While it may seem that a NATO is a strap, its actually a bit more, its a strap that has two parts in one place. Sometimes more is less and less is more so while a NATO is in itself not a good comfortable strap for civilian life (and indeed any military veteran will tell you Mil Spec does not mean "Best Spec") the straps sold as NATO (which probably wouldn't meet the actual NATO spec) make a great starting point for a comfortable and well priced strap.
Lastly see this link for some details cjeastwd.blogsp...