no exposed metal pins. So far so good then.

The rear of the strap was marked with the brand and that it was made in Italy. The strap had a very faint vanilla smell and you really had to put it close to your nose to catch a whiff of it. In comparison, the vanilla smell on the Ball Hydrocarbon vulcanised rubber strap that I purchased from Ball Malaysia for RM500, was much stronger. I have no preferences for either the stronger or weaker scent, as was not really too concerned about the strap's smell as long as it's not smelly.

Zooming in, the black on the Isofrane matched the black dial on the Kinetic Tuna so well, that it looked as though the watch came supplied with the Isofrane. The material was nice and soft to the touch. The cutout rectangular holes were more than just designs, they worked to ventilate the strap so that the wearer would feel cool wearing the strap.

I have read from other users that the IN buckle tended to protrude outwards too much from the strap; and from my observations, this was true. The strap had many micro-adjustments and I tried a few different holes, but the buckle still extended out in the same manner. But nevertheless, it didn't affect the wearing and the strap actually gripped firmly on my wrist. The grip was due to the many minute lines lining the rear of the strap.

The Kinetic Tuna was a top-heavy watch, and I knew that it wouldn't be easy to find a decent rubber strap to hold its 48mm size (52mm with crown and protection shroud) nicely-positioned on my wrist. I have tried Nato, which I liked lots and had ordered many from overseas to mix and match my collectible watches; but the Kinetic Tuna proved to be too heavy for the Nato strap to hold it properly.

Another Kinetic Tuna that I had came with the original Seiko silicon strap; and although better than the Seiko Z22 straps, the silicon strap was also not a very comfortable strap.

Wearing the Kinetic Tuna matched with the Isofrane, and typing this review away and not feeling the watch moving about on my wrist, I realised that... the Isofrane was well-worth its premium asking price. It was soft and gripped one's wrist firmly yet gently, and managed to hold a heavy watch in its place such that the wearer felt really comfortable with the watch. Not an easy task for a rubber strap, but Isofrane somehow delivered all these and more.

So to the readers whom wrote in and asked if I thought the Isofrane was value-for-money...

I could only tell you this : I am ordering a 24mm Black for my Bell & Ross, 22mm Black and Orange for my Omega PO, and am thinking of more Isofrane straps for my other collectible watches. So yes, that meant that I'm an Isofrane-convert too!

In a way, this review should really come with a warning. Don't buy your first Isofrane rubber strap, because you may just end up buying more Isofrane straps thereafter. Period.

The Misadventures of the Isofrane Rubber Strap (During Transit)

NB : Chain of events updated in hindsight.

I had been rather excited about the impending arrival of the Isofrane rubber strap that I ordered earlier the month. There had also been quite a few e-mails from fellow readers asking about the rubber strap- whether was it just a glorified rubber strap or truly worth its asking price of USD99 - USD129, with an additional shipping fee of USD10 per strap yet to be added into the asking price.

My neighbourhood watchsmith shop sold rubber straps from RM25 ono. So, in comparison, to spend RM366 - RM466 for a piece of rubber strap seemed to be quite crazy. But I have been intrigued by the brand and wanted to judge for myself if it was truly worth its asking price.

More than 2 weeks after my order, I wrote to Aquadive again to ask about the delivery as the initial e-mail that I got from them indicated that the strap had been sent vide FedEx (with a tracking no and hyperlink to FedEx-tracking sent for my checking); but checking on the website revealed that the tracking no was erroneous.

The good customer service representative i.e. Mr Manfred explained that there was a problem with the Aquadive ordering system and that the tracking ID was actually meant for registered mail vide Austria Post. They send all worldwide parcels by normal post (USD10), although one could top-up for FedEx (USD25) through an optional request.

He had thought that it was being held by the Malaysian customs. In any case, he noted my concerns and apologised for the mistake. He even reversed my initial purchase price, much to my surprise and suggested that I chased the relevant authorities to release the mail; or both parties (being Aquadive and myself) would lose out on the good rubber strap.

I frequently make overseas purchases for watches and accessories, and knew that watches were not subjected to import tariffs. I checked further and Cik Nurul from Pos Malaysia thereafter informed me that the mail was tracked to Bangi post office. She informed me to lodge a missing report and to await news from their side.

At this point, I had thought that chances of recovery was on the low side from a personal experience. A few months ago, I ordered for an item that was sent to me from Subang Jaya to Sri Hartamas, vide PosLaju courier services no less; and after a few days of non-delivery, I called to Pos Malaysia (similarly) only to be informed that they had send to a wrong address in Gombak. I was told to make a missing report (similar to the current scenario); and last I heard, the matter was still pending investigation.

