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Are there any third party bands available anywhere yet?

Knightcastle

Knightcastle

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 25, 2015
526
299
I kind of expected eBay/Amazon to be inundated with cheap bands by now. I could get a £2 clear silicone phone case for my iPhone 6 before it even shipped and it fit so well I'm still using it now* - surely given Apple Watches have been in stores (to view) for weeks now there must be some bands out there?

I'm aware of Monowear, though those are a bit on the pricey side, and everything at the moment is "sold out" or for pre-order only. I have my watch now and I'd like to order a band that's ready to be posted to me.

Aside from that though, I've seen next to nothing. Am I missing something? I'm not necessarily looking for something cheap, just a nice mid price leather band that makes my Sport look a little less... sporty.

Side note: I've also backed 'Click' the Kickstarter funded device that allows any 22mm band to fit on the Apple Watch. Again though, this isn't shipping until May/June.


* how DID they do that by the way? Mass produced snugly fitting phone cases before anyone had even seen the phones. Madness.
 
D

DavidLynch

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2015
753
233
gladd06 said:
Does not include the adapter... includes a tool to disassemble the adapter on the Classic band.

I almost fell for this one last week
Click to expand...

They've since added a band that does include the adapter. The $30 band includes the adapter, the $20 band does not.

Whether it is a complete piece of junk or not though I can't comment on.
 
A

akonikui

macrumors regular
Jun 30, 2007
197
22
DavidLynch said:
They've since added a band that does include the adapter. The $30 band includes the adapter, the $20 band does not.

Whether it is a complete piece of junk or not though I can't comment on.
Click to expand...

I ordered one. I'll let the forum know.
 
D

DavidLynch

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2015
753
233
akonikui said:
I ordered one. I'll let the forum know.
Click to expand...

Please do, I'm on the fence myself. It'd be nice to have something to wear in the very few situations where I feel like the sport band won't cut it, but I don't really feel like paying a premium for the couple times a year I'd wear a different band.

I'm honestly most interested in the quality of the adapter mechanism. If it's decent, even if the band sucks, it could be reused with better bands.
 
A

akonikui

macrumors regular
Jun 30, 2007
197
22
DavidLynch said:
Please do, I'm on the fence myself. It'd be nice to have something to wear in the very few situations where I feel like the sport band won't cut it, but I don't really feel like paying a premium for the couple times a year I'd wear a different band.

I'm honestly most interested in the quality of the adapter mechanism. If it's decent, even if the band sucks, it could be reused with better bands.
Click to expand...

I bought it mainly for the mechanism. We'll see!
 
E

elgerber

macrumors member
Oct 4, 2011
36
0
DavidLynch said:
They've since added a band that does include the adapter. The $30 band includes the adapter, the $20 band does not.

Whether it is a complete piece of junk or not though I can't comment on.
Click to expand...

I'm about to find out. There is one other on Amazon that also has the adapter. I am ordering that tonight because I don't want to wear my apple leather while working out. I know this one is supposedly leather too, but I don't care if it gets gross. I"d rather have a sport but I want something to use until sport bands are finally readily available.
 
A

akonikui

macrumors regular
Jun 30, 2007
197
22
mbhoy said:
Any news on this?
Click to expand...

febernovo said:
I'm super interested. I think that's the same mechanism of all the Alibaba listings. Do please make a review of the product
Click to expand...

It's due to arrive tomorrow! I'll let you know how the leather is and if the adaptor mechanism fits on regular watch bands. I'm going to try it on my old Pebble strap, which I found incredibly comfortable.

I specifically asked them for the SS adaptor, since there's no place to specify the metal color in the listing. I hope they follow through :confused:
 
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F

febernovo

macrumors 6502
Sep 6, 2014
252
133
akonikui said:
It's due to arrive tomorrow! I'll let you know how the leather is and if the adaptor mechanism fits on regular watch. I'm going to try it on my old Pebble strap, which I found incredibly comfortable.

I specifically asked them for the SS adaptor, since there's no place to specify in the listing. I hope the follow through :confused:
Click to expand...

That's fantastic to hear!

I've noticed none of the listing are per/color so you did the right thing by mentioning it.

Looking forward to hear your experience
 
M

maconut

macrumors member
Mar 13, 2014
58
2
USA
I preordered a set of Click adapters since I missed the kickstarter. I also ordered a couple of inexpensive leather 22mm bands from AliExpress (red and black). I plan to post pictures in June, hopefully.
 
F

febernovo

macrumors 6502
Sep 6, 2014
252
133
akonikui said:
Ehh. I just saw the video review that was posted on Friday. It looks like the leather straps are not as wide as the adaptor, which causes the band to slide back and forth a bit. I don't know if the official Apple bands do this too, but it's kind of a turn-off. Maybe it was a early production model?
http://www.amazon.com/review/R221R9...etail-glance&nodeID=2335752011&store=wireless
Click to expand...

I see that too. There's a chance that's an early production model with a 20mm band. I think Click is using 22mm watch bands so maybe that would fit better.

I'm so curious about the mechanism
 
Johnny-Don

Johnny-Don

macrumors member
Apr 20, 2015
83
26
Texas
akonikui said:
It's due to arrive tomorrow! I'll let you know how the leather is and if the adaptor mechanism fits on regular watch bands. I'm going to try it on my old Pebble strap, which I found incredibly comfortable.

I specifically asked them for the SS adaptor, since there's no place to specify the metal color in the listing. I hope they follow through :confused:
Click to expand...

I'm anxiously awaiting your 2 cents on this, and pics of the adapter would be awesome!
 
A

akonikui

macrumors regular
Jun 30, 2007
197
22
Just got home and the adaptor/band was waiting for me.

First off: I'm dubious of the quality of leather they're using on the bands. It's OK - and I actually prefer the texture to some of Apple's "leather" bands - but it's not top notch. The band is 20mm, as I feared.

The adaptor works well! It's a tight fit though. Inserting it was not as smooth as with the Apple bands. The piece that touches the inside of the watch is matte, while the "arms" that hold the band are stainless steel. They match the watch nicely, with no awkward gaps or color variations, but they're not quite as shiny. It's not noticeable enough for my OCD to dislike it though.

A tiny little screwdriver is included to separate the adaptor from the band, which is surprisingly easy. The screws are TINY though. Watch out. This adaptor might just barely fit most bands. It's a snug fit on my old silicone pebble band.

Honestly, I'd recommend it. It's probably the cheapest option right now that ships the fastest (i.e. not from China):
http://www.amazon.com/Aerb-Genuine-Leather-Compare-Classic/dp/B00WOQ3BU4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8
 

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