Bremont Wingman's Unique Watch Strap Review
Tuesday - 10 April 2012
The watch strap to be worn by Bremont Wingman Gary Connery has been revealed: a bespoke design created by Carl 'GasGasBones' Evans.
This week Gary Connery will become the first man to jump from a helicopter wearing a wingsuit and land without a parachute. He will be wearing his Bremont MBII Orange during the stunt, but requires a special strap to ensure that it stays on his wrist as he reaches speeds up to 80mph.
Carl Evans was approached by Nick and Giles English, co-founders of Bremont, to create the unique Wingman design. Evans had been making the Bremont MB strap for around three years before personal circumstances forced him to quit late last year, but he has continued to create handmade bespoke nylon watch straps for his own website, GasGasBones.
"Nick called up and asked if I could come up with something for Gary to wear across the top part of his knuckles that would show the full watch," Carl told Jura Watches. "The whole rig will be photographed, and I guess the brothers want maximum exposure of the watch, but Gary obviously couldn't wear a standard strap as his suit cuffs cover that section of his wrist."
Carl began with the standard MB strap design, modifying it to ensure it was safe for the jump. "I extended it a bit to make sure it wrapped around the section across the top knuckles," he explained. "I was aware that if Gary wanted or needed to open his hands in flight there was nothing to stop it from moving forward and possibly coming off the hand altogether, so I extended two pieces of webbing, and attached a secondary strap to wrap around the wrist in the standard way. This will stop the main watch and strap from leaving the hand if Gary's fingers are outstretched."
This week Gary Connery will become the first man to jump from a helicopter wearing a wingsuit and land without a parachute. He will be wearing his Bremont MBII Orange during the stunt, but requires a special strap to ensure that it stays on his wrist as he reaches speeds up to 80mph.
Carl Evans was approached by Nick and Giles English, co-founders of Bremont, to create the unique Wingman design. Evans had been making the Bremont MB strap for around three years before personal circumstances forced him to quit late last year, but he has continued to create handmade bespoke nylon watch straps for his own website, GasGasBones.
"Nick called up and asked if I could come up with something for Gary to wear across the top part of his knuckles that would show the full watch," Carl told Jura Watches. "The whole rig will be photographed, and I guess the brothers want maximum exposure of the watch, but Gary obviously couldn't wear a standard strap as his suit cuffs cover that section of his wrist."
Carl began with the standard MB strap design, modifying it to ensure it was safe for the jump. "I extended it a bit to make sure it wrapped around the section across the top knuckles," he explained. "I was aware that if Gary wanted or needed to open his hands in flight there was nothing to stop it from moving forward and possibly coming off the hand altogether, so I extended two pieces of webbing, and attached a secondary strap to wrap around the wrist in the standard way. This will stop the main watch and strap from leaving the hand if Gary's fingers are outstretched."
Carl was a Survival Equipment fitter in the Royal Air Force for nearly 25 years, where he made, adjusted and modified aircraft components such as parachutes and harnesses. "There was always a long line of testing before kit could be certified safe for flight, but Gary's strap is of course a bit more unusual than the normal kit I'm used to working on." he said. "I don't know if he will be testing the strap in practice jumps before the main event."
Gary Connery will jump from a helicopter at 2,400ft, dropping for 3 seconds before his wingsuit begins to 'fly'. He will reach speeds of 80mph before slowing to land on a box rig, setting a new World Record upon successful completion.
"I'm really excited to have been asked to make this strap and I wish Gary, Nick and Giles all the very best," Carl told us. "Fingers crossed all goes well for this nutter!"
The stunt was due to take place last week but was postponed due to unpredictable weather.
