Introducing: The New Artem Loop-less HydroFlex Straps

Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to sample most of the straps in the Artem catalog, and it’s always good stuff coming from the guys Down Under. The Adelaide, Australia-based brand makes luxury rubber straps with a sailcloth finish in various colors. Alongside traditional straps is the brand’s signature Loop-less™️ design without keepers, providing a tidy appearance. Today, Artem announces a new line of straps, the Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️. Spoiler alert — these might be the most comfortable yet!

As someone who dabbles mostly in vintage, I don’t necessarily keep track of the luxury strap market. Vintage watches usually live out their peaceful retirement on leather straps or bracelets. However, I have friends with modern, luxury sports watches, and they love to add straps. They tend to be picky, and while an inexpensive strap works, it’s akin to putting cheap tires on a premium sports car. You just don’t do it. Artem comes up a lot in our discussions, to the point where someone messaged me just before this article, asking if I knew what the brand was coming out with next. Well, now we know and here we go. The new Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ straps combine two tried-and-true concepts from the Artem catalog to create a comfortable, durable, and classy-looking strap.

This strap has been a long time in the making, with Artem telling us they had dumped entire batches of production stock late last year in the interest of making sure the strap was perfect. Artem even mentioned that, at times, it was a fight to keep the project alive, with the manufacturer insisting they were too demanding and what they wanted was not possible. Persistence pays off, it would seem. With the strap now finally live and available to purchase, let’s see if they live up to the hype.

The Artem Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ straps

I reviewed the new orange and green HydroFlex™️ straps this past October. The contrasting colors, the flexibility of the premium FKM rubber, and the stitched details give them a different dimension from a single-molded rubber strap. These straps, though, use a conventional pin buckle. Sometimes, that’s the right look, and it plays particularly well with a bulkier, more rugged watch, such as a diver.

If we travel back to January 2024, Ben reviewed the Loop-less™️ Sailcloth straps. These straps are padded and more structured, but they keep a neat look due to the Loop-less™️ design with a folding clasp. It’s a dressier aesthetic that feels like an OEM offering on an expensive watch.

Now Artem combines the flexibility of the HydroFlex™️ straps with the tidiness of the Loop-less™️ clasp to create the — you guessed it — Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ collection. Artem kindly sent some straps over to our headquarters to check out ahead of the launch. We had the opportunity to pair them with several watches, and I’ve been wearing one for the last few days as well. Before I discuss my thoughts, let’s go over the options and pricing.

Specs, options, and prices

All the new Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ straps are made from a premium blend of FKM rubber. Artem mentions that the formulation requires over eight hours of mixing and two high-temperature vulcanization stages. Your regular rubber, this ain’t. Each strap has a fine sailcloth-weave texture that extends to the sides and around the lug-end of the strap. The final result is impressive as it looks very much like the strap is constructed of multiple layers and pieces of material when, in fact, it is a single, molded piece of FKM rubber. The best of both worlds, as there’s zero risk of fraying or peeling over time.

Real threaded stitching runs down both sides and is visible on the back of the strap to further enhance this multi-part aesthetic. A thicker, padded appearance near the wider end tapers to normal thickness toward the clasp. Artem explained to us that what seems like a simple detail was, in reality, incredibly tricky to execute during development. Quick-release spring bars are also included to make strap changes easy. The result is a strap with all the visual appeal of a traditionally crafted sailcloth strap and all the benefits of a single-piece rubber strap. Winner winner.

The Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ comes in nine colors, including red/red stitching, black/black stitching, brown/white stitching, blue/white stitching, black/white stitching, gray/white stitching, orange/orange stitching, beige/beige stitching, and green/white stitching. Each offering is available in widths of 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22mm. With two sizes available, the strap works for wrists with a 13–19.7cm (5.1–7.75″) circumference.

We all know that Artem makes a premium product, and the prices reflect this. The Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ straps are available online for €244.95 / US$248 / £204. The Loop-less™️ clasps are sold separately with the option of stainless steel or black-coated stainless steel for €85.95 / US$87 / £72. This isn’t a cheap throwaway strap, and it’s one that will last. If you’re looking for the benefits of a single-piece rubber strap, with the aesthetic details of a sailcloth strap, then you won’t get better than this; that’s a fact.

On the wrist and paired with watches

The straps arrived in a silver bubble envelope. Each strap was inside an iridescent paper sleeve with the buckles in separate sleeves. The construction is relatively straightforward, but Artem created a simple video to help buyers size the Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ straps. I’ve found on the Sailcloth Loop-less™️ versions that the strap can be quite stiff and can be difficult to adjust if the wrong length is initially chosen. Indeed, I chose the wrong size on these latest straps, but correcting it was a breeze. Still, once I clicked the pin into the strap hole, it felt secure. 

I’ve been wearing a gray Artem Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ strap with white stitching on my Dove Grey VPC. It works perfectly with the watch and, better yet, perfectly conforms to my wrist. There’s no break-in time required, and nor should there be with a premium strap like this. Artem added a textured surface to the back of the strap that provides the right amount of grip without pulling any hair. It’s comfortable and, in a way, feels like I’m barely wearing a strap. There’s a subtle concave shape on the back which also allows just the right amount of airflow to keeps things cool.

It’s cold here in the UK (unlike in Adelaide right now), but it’s easy to see how well this strap would work in the heat or the pool. Unlike a devoted dive strap, though, there’s no need to swap it for leather or something traditional for dinner. Go anywhere, do anything.

How an Artem strap makes sense

When considering the new Artem Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️, it’s easy to scroll directly to the price and wonder if investing in such an accessory makes sense. It’s a fair question to ask. My take is this: watch buyers spend thousands on a watch and are frequently disappointed with the OEM strap or would at least like other options for their expensive purchase. Most of us have purchased piles of inexpensive straps that initially seem okay but rarely last or match the quality of the intended watch. In the end, we end up spending more on a pile of throwaway straps than the price of one nice accessory. Kind of like a nice pair of shoes.

This is where the Artem Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ has a value proposition. It feels better than most OEM options, and there are plenty of color choices. Are these straps for every watch? Probably not, but if the watch is a significant purchase, it deserves a proper pairing. In this case, Artem’s offering happens to be supremely comfortable and beautifully made, making it worth it in my book. Buy cheap and you buy twice (or more). That’s not the case with an Artem strap.

What is your take on Artem straps? Do these new Loop-less™️ HydroFlex™️ do it for you? Let us know in the comments, especially if you’ve had experience with them before!

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