Do you only buy official Apple Watch straps?

[Thomas Davie]

This is a knock off Milanese loop that cost $11 Canadian

It costs a whopping 3x what a knockoff nylon braided stretchy loop costs (5 pack for ~R15 Canadian)

Tom

When it passes to my sister, she can put her choice of colours on, but for me black on black does it)

 

[throAU]

I've only bought official bands, but that's because the only bands I've bought have been with the watch, plus a black Milanese loop.

I'm on the lookout for bands for the Ultra2 though. The alpine loop is ok, but given its made of fine woven material I'm not sure how long it is going to last.

 

[avro707]

I have Ultra - the original fabric strap was just awful (got dirty quickly) so replaced it with a 3rd party titanium one.

 

[Al Rukh]

I only buy official straps.

I'm sure there are many nice, 3rd party straps, but I don't buy them.

How about you, and what is your favourite one, if you do buy other straps?

Yeah me too. I don’t see why I can’t spend around $70 after dropping $1200 on an Apple Watch Edition.

 

[lanceuppercut47]

The alpine loop is ok, but given its made of fine woven material I'm not sure how long it is going to last.

It's a good thing that it isn't then.

 

[iDaniel88]

Yes, I prefer the Nike Sport Loop ones.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

Yes, I prefer the Nike Sport Loop ones.

How many do you have?

 

[wilderkun]

I've only bought official bands, but that's because the only bands I've bought have been with the watch, plus a black Milanese loop.

I'm on the lookout for bands for the Ultra2 though. The alpine loop is ok, but given its made of fine woven material I'm not sure how long it is going to last.

I mean if you mean nylon than yes it's the same material, but it looks and feels like nylon, and it's very tough. I don't think it's made to look like what "fine woven" is

 

[cubodado]

I had some bad experience with unofficial bands. Now if I can I use only the official ones.

 

[adam1080]

For me it is either Apple or AliExpress. I have a bunch of both. I have never bought a "name-brand" 3rd party strap like Nomad, etc.

I like my Apple bands, but I often buy a ton of bands from AliExpress for super cheap to see if I want the actual Apple version. I almost always end up using the Apple bands for day to day wear, but I do have some excellent quality AliExpress leather bands that are quite nice in lieu of Hermes bands that are 10X as much.

Finally pulled the trigger on a Clary Solo Braided loop for my Ultra 2 and titanium S7 after having some knockoffs. The Apple version looks much better on the Ultra 2. $100 vs $1 is a bit crazy, but I'm not going to debtors prison or bankrupt to have the real one.

 

[bricktop_at]

Finally pulled the trigger on a Clary Solo Braided loop for my Ultra 2 and titanium S7 after having some knockoffs. The Apple version looks much better on the Ultra 2. $100 vs $1 is a bit crazy, but I'm not going to debtors prison or bankrupt to have the real one.

The braided loops are the prime example of quality differences if you ask me. The knockoffs mostly look and feel cheap and there‘s also the thing of missing sizing options apart from small, medium or large.

My Apple braided loops are still like new, if necessary I put them in the washing machine without any problems (same goes for the Sport Loops and Alpine Loops).

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

The braided loops are the prime example of quality differences if you ask me. The knockoffs mostly look and feel cheap and there‘s also the thing of missing sizing options apart from small, medium or large.

My Apple braided loops are still like new, if necessary I put them in the washing machine without any problems (same goes for the Sport Loops and Alpine Loops).

Do you put them in a bag, or something?

I don’t want to tear the rubber seal in my washing machine, with the metal lugs on the BSLs.

Thanks in advance, and wishing you well.

 

[ReliableSource]

I almost exclusively use sport loops, and I have never been able to find a third-party version that comes close to Apple’s quality. I stopped bothering with knockoff versions and just look on eBay for genuine ones, and I usually spend about $20.

 

[MisterSavage]

I almost exclusively use sport loops, and I have never been able to find a third-party version that comes close to Apple’s quality. I stopped bothering with knockoff versions and just look on eBay for genuine ones, and I usually spend about $20.

Give the ones from Armillawear a shot if you can't find what you want on Ebay. I'm wearing one right now and it's solid.

 

[bricktop_at]

Do you put them in a bag, or something?

I don’t want to tear the rubber seal in my washing machine, with the metal lugs on the BSLs.

Thanks in advance, and wishing you well.

I usually put them in a delicates bag but you can also just put it in the pocket of a pair of trousers or something similar

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

I usually put them in a delicates bag but you can also just put it in the pocket of a pair of trousers or something similar

Thanks, buddy.

 

[BillGates1969]

Over the years of AW ownership I have changed my buying habits. Back in 2015, I usually went to Ali Express to get all the latest colours and to be honest probably havent even worn some (Hey, they were only £5 delivered lol ).

Over the last 3 -4 years I have tended to only buy Apple. I basically only get a strap colour/type if I really want it. I also got a Hermes AW a couple of years ago, so this has taken me down the expensive rabbit hole of Hermes straps - they really are quality. £3-400 quality? Maybe not, but they make me happy and that is what is all about.

I also have an Ultra2, so am enjoying the new Sports straps from Apple - as I said, nowadays it is quality not quantity when I buy a type/colour.

I am by no means excessive on here compared to some, but I have 2 Leather Hermes, 3 Jumping Hermes, a Hermes Kilim, 3 Apple Milanese (Silver, Gold & Black), Apple Link Bracelet, 3 Apple Alpine loops, 2 Apple Trial loops, 11 Apple Sports, 1 Apple BSL, 4 Apple sports loops, 4 Nike Sports and 4 Nike Sports loops.

Lol when I write it down like that maybe I am excessive.

To answer the question fully. At first no. Now, yes I do.

 

[nburwell]

The majority of AW bands I own are official from Apple. Though I do have a couple third party bands, which I bought off Amazon that I have in the rotation as well.

For example, a buddy of mine turned me on to these stretch nylon bands that he got from Amazon. So I bought one and have it on my S9.

 

[iDaniel88]

How many do you have?

Three! "Bright Green/Blue" for the gym, "Black/Summit White" for work and "Game Royal/Midnight Navy" when at home etc.

 

[mlody]

I am not a big strap collector, but I have few Apple Original straps and only one 3rd party from Amazon.

 

[GLS]

I've had an Apple watch since S0 was as thing (May 2015) and for years, I bought cheap bands off of eBay or Amazon. I had a few genuine bands that came with watches over the years, but my collection was 80% knockoff.

Few years back, I had a band essentially disintegrate where it connects to the watch while I was wearing it. Watch fell to a carpeted floor, so it didn't hurt. Thing is, I would change out bands every few days, and I didn't notice it having issues or whatever.

I decided that was enough, and threw away all the cheap bands I had, then started collecting genuine bands off of eBay, Poshmark, Mercari or whenever BestBuy was selling them at half off. There's some great guides here on Macrumors about buying bands online to ensure you are getting the real thing.

 

[DR3MCLAREN]

I was loyal to the Apple sport bands and the Nike sport