Curious to hear how the Barton straps hold up? Love the look of them but a lot of the reviews seem to say how thin they are and how the holes can break/split.
I have only had the black strap about a week (wear it daily) and it still looks brand new. I also think the thickness is fine too. I will be wearing the new orange one for some time now no doubt so if I remember I will update on it in a few months.
How are you changing the strap on your Aqua Terra? The pins on mine seem so tight to the case I can't see how to get them out.
I had a bracelet on it which I needed to remove to change the battery (quartz aqua terra). I used some cheap amazon watch repair kit spring bar remover VERY carefully and managed to remove it without scratching it. I've since bought a decent bergeon tool to do the job when I decide to put it back on.
My new leather strap I posted sometime last month and both the barton straps I have have the 'quick release' lever which makes changing any of my new ones very simple!
*edit* Oh and I just remembered, it was a bugger to remove the bracelet. The pins were very tight like you say, I thought it was down to the cheap tool I was using. If you have a bracelet on yours too, you have to kinda keep pressure on the side you release first (i.e pulling that side of the strap away from the watch slightly) otherwise it keeps popping back in. I found a youtube video of it and some guy is swearing like a trooper throughout