Rubber is great. You always know what you’re getting with a rubber strap. It's flexible, it's ductile, it's resilient – it's rubbery. But it's not inherently versatile. Rubber makes for a wonderful strap material in so many ways, but it's also limited by its synthetic nature. Rubber is rubber. You won't want to wear a rubber strap to work, school, or dinner, but when the weekend rolls around, it makes for a great poolside accoutrement.
The most famous rubber watch straps are those that came attached to vintage dive watches in the 1960s and '70s and featured a waffle-like exterior texture. The legendary "Tropic" watch strap is the way to go if you're hunting for a rubber strap for messing around by the beach. In more recent times, there has been a boom in the development of aftermarket providers of integrated rubber straps to fit popular sport watches from Rolex, Panerai, and other brands. I found that as comfortable and sleek as it looked at first, the novelty was short.
The Activity: Rubber straps are made to get wet. Water literally rolls right off the material. For spending any amount of time underwater, it's hard to imagine a better alternative.
Hot Tip: You'll sometimes see watch brands refer to their rubber straps as silicone or caoutchouc.