The next day, Pos Malaysia reverted back to me and lo and behold, all parties were assisting me with the tracking of the mail.

And voila, 20 days after my initial order and payment, I now have the package in my hand. And to the readers whom have been e-mailing me for the review, rest assured that an initial impressions review would be posted shortly.

I have yet to utilise the rubber strap; but I have much confidence with the product and I was also glad to have managed to iron out the issue with Mr Manfred. And so impressed was I with the customer services that I started to browse Aquadive's offerings and realised that I have no watches from them in my collection.

This watch i.e. Aquadive Bathyscaphe 100 Bronze caught my eye and I am now fighting an inner battle if I should fork out circa RM5,700 for the handsome watch CNC Cut from a chunk of salt-resistant bronze alloy block.

And so concludes the misadventures of the Isofrane rubber strap (while in transit), and a real-world review would be forth-coming.

For the rest of you guys interested in getting the Isofrane rubber strap, my advice was to top-up (on top of the USD10 registered mail charges) the additional USD15 for FedEx shipping (USD25 per strap), so as to avoid the trouble that I had went through.

Good luck and keep your eyes peeled hereabouts for the review!

Cheap Thrills 1 : Casio G-Shock Riseman

Thank you for all you readers' support and input into this on-going blog of mine. With Christmas around the corner, let's have a lil' "sharing is caring" type of fun activity. The 5th person to comment with your e-mail address below wins a pre-owned Casio G-Shock Riseman. Self-collection only, in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur.

Isofrane Italian-Made Diver Rubber Strap @ USD109.00

I would be honest that I have yet to come across this brand i.e. Isofrane prior to searching for a rubber strap to be paired with Katie @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2014/10/first-impression-of-seiko-prospex.html.

I'm not really a big fan of rubber strap- I have G-shocks, Ball Fireman and Seiko diver watches with the infamous Z22 rubber straps, and none of these truly live up to expectations. The rubber straps just don't quite deliver the level of comfort and sophistication as quality bracelet, Nato and leather straps. They get clammy when one gets hot and sweaty, and they just look cheap.

There was a rubber strap that gave me a good impression though- and that was the replacement rubber strap that I purchased from Ball Malaysia for my Ball Hydrocarbon John Hembel. It cost some RM500, which was a premium for a rubber strap; but it was very comfortable, held the watch securely and confidently, and had a tinge of vanilla smell being manufactured vulcanised rubber. Now, that was a good rubber strap well-worth it's asking price.

I received a gift in the form of Katie's cousin i.e. SUN023P1, which came with a Seiko silicon rubber strap; and again, it's one of those rubber straps that screamed el-cheapo with a capital "C" and was very much of a lint-magnet. Unless you really liked the design of the colourful SUN023P1, you would be better off getting Katie's equivalent model that came with the more solid bracelet.

No Sirree, what I wanted was a premium rubber strap that would hold the weighty case securely on my wrist, and yet felt like as feather as though it wasn't there. I didn't want a rubber strap that was going to be very evident and imposing on my wrist all the time.

I started searching online on the most comfortable rubber strap, and a same brand came to my attention time and time again. Isofrane. Using a modern rubber compound that was hypo-allergenic and 100% silicone-free, this strap was designed to be softer, stronger and more comfortable than any other rubber straps in the market. Big claims from Isofrane, but it had the history to back its claims and used to supply Isofrane straps for Omega Seamaster ProPlof. No joking matter then. But USD109 per Isofrane strap, it wasn't cheap, that's for sure.

I walked into a watch shop and said that I wanted to look for a pair of 24mm rubber strap, and prices generally were less than RM50. For instance, the shopkeeper showed me a pair looked like the picture, which suited Katie's looks well and it was going for RM25 only. But it was a lint magnet and I could felt the clammy feel of the rubber. Cheap but no good at all.

Reading so much about the Isofrane, I decided to take a leap of faith and made an online purchase towards a pair of 24mm Isofrane Black strap. If it was indeed as good as claimed pursuant to delivery, I would further add a pair of 24mm and 22mm Isofrane orange straps (for SUN023P1 and Planet Ocean XL respectively).

I'm now waiting for the delivery of the 24mm Isofrane Black and would update on its review pursuant to receipt. Do beware of counterfeits selling as "Isofrane-style" straps, which may be cheap but were not the genuine articles. Isofrane was expensive as it had a long and colourful history, with much R&D going into its design. Oh, and it's vulcanised rubber so it had the trademark vanilla smell- yummy!

In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of Katie's equivalent with many other choices of straps as seen on the Net as per the following :