the ocean band IMO is the best band for running or any activity. You can sweat all day in it and wash it off and its dry right away.
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Apple Watch Ultra Bands - Which One Did You Buy?, Rate it Please
- Thread starter CodeSpyder
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I have a week left to figure it out lol. Leaning towards keeping the green alpine (came with my watch), midnight ocean, white ocean, & maaaybe the yellow ocean for a pop of color but I am not 100% sure yet…
The ocean band is by far the more comfortable of the 2 styles. Looking forward to the trail loops arriving.
The ocean band is by far the more comfortable of the 2 styles. Looking forward to the trail loops arriving.
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I’ve never wanted so many bands at once. Love all of them except yellow, but I can picture even it looking awesome with some setups.
You already have them, returning is such a hastle. Just go ahead and add all 6 to your collection!
I am a collector usually but it’s impossible at $100 each lol
Nope. I’m 10 mins from an apple store lol
Ran the Orange Alpine in a competition this weekend that involved things that required rolling around in small rocks and mud (had a big downpour) and camped in a tent in the desert for two days. The Orange band was looking pretty dirty after that, with a bit of ground-in dirt at the top lug where the strap reverses.
A bit of hand soap and a toothbrush under lukewarm running water and it cleaned right up, somewhat to my surprise.
The REAL surprise is there still literally isn't one single mark on the watch itself after that all that. I did NOT expect that.
A few years ago I did the exact same competition in similar conditions with an Omega Seamaster 300 on, and it quickly acquired a ton of scratches, including an actual small divot in the sapphire crystal.
Maybe I just got lucky, but count me in as favorably impressed.
A bit of hand soap and a toothbrush under lukewarm running water and it cleaned right up, somewhat to my surprise.
The REAL surprise is there still literally isn't one single mark on the watch itself after that all that. I did NOT expect that.
A few years ago I did the exact same competition in similar conditions with an Omega Seamaster 300 on, and it quickly acquired a ton of scratches, including an actual small divot in the sapphire crystal.
Maybe I just got lucky, but count me in as favorably impressed.
I have the green Alpine and Yellow Ocean on hand. I have a black Trail on backorder, which will come early November.
Without seeing the bands in person, my initial ranking of desirability from looking at pictures was the following:
1. Trail
2. Alpine
3. Ocean
Ocean was last due to my perception of it being bulky, rigid, and not digging the look. Trail is first due my perception of it being easy to take on and off and the aesthetics was more appealing to me.
I ordered the Ultra with the Alpine given availability.
My use case for the Ultra is activities only. In my everyday, habitual exercising (outside of trips and events) and depending on the season, I do a 10+ mile hike (or 10+ mile run), 3x lifting in the gym (standard array of core barbell workouts), and 3x running or cycling (4-6 miles per run or 40+ mile per run cycling) per week. On event/vacation days I go on weeklong backpacking trips, run half/full marathons, and ride single/double century bike rides. Outside of this I do not wear the Ultra. I wear mechanical watches in my general day-to-day.
Before the Ultra acquisition I used a combination of a Garmin Fenix 6 with a Nick Mankey NATO strap and Apple Watch Series 5 with Nike Sport Loop band depending on the actitivity.
After doing many of these activities since receiving the Ultra on release day, I am ranking the Ocean above the Alpine by far.
The Ocean surprisingly is the better band than the Alpine (to me), even for hikes. The material is not that rigid at all; it is very soft. Also easy to clean the sweat off of and use the watch immediately. It isn’t as bulky as I thought it’ll be. The Alpine is a fine strap, but after experiencing its material in person I worry about sweat absorption and developing rashes. The Nick Mankey nato bands I used with the Garmin have a better feel to them. Using the Ocean, I don’t notice wearing the band. With the Nick Mankey nato strap, I barely notice the band. With the Alpine, I know I am wearing the Alpine band, if that makes sense. Maybe the Alpine’s material will soften up over use? The Ocean’s aesthetics isn’t that bad when seeing it in person and it has grown on me.
If the Trail’s material is like the Alpine, I don’t think it’ll top the Ocean for my use case. I do think it’ll beat out the Trail due to easier usability. And it is a strap (along with the Alpine) I could see wearing everyday with the Ultra if I was a sedentary and the Apple Watch is my everyday wear. Regardless, I am seeing the Ocean as my default strap for the time being. I just wish it came in orange.
Without seeing the bands in person, my initial ranking of desirability from looking at pictures was the following:
1. Trail
2. Alpine
3. Ocean
Ocean was last due to my perception of it being bulky, rigid, and not digging the look. Trail is first due my perception of it being easy to take on and off and the aesthetics was more appealing to me.
I ordered the Ultra with the Alpine given availability.
My use case for the Ultra is activities only. In my everyday, habitual exercising (outside of trips and events) and depending on the season, I do a 10+ mile hike (or 10+ mile run), 3x lifting in the gym (standard array of core barbell workouts), and 3x running or cycling (4-6 miles per run or 40+ mile per run cycling) per week. On event/vacation days I go on weeklong backpacking trips, run half/full marathons, and ride single/double century bike rides. Outside of this I do not wear the Ultra. I wear mechanical watches in my general day-to-day.
Before the Ultra acquisition I used a combination of a Garmin Fenix 6 with a Nick Mankey NATO strap and Apple Watch Series 5 with Nike Sport Loop band depending on the actitivity.
After doing many of these activities since receiving the Ultra on release day, I am ranking the Ocean above the Alpine by far.
