I first got a glimpse of Hemsut straps on Instagram, mostly on various mid-tier and luxury tool watches. I really liked what I saw, so I figured it was worth giving this Hong Kong-based brand a try.
Now, Hemsut’s founder Alex is a fan of smartwatches, mostly Garmin, and creating straps for smartwatches with proprietary strap attachment systems makes a huge part of their catalogue. However, they also have a ton of straps for ordinary lugs, and these are what caught my attention – especially that they feature some great materials at surprisingly reasonable prices.
I’m not really a smartwatch guy, so naturally, I gravitated to the traditional options. And that’s exactly what I’ll be showing you here…
The Leathers
Hemsut uses leather from some pretty well-known tanneries – think Mastrotto from Italy and Horween from the USA. The strap I’m reviewing is made from Horween’s Chromexcel leather. They also offer straps in Horween’s more famous Cordovan, but since I’d already had some experience with that, and never tried Chromexcel, the choice was easy.
Chromexcel is a pull-up leather, which refers to the technique of infusing leather with oils and waxes. The result is a leather that’s really long-lasting and standing up well to intensive usage – that’s why it’s a favourite of premium boot manufacturers like Red Wing.
It also comes with a benefit in terms of aesthetics – pull-up leathers, Chromexcel included, tend to develop patina over time, as well as unique patterns of creases due to the movement of oils in the material.
The Structure
It’s a straightforward two-stitch design, with consistent finishing on both the front and back—no separate lining material here. And with Chromexcel, that’s not a drawback at all. This leather is naturally smooth and feels great against the skin, so there’s really no need for an extra lining layer.
In terms of thickness, the strap stays pretty consistent at around 4 mm – my caliper showed 4.2 mm near the lugs and 4.0 mm further down.
As for the taper, in order to fit it to the Spirit I went for the 21mm version, which tapers down to 17mm at the buckle. It’s a nice taper that matches the lines of the Spirit’s case and gives the combo an aesthetically pleasing, streamlined look.
How Does It Wear?
Considering that it’s a thick strap, I thought it’d take it a while to break in to my wrist, but that was not the case. This one adapted to it remarkably quickly – a day, if that. For a bark-thick strap like that, it’s astonishingly comfortable right out of the box.
What I also love about it is that the free keeper doesn’t slide off. A loose keeper that slides around during wear always bugs me, so when a brand gets it right, I take note – and Hemsut absolutely nailed it here.
How You Receive It
Hemsut shipped the strap in simple but solid packaging: an outer cardboard box, with the strap and extras tucked into a drawstring pouch with two compartments.
As for those extras—there’s a set of spare 21mm spring bars, a spring bar tool, and something I hadn’t seen before: a spare floating keeper. For what it’s worth, since the strap is equipped with quick-release spring bars, the tool would seem unnecessary, but hey, you can never have enough of these. Plus, it’ll come in handy if you’d like to swap out the stock buckle for something else.
As for the spare keeper, I think it’s a nice touch that shows confidence in that the strap will last. In a thick strap with tightly fitting keepers like this one, that’s one component that probably could give up at some point, so it’s great to have a spare for if that happens.
What Would I Recommend It For?
I think this particular strap from Hemsut is a solid choice for tool watches with long lugs, noticeable lug thickness, and a relatively large spacing between the spring bar and the flank of the case (aka ”strap gap”).
A few watches that come to mind right away: the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical, IWC’s “Mark” series Pilot watches, and several Longines sport models like the HydroConquest, Spirit (as you’ve seen here), and the Legend Diver.
I wouldn’t recommend it for watches with a very tight spring bar-to-case fit – think Glycine Airman or the Sea Kraken – but that’s more about the watches themselves than any shortcoming of the strap.
All in All…
Of all the two-stitch straps I’ve owned, this one easily ranks at the top. In terms of comfort, it even outperforms a custom strap I had made specifically for the Spirit years ago – yet it comes at just a fraction of the cost. For $25.99, it’s hard to imagine finding a better deal for a strap this well-made, especially in Chromexcel leather.
All in all, I think Hemsut really nailed it with this one, and I’m more than happy to give them credit where it’s due. If you’re looking to pick one up yourself, you can find it here.
Helpful review.