*** The official Apple Watch Strap/Band Thread ***

RobTi said:
Well just ordered a few different ones from aliexpress to see what they're like
Click to expand...
It arrived this afternoon and I'm actually really impressed. It feels very solid, the magnet holds well, the connectors to the watch are metal, and it has little play side to side (albeit more than the official strap). I've not tried running with it yet but have given it some good shakes and it doesn't seem to have loosened. I also tried scratching the inside of it quite hard with a set of keys, and it hasn't been discoloured or damaged at all. I'd feel marginally more secure with a genuine one but it feels very good quality and for the sake of the best part of £50 it's a better deal.

The branding is not prominent at all. It's barely visible in most lights, unless you're looking for it or really fussy about this kind of thing.

A couple of pics (excuse the absurdly hairy arms, please!)

rhRiSZp.jpg

FQYTRyb.jpg
 
manic111 said:
It arrived this afternoon and I'm actually really impressed. It feels very solid, the magnet holds well, the connectors to the watch are metal, and it has little play side to side (albeit more than the official strap). I've not tried running with it yet but have given it some good shakes and it doesn't seem to have loosened. I also tried scratching the inside of it quite hard with a set of keys, and it hasn't been discoloured or damaged at all. I'd feel marginally more secure with a genuine one but it feels very good quality and for the sake of the best part of £50 it's a better deal.

The branding is not prominent at all. It's barely visible in most lights, unless you're looking for it or really fussy about this kind of thing.

A couple of pics (excuse the absurdly hairy arms, please!)

rhRiSZp.jpg

FQYTRyb.jpg
Click to expand...
Good to hear about the magnetic catch and the fitting into the watch, so all in all you seem quite happy with it. It will be worth a look
 
@manic111
What's going to be interesting to know is whether the links catch your insanely hairy gorilla arms :D

I had a cheap Milanese style loop a while back and it wasn't very good, it kept catching and making me wince. One thing I'd appreciate, could you take pictures of the two pieces against a ruler so I can see how long they are please? I've put weight back on and my wrists have got bigger again.
 
Feek said:
@manic111
What's going to be interesting to know is whether the links catch your insanely hairy gorilla arms :D

I had a cheap Milanese style loop a while back and it wasn't very good, it kept catching and making me wince. One thing I'd appreciate, could you take pictures of the two pieces against a ruler so I can see how long they are please? I've put weight back on and my wrists have got bigger again.
Click to expand...
I don't know what you mean by insanely hairy... :D (I know, it's borderline ridiculous!). As long as I'm careful not to trap any hairs when fastening the band, it doesn't seem to catch and is comfortable.

Here's a pic. The strap is one length of mesh rather than two pieces. At the top end of the watch is a loop which it runs through and it then fastens back on itself with a magnet. Excluding the watch, it's about 25cm although obviously you need a little slack (probably 2-3cm) for it to wrap back around onto itself and fasten.

M4psTDf.jpg
 
manic111 said:
The strap is one length of mesh rather than two pieces.
Click to expand...
Sorry, yes, I knew that but I was suffering brain melt when I posted.

Thanks for posting that, I'm using the Apple sports loop at the moment and I ordered the long version which is probably about 4cm longer. It comes round to roughly the same place on my wrist as the picture you posted. I wish these places would offer multiple sizes as even when I was a lot lighter, I still had relatively large wrists.
 
Feek said:
Sorry, yes, I knew that but I was suffering brain melt when I posted.

Thanks for posting that, I'm using the Apple sports loop at the moment and I ordered the long version which is probably about 4cm longer. It comes round to roughly the same place on my wrist as the picture you posted. I wish these places would offer multiple sizes as even when I was a lot lighter, I still had relatively large wrists.
Click to expand...

I think you'd probably be OK. If it was 4cm longer it would be overlapping back around onto the watch for me, and I'd call my wrists average rather than small.
 
To add to the WSC London info, I ordered a solo loop with high hopes (It arrived a day late, after paying for 24 hour delivery but COVID and all I’m not gonna complain with that). I have some strong thoughts on quality and a lot of the reviews online aren’t aligned to my experience unfortunately. I’ve got a return open so will refrain a full explanation until I see how they deal with this. Short term, just treat them the same as any other 3rd party supplier.
 
Scozzer said:
To add to the WSC London info, I ordered a solo loop with high hopes (It arrived a day late, after paying for 24 hour delivery but COVID and all I’m not gonna complain with that). I have some strong thoughts on quality and a lot of the reviews online aren’t aligned to my experience unfortunately. I’ve got a return open so will refrain a full explanation until I see how they deal with this. Short term, just treat them the same as any other 3rd party supplier.
Click to expand...

A quick update here of the solo loop I ordered.
I measured my wrist and was on the smaller side of the small size loop for my watch size. It arrived packaged well and presented well too. It looked tiny so I contacted them and questioned the size which they assured me would be comfortable. It wasn’t. It was very tight and the ‘bar’ that slides into the watch isn’t as rigid as an apple so was popping out of the edges of the watch connection. The straps come in a “hygiene sealed” plastic wrapper and once broken a refund is impossible. They offered me a replacement which was actually ok for me in the end.

For something that you need to touch and inspect for quality and especially size, this is not possible with WSC because of that hygiene seal.
FYI I swapped it for a sport loop for my wife which she loves. Attachment isn’t perfect but overall quality is generally good and she’s happy it.
 
Scozzer said:
A quick update here of the solo loop I ordered.
I measured my wrist and was on the smaller side of the small size loop for my watch size. It arrived packaged well and presented well too. It looked tiny so I contacted them and questioned the size which they assured me would be comfortable. It wasn’t. It was very tight and the ‘bar’ that slides into the watch isn’t as rigid as an apple so was popping out of the edges of the watch connection. The straps come in a “hygiene sealed” plastic wrapper and once broken a refund is impossible. They offered me a replacement which was actually ok for me in the end.

For something that you need to touch and inspect for quality and especially size, this is not possible with WSC because of that hygiene seal.
FYI I swapped it for a sport loop for my wife which she loves. Attachment isn’t perfect but overall quality is generally good and she’s happy it.
Click to expand...
Yeah I agree with that experience, they seem a little hit and miss, and the sealed packaging is very annoying (and quite possibly in breach of consumer regs), but the solo loop and Milanese I got from them are decent. The Milanese is starting to show a little loss of colour, but only where the magnet attaches and you can't see that anyway. It's stood up pretty well to a couple of dings against door frames and similar
 
Managed to just snap the plastic loop on my cheapy velcro loop strap, borrowing a rubber sport type one at the mo, anyone got a decent velcro option for the Series 3, doesn't need to be anything flash as I'll be getting a 7 when they drop.
 
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