Watch straps are generally pretty comfortable, although at times they can start to cause irritation.
This is normally due to something we have done wrong, rather than it being the straps fault. Usually we are wearing the watch wrong or for too long and it just gets uncomfortable. I will go through some things you can do to make sure your watch is not irritating you and stays comfortable.
Wear The Strap At The Right Size
The majority of the discomfort is going to come from wearing your strap wrong. You are either wearing it too tight and it is squeezing you, or you are wearing it too loose and it is rattling around and scrapping up and down your arm.
You want your watch to be somewhere in the middle. It needs to be tight enough to stay still, but also loose enough that it is not hurting. When you take the strap off, it shouldn’t be leaving a red mark, if it is doing this, it is probably too tight.
When you get a new watch you may have to play around with things to find the exact size you like. This can be quite annoying with metal bracelets as you might need to go back and forth adding or removing links and changing the micro adjustments to get the right fit.
Just keep playing around with thing and soon you will settle on the right size and things will be pretty comfortable after that.
(You can read more about – What To Do If A Leather Watch Strap Doesn’t Fit)
Break The Strap In
Sometimes the irritation can be caused by the fact that the strap is new and is kind of stiff. Really all you can do here is just ride it out and wait for the strap to soften up a bit.
This is kind of like getting a new pair of shoes …however, just like your new shoes, the strap shouldn’t hurt, it should maybe just feel a little stiff and not quite as comfortable as you want.
If you are wearing the strap and it actually uncomfortable, then you are probably wearing it on the wrong size and you should change it until the comfort level is tolerable, then within a few weeks it should soften up and actually very comfortable.
Of course if it is a metal strap …it isn’t going to break in, so really you just need to find the right size that is comfortable right away. Other straps will break in more than others, usually leather straps will have the biggest change, going from stiff to supple after a few weeks, anything else like nylon is usually about as soft as it will be right out of the box, but some may actually break in a little bit over time.
(You can read more about – How To Break In A Nato Strap)
Take Your Watch Off Now And Again
An important part of wearing a watch is actually taking it off. Our wrists are not really designed to be wearing something 24/7 and we do need to take our watches off and just let our wrists breath every now and again to avoid irritation.
Most people do this at night, but some people like to sleep in their watches. The same goes for the shower, most people take the watch off, but not everyone.
Really you just need to give your wrist a chance to breath every now and again and that should stop you having any issues.
I always took my watch off when I got home from work, it has that exact same feeling as taking your shoes off after a long day. It’s not uncomfortable to wear shoes … but it does sure feel nice to take them off at the end of the day.
Just take your watch off every now and again and you will notice it helps. If you find it is annoying you through the day, just take it off for half an hour and then put it back on. I would sometimes do this during the day at work and it does make a huge difference.
(You can read more about – Is It Bad To Wear A Watch All The Time?)
The Weather Can Effect Things
The weather and general time of the year can effect things and make your wearing experience not as pleasant.
The two obvious issues will be the cold of winter and the warmth of summer. When it is super cold, things like metal bracelets are going to feel like ice on your wrist, but luckily they will start to warm up from your body temperature, but it can still be unpleasant.
Then in the summer, you can easily get too hot and sweaty and a lot of people find that their wrist can swell up. This is just your body trying to push your various liquids closer to the skin so they can cool down …but it does make wearing a watch strap more uncomfortable and you may need to adjust the size to make things more tolerable.
The Material of The Strap Matters
A lot of the irritation caused can be caused by the material of the strap. You will just find that some materials are more comfortable than others.
Things like leather can be quite stiff, but they will soften over time, where as a metal bracelet isn’t going to change. Little things like this can make a difference and then when you couple this with the weather, the material is really going to matter and can really change how irritating you find things.
(You can read more about – What Are The Different Types Of Watch Straps Available?)
Some Straps Will Pinch Your Arm Hair
Some straps, usually cheap metal bracelets can actually pinch your arm hair, which can be quite painful as the hair can actually be ripped out.
This is extremely common on Casio straps, they are made from cheap thin metal and the way the links are joined just allows for the perfect opening for your arm hair to get caught and then pulled on.
You don’t need to have particularly hairy arms for this to still be a problem, and there is not a lot you can do it about it. You either need to change the strap or just accept that you are going to get your hair randomly plucked throughout the day.
Conclusion
Hopefully now you can see that preventing irritation from a watch strap is pretty easy, just make sure the watch fits properly and that you take it off every now and again.
We just have to treat our watch like anything else we wear and then we will be fine, it is normal for them to get a little irritating after a while, but it shouldn’t be unbearable and if you are giving your wrist some rest then it shouldn’t even be an issue in the first place.
(you can read more about – Frequently Asked Questions About – Watch Straps)
Ian is the main writer at Horology Dream and is a lover all things watch related.
He has been a watch collector for over a decade and brings his knowledge and experience to this site to help you on your own watch collecting journey.
You can connect with him on Social media and talk anything watches or read more about him on his Author Page.
