Richard Mille

Evosam
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The vented rubber strap for the RM005 and my strap journey..

So I was finally able to get the vented rubber strap for my RM005.

I was glad I could go and get it in person because I discovered while I was there that the standard length strap was waaaay too long for me.

I have a 6.5 inch wrist and with the standard length strap, even on the top most hole, the strap was a little too loose for me.

My AD was super accommodating and had a shorter strap waiting for me in a matter of 30 mins or so.

So since straps and strap quality has always been somewhat of a topic here, I thought I would also share my own opinions on this strap.

Let me first premise this with the long history of different strap variants I've had with this watch.
1st strap was the fitted rubber coated leather strap that was frankly not very good. The way that that leather wrapped around and the materials that were used to bind the slotted plastic part with the strap were a complete disappointment for a watch of this caliber.
Fortunately this strap was swapped out FOC by my AD when the connector basically started to come away from the strap itself.

2nd Strap was the 2nd gen rubber/leather strap which was a little better (on the tang this time) but although the strap seemed better quality, the ajoining piece was still subpar even from day one, I could see that the fit and finish was not all there.

3rd Strap was the black kevlar strap which started to get better in quality. This time RM has switched out the plastic connector part with some sort of metal - I think it may have been Ti, and the strap fit much better into the watch. The only downside with this strap is the case tapers down on the sides but when it connects to the strap, the strap looks very odd and thin compared with the thickness of the case on the side profile.

Finally we get to this rubber strap which I had seen in pictures on other RMs but I guess only recently became available on the RM005/RM023 case size.

First observation is that the strap seems to pick up oils and dirt very easily. It could be because it has a very high concentration of actual "rubber" in it. Many rubber straps that I have on my other watches feel different. I think the compounds that other manufactures use have more synthetics or nylon in them so they end up being more "shiny" and more plastic feeling. The RM rubber strap is the total opposite of this...it basically feels like car rubber tire material. I wonder if Mr Mille and folks worked with tire compound company to come up with this mix. The most similar thing in terms of rubber to it are also the side stems from my Tag Heuer sunglasses which apparently use F1 tire compound.



Next, the rubber isn't scented with the usual vanilla scent or anything else. It actually smells kind nasty when you first get it out of the package. A couple of rinses with soapy water gets rid of the initial smell...but it doesn't try to be anything else but rubber.

Finally - got to pay kudos to the RM folks - they really got this one right in terms of fit and finish. The rubber is now tapered in both width and thickness as it comes down from the case to the tip. There's also a groove that cut into the side of the rubber that continues the line from the side profile of the watch and weaves it into the flow of the strap - very neat feature. Metal slots (I think they may be ti) is the internal connector material and they're really bonded to the rubber so it creates a tight fit no budge seem when mounted with the case.




The details are finished with the first of the rubber keepers containing the Richard Mille text.



This is finally a strap that RM should have had was back then. Although the cost of the strap is pretty high, I am very glad that RM listened and observed all the faults and gripes people had with the older straps and has evolved the newer ones where they are now.

It's given new life to my RM005.




-Sam