If you spend any amount of time surfing watch blogs or forums, you’ve no doubt come across Kain Heritage. Today, we’ll be taking a look at one of their straps from the Heritage line.
When something watch-related comes in from Hong Kong, you’re never quite certain how it’s going to be packaged – just a simple toss-in-a-bag, or something more elaborate. With Kain, the presentation is very much in line with the premium feel the brand has.
This strap came in something I’ve not seen to date – it came in a presentation case. Now, this is something you truly don’t need in any sense of the word. In terms of the initial impression when you open things up, however, it goes a long way. And, I suppose, you could easily use it for storage of the strap when it’s not installed.
Pull the strap out of the case, and you’re immediately struck by a few things. First, you’ve got some very smooth leather with good stitching (no loose threads) and good edge finishing. Second, when you put the strap up to your nose, you are struck with the luxurious smell we expect from leather.
This is something I always check when I get a leather strap in. Sometimes, you get something that smells more like chemicals (or plastic, even) than leather, which to me signals a lesser-quality piece. Here, though, you’ve just got the sweet, sweet scent of well-tanned leather.
Installation was dead simple, though you’ll want to be conscious of case shape when installing. On the Regattare I installed it on, I had some slight interference between the case curve and the included tubes on the strap. That was easily remedied by rotating the strap 90 degrees until I had the pins in place.
In terms of wear, I found the strap to be comfortable and was as flexible as I’d expect from a strap of this thickness. Of course, with the included Pre-V buckle, you may have some discomfort on your wrist if you’re at a desk most of the day.
In terms of style, I was surprised. I wouldn’t normally go for this light-colored of leather in a watch strap, but it really grew on me – has a more up-market feel to me, in some regards.
The Heritage line comes in at $89 with two length selections (120/80 or 130/80) and four buckle choices (polished, brushed, titanium or PVD). For the quality of leather and workmanship you get, I think it is well worth the price, especially if you’re installing it onto a higher-end watch.
Should the one we reviewed here not be quite to your liking, I’d suggest you just peruse their catalog, as they’ve got quite a few different styles, including some with cutouts in the buckle. Whatever strap you pick up from Kain, I think you’ll be pleased, based on the experience I had with our Heritage sample.
