The spare wheel strap on my Series 3 has decayed to nothing, so I've been on the lookout for a replacement. The existing strap has an unsprung, hinged buckle that works simply by friction and the way the strap is threaded. I also have a "1 Tonne" strap that has the same design buckle, though it is physically somewhat bigger.

I noticed on one of the UK parts suppliers, a "genuine" LR military spare wheel strap, and the picture showed exactly the strap I need with the correct buckle. Unfortunately when it arrived (no LR packaging) it has the typical modern spring loaded catch. I wrote to the company who supplied it, and (on my second attempt) got a reply from the MD who stated that it was indeed a genuine military surplus strap. He also stated that their terms and conditions said that the pictures on their web site may not represent the actual article they are selling.

So my question, when did the military (in this case we assume British military) change from the hinged style of buckle to a cheap friction version?

Normally I wouldn't worry about this too much, but in this case it took 2 emails to get a response from the company, and when the response came it included the statement that they only returned to work on the 4th of January, but that he had sent me an email over the holiday period that must have got lost. Which is odd, because my first email to him was sent on the evening of the 4th January (Australian time), so he wouldn't have seen it before he got to work on the 4th!! I'm starting to doubt their honesty.....