Best knockoff sports bands?

[Knightcastle]

Title says it all - what are the best/most convincing fluoroelastomer bands you've come across?

I've bought them in the past and they've always end up unused in a drawer due to poor quality, however I've recently bought one of these and it seems fake quality has improved somewhat, very hard to distinguish from the real thing even in side-by-side comparison.

Any further insights?

 

[Dormammu]

Most of the third party sports bands I’ve seen and used are made of cheap silicone rather than something more similar to apple’s propietary fluorelastomer. This results in the bands being way less sturdy feeling and more sticky (lint collector).

 

[TorontoSS]

A lot of people in this forum loved the moko ones. I did too. Found them easy to use and light. But I note they aren’t around anymore like they used to be (is there a reason for that?

 

[CarlJ]

In line with what Aml216 said, but more strongly put, I have not seen a single third party sport band made out of fluoroelastomer - they are all silicone. And beware, there are folks on here who will swear up and down that some band they bought is exactly like the corresponding Apple band, but they are not. And the company that someone ordered from 3-6 months ago may be selling bands from a different factory now. And a good percentage of them use Apple's photos, so you're not seeing the actual product you're ordering until it arrives. I've sort of lost interest in keeping track of the third-party sport bands.

 

[predation]

Anyone got a line on the leather loops?

 

[ipoddin]

Anyone got a line on the leather loops?

I just bought this one off Amazon and wear it every day at work with a space gray aluminum watch. Love it.

As for sports bands, I also bought this one and wear it at every workout. Also love it.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Going on month 3 with this and still looking perfect. Maybe I’m not a lint magnet or maybe I don’t sweat enough to cause rusting? Working for me and not bad for $9. And it has a 4.5 star rating with 3000+ reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRHPEER/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uP9ZzbM46B8A4

 

[bruinsrme]

Most of the third party sports bands I’ve seen and used are made of cheap silicone rather than something more similar to apple’s propietary fluorelastomer. This results in the bands being way less sturdy feeling and more sticky (lint collector).

^^^This
I stopped buying 3rd party sport bands, Especially the nike knock offs.

There are some nice looking leather bands out there. Some are so thick and stiff they are next to impossible to get buckled.

My recommendation is to stay away unless you want a coordinating band for a special occasion

 

[Dormammu]

^^^This
I stopped buying 3rd party sport bands, Especially the nike knock offs.

There are some nice looking leather bands out there. Some are so thick and stiff they are next to impossible to get buckled.

My recommendation is to stay away unless you want a coordinating band for a special occasion

Yup despite the reviews on Amazon I have tried about 4-5 third party bands. Both the Nike and standard sport bands. I’ll only go with Apple OEM bands from now on.

 

[Fried_Gold]

I only buy OEM Apple bands, why use a garbage knock off on my expensive watch?

 

[CarlJ]

I only buy OEM Apple bands, why use a garbage knock off on my expensive watch?

To be fair, there are a number of third party bands out there that are not "garbage knockoffs", but rather nice bands. Remember, Apple does sell their OEM Apple Watch connectors to third parties, and there are some fine artisans out there. But, yeah, there are also a bunch of companies making cheap/inferior copies of Apple's designs, and those keep selling. Reminds me sometimes of the situation where people will spend $800 for a phone, but then object that $5 for a useful app to run on their phone is "outrageously overpriced".

 

[edhchoe]

I bought one of these and liked it so much (link) that I bought another one is a different color.
And I like how they lock from outside.