The Ocean surprisingly is the better band than the Alpine (to me), even for hikes. The material is not that rigid at all; it is very soft. Also easy to clean the sweat off of and use the watch immediately. It isn’t as bulky as I thought it’ll be. The Alpine is a fine strap, but after experiencing its material in person I worry about sweat absorption and developing rashes. The Nick Mankey nato bands I used with the Garmin have a better feel to them. Using the Ocean, I don’t notice wearing the band. With the Nick Mankey nato strap, I barely notice the band. With the Alpine, I know I am wearing the Alpine band, if that makes sense. Maybe the Alpine’s material will soften up over use? The Ocean’s aesthetics isn’t that bad when seeing it in person and it has grown on me.
If the Trail’s material is like the Alpine, I don’t think it’ll top the Ocean for my use case. I do think it’ll beat out the Trail due to easier usability. And it is a strap (along with the Alpine) I could see wearing everyday with the Ultra if I was a sedentary and the Apple Watch is my everyday wear. Regardless, I am seeing the Ocean as my default strap for the time being. I just wish it came in orange.
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Interesting take. Having the midnight Ocean band as the package with my Ultra, I swam and sweat with it. Then I purchased the orange Alpine band and found it super comfortable, and very light.
I notice the band on the Ocean, but barely notice the band on the Alpine on my skin. Goes to show how everyone's skin reacts differently to materials.
But yes, I wish there was an orange Ocean band from the get go.
I notice the band on the Ocean, but barely notice the band on the Alpine on my skin. Goes to show how everyone's skin reacts differently to materials.
But yes, I wish there was an orange Ocean band from the get go.
I wish there was an orange ocean as well. ☹️ I think that is why I’m entertaining the yellow ocean. I want a pop of color lol
Aye. The take away from this thread is that bands are personable.
I recommend anyone near an Apple Store to go visit and try out the bands in person to figure out what works for them.
So far I have the following:
Alpine Band:
Orange (my favorite band so far)
Starlight
Ocean Band:
Midnight
White
On order:
Black/Grey Trail loop.
I love all the bands I've ordered so far. Not sure I can go back to any of my older bands. Also, thinking of picking up the yellow Ocean band as well..
Alpine Band:
Orange (my favorite band so far)
Starlight
Ocean Band:
Midnight
White
On order:
Black/Grey Trail loop.
I love all the bands I've ordered so far. Not sure I can go back to any of my older bands. Also, thinking of picking up the yellow Ocean band as well..
I'm careful not to let it swing free when opening the band. It's definitely a possible issue, but not much of one in my view. As for the slots, I find keeping them clean with a q-tip is a good idea. I also lightly lube mine with a tiny bit of Ballistol on a q-tip, which makes an enormous difference when mounting or removing the titanium band lugs. Titanium rubbing on titanium ALWAYS galls a bit and this prevents it. (A tiny bit of wax or even olive oil would do the same).
I originally bought the Ultra with the white Ocean Band, which I was able to exchange at my Apple Store for a midnight Ocean Band about a week and a half later. Now, when you do this type of band exchange, you can’t return the watch, but that was fine since I intend on keeping it. The white was just a little too bright for me, although I could see a use case if I were a diver.
I also have an orange Alpine Loop and a starlight Alpine Loop.
I also have an orange Alpine Loop and a starlight Alpine Loop.
^this is the reason why I purchased a new watch and returned the other one instead of a band swap. I also get to restart my return policy.
I returned the white Ocean and got a new set with midnight Ocean. Then purchased the orange Alpine Loop separately in the process.
I like the starlight colour, but I'd like to see from other active users how it holds up to outdoor conditions in terms of discolorization from white-ish.
I returned the white Ocean and got a new set with midnight Ocean. Then purchased the orange Alpine Loop separately in the process.
I like the starlight colour, but I'd like to see from other active users how it holds up to outdoor conditions in terms of discolorization from white-ish.
I just exchanged an Orange Alpine (too fiddly for me to get on and off) for Blue/Grey Trail loop with a friend who preferred the Alpine ..... really love the loop, Ive been wearing the AWU with regular sport loops until now which also work great. I have the other 2 Trail loops on order for delivery later this month.
I second this. Returned my green alpine fur the midnight. Very comfy. Was using a sports loop before. The midnight band is better balanced.
I've finally got my hands on the blue/grey trail loop this morning.
As someone who has used the Nike sport loop almost every day, the trail loop feels smoother, softer and more premium.
The blue accent really pops and it’s easily the most comfortable out of three types of ultra bands. Definitely worth the wait!
Trail loop 9/10
Alpine loop 8/10
Ocean band 7/10
As someone who has used the Nike sport loop almost every day, the trail loop feels smoother, softer and more premium.
The blue accent really pops and it’s easily the most comfortable out of three types of ultra bands. Definitely worth the wait!
Trail loop 9/10
Alpine loop 8/10
Ocean band 7/10
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I am super jealous of folks that have the trail loop band already. I originally got the alpine loop version on launch day only cause the trail loop was unavailable or delayed immediately. I found that the band was either too tight or too loose, and tried the ocean band as well. I ended up returning the entire watch out of frustration. I don't want to be forced to pay an extra $100 for the band I want. I will try to be patient and wait for it to be available. I see it is at some stores in NY and Boston, but hasn't made it's way to WA state yet sadly.
FYI for the US:
I had preorders for the Ultra with S/M and M/L Black/Gray trail loops from Appple that shipped yesterday, earlier than initial estimates. (I have a 175cm wrist so wasn’t sure on sizing.) Best Buy appears to have supply of the Ultra with Blue/Gray and Yellow/Beige loops for shipment as well. So seems like there is finally some supply arriving stateside!
I had preorders for the Ultra with S/M and M/L Black/Gray trail loops from Appple that shipped yesterday, earlier than initial estimates. (I have a 175cm wrist so wasn’t sure on sizing.) Best Buy appears to have supply of the Ultra with Blue/Gray and Yellow/Beige loops for shipment as well. So seems like there is finally some supply arriving stateside!