Watch straps, where one measurement in millimetres decides what fits at all
The short answer
Prices in GBPUSDEUReach row carries the day it was read
A watch strap is the cheapest way to change a watch, and the only way to get it wrong is the measurement. Everything else on this page, leather against steel, mesh against nylon, is taste. The millimetres are not.
The number, and where to measure it
Lug width is the distance between the inside faces of the two lugs, the horns the strap sits between. It is measured in millimetres, across the gap, with the old strap out of the way. Measuring the old strap itself is close enough to work and wrong often enough to be annoying, because straps taper and compress.
Every one of these eleven listings states its widths, which is unusual candour for a marketplace and tells you what the sellers know matters. All eleven offer 22mm and all eleven offer 20mm. Six also offer 18mm, three go to 24mm, and one goes to 26mm.
If you have no ruler to hand, a 5p coin is 18mm across and a 10p is 24.5mm, which brackets every width on this page and will tell you whether you are in 20mm or 22mm territory.
Odd sizes, and the one strap that has them
Watch makers overwhelmingly use even lug widths, and then some do not. Nineteen and twenty one millimetre lugs exist, mostly on older or dressier watches, and they are exactly the case where guessing costs you the price of the strap.
One listing here offers 19mm and 21mm, alongside 18, 20, 22 and 24. If you have measured an odd number, that is the listing to open first, and the others on this page cannot help you whatever else they say.
Quick release is standard here, and worth understanding
All eleven say quick release. The bar that holds the strap has a tiny lever on it, so you pinch the lever, the bar shortens, and the strap comes out. No spring bar tool, no scratched lugs, no bar pinging across the room.
It is genuinely good, and on this page it separates nothing, because everything has it. Where it matters is when you own two straps and swap them by mood: that takes ten seconds with quick release and ten minutes and a swear word without.
The brands in the titles
Five titles name a watch: Samsung Galaxy, Huawei GT, Garmin Fenix, Seiko. Nothing is wrong with that, and it does not mean what it looks like it means.
A strap that says “for Samsung Galaxy Watch” is a strap in the width Samsung used. It is a compatibility note, not a fitting the seller has tested against your watch, and the same strap in the same width fits anything else with that lug gap. Read the number, then treat the brand as a hint about which number to choose.
Two things do vary by watch. Some smartwatches take a proprietary lug rather than a straight bar, in which case a normal strap will not fit at all, and the listing usually says the model rather than the width. And some watches have curved ends, where the factory strap is shaped to hug the case; a straight strap fits and leaves a small gap either side.
Material, which is the part you actually choose
Leather, five of these. Warm, ages well, and the two oil waxed ones will darken and shine with wear, which is either the point or an annoyance. Rain is fine. Swimming is not.
Stainless steel, two. One is a Milanese mesh, a woven band with a sliding clasp, so it fits any wrist without removing links and adjusts infinitely rather than by holes. It is also the style that pulls arm hair if the weave is cheap. The other is a link bracelet sold for Samsung and Huawei watches, which adjusts by taking links out and therefore needs a pin pusher or a jeweller.
Silicone, one. Waterproof in practice, wipes clean, and the sensible choice for a watch that goes to the gym.
Nylon sailcloth, one, two sided, and the only title here that states waterproof. Fabric straps dry rather than rotting, which is the reason divers have used them for decades.
And one says nothing at all. The Garmin fit strap names the watches it suits, the widths it comes in and not one word about what it is made of, which is a listing selling compatibility rather than a strap. If the material matters to you, that is the listing to ask about before buying.
The adapters, and what they tell you
One listing is not a strap at all. It is a pack of adapters: small metal pieces that convert 18mm to 20mm, 20mm to 18, 20 or 22, and so on.
They exist because width is the constraint, which is the argument of this whole page in one product. They work. They also add a visible joint at the lug and a couple of millimetres of length, so a watch wearing one looks slightly like a watch wearing one.
Buy them when the strap you want does not come in your size, not as a way of avoiding the tape measure.
What I would actually do
Measure first, then choose material.
For most watches, the cowhide leather strap that covers 18 through 24 including 19 and 21. It is the only listing here that can answer an odd measurement, and leather on a plain watch is hard to get wrong.
If you want the strap to disappear into the watch, the Milanese mesh. The sliding clasp means it fits exactly, which no holed strap manages.
If the watch swims or sweats, the nylon sailcloth, and if it does both, the silicone.
And if the strap you love comes in 22mm and your watch is 20mm, buy the adapters and accept the joint.
Side by side
Prices in GBPUSDEUR. Each row carries the date its price was read.
| Product | Price | Why it is here | Where to buyLink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall Quick Release Breathable Porous Watch Band Handmade | £5.20$6.93€6.12checked 18 Oct 2026 | Cowhide leather, and the only strap here offering 19mm and 21mm as well as the even sizes, which is what an odd lug width needs | Check opens in a new tab |
| If you want steel 1.0mm Milanese Mesh Watchband Stainless Steel Shark | £4.67$6.23€5.50checked 18 Oct 2026 | Milanese mesh in four widths, with the sliding clasp that adjusts to any wrist without tools or removed links | Check opens in a new tab |
| If it gets wet Premium Two-Sided Nylon Watchband Waterproof | £5.03Price on AliExpress€5.93checked 18 Oct 2026 | Two-sided nylon sailcloth, the one strap here that states waterproof, and the material that dries rather than rotting | Check opens in a new tab |
The measurement, and the pin
- Lug width in millimetres is the gap between the two horns the strap sits between. Every one of these eleven states one, and all eleven offer 22mm while six also offer 18mm. Measure yours with a ruler across the gap, not along the old strap.
- Quick release means a sprung bar with a little lever on it, so the strap comes off with a fingernail rather than a tool. All eleven say it, which on this shelf makes it the floor rather than a feature.
- Even numbers, almost always. Watches come in even lug widths far more often than odd, and one strap here offers 19mm and 21mm as well. If yours measures odd, that listing is the one to look at rather than rounding down.
- The material is the only free choice. Five of these are leather, two are stainless steel, one silicone, one nylon sailcloth. Nothing about fit changes with material, so pick the one you want against your wrist in August.
What a strap listing cannot promise
- A named watch is not a guarantee. Five titles name Samsung, Huawei, Garmin or Seiko. That is the seller saying which watches share the width, not a fitting they have tested. The number still decides it.
- Curved ends fit one watch and no other. Some watches take a strap with a shaped end that follows the case. A straight strap in the right width will still fit those, with a small gap either side that you either mind or do not.
- An adapter is a fix, not an upgrade. One listing here is a set of adapters for going between widths. It works, and it adds a joint and a few millimetres to the look of the watch, so use it when the strap you want is the wrong size and not as a first move.
- Leather and water do not get on. One title here says waterproof and it is the nylon one. Oil waxed leather survives rain and does not survive swimming, and no listing on this page claims otherwise, which is at least honest.