When Nixon co-founders Andy Laats and Chad DiNenna launched Nixon in 1997, their mission was simple: build watches for surfers, skaters, and snowboarders, people who needed gear that actually kept up with them.
That mission led to more than just bold design. It led to genuine innovation, including one of the most underrated pieces of watch engineering in the action sports world: the Locking Looper.
What Is the Locking Looper?
The Locking Looper is Nixon’s patented watch band closure system (U.S. Patent No. 6,830,166) invented by our own Andy Laats and Kirk James. Unlike a traditional pin-and-tuck buckle, the Locking Looper uses a looped band design that threads through itself and locks into place, offering a secure, adjustable, and tool-free fit. It keeps the watch firmly on your wrist whether you’re paddling out in heavy surf, taking a hard slam on a halfpipe, or just living an active life.
The system is now a staple across multiple of the watches you'll find here at Nixon, including many of the surf and tide watches.
If you’ve ever worn a Nixon and thought “this thing doesn’t budge,” there’s a good chance the Locking Looper is why.
From Andy:
One of the most common complaints about the state of watches from our surf team when we started Nixon was “that little flapping thing”. So we set out to figure out how to lock down the end of the band. When we started looking around at the watches in the market, we found that nobody was doing anything novel with the loopers, it was as if people thought that nothing could be improved upon because loopers are so simple.
When you file for a patent you are required to disclose all prior art that you know exists that might be related to your invention. Our lawyer was laughing because the prior art we referenced was from the horse and buggy days – the last time anyone invented anything related to straps and loopers!
The invention seemed obvious to us and we were happily surprised when we were granted the patent, verifying that we did indeed have a novel idea.
And our lawyer asked me to describe any kind of variation on how the technology could be applied. So I just sketched out some ideas and sent it to him and it was filed in the application:
Why It Matters
Most watch brands in the late ’90s and early 2000s weren’t thinking about band security for active use. Traditional pin buckles and deployant clasps were designed for desk workers and dress occasions... not people who wipe out at 30mph.
Nixon (Andy and Kirk) identified that gap and engineered a solution specifically for their audience.
The Locking Looper isn’t flashy tech. It doesn’t have Bluetooth or a GPS chip. But it solved a real problem for real people, and it did it cleanly enough to earn a U.S. patent and become a defining feature of the Nixon brand for decades.
That’s the kind of innovation that outlasts trends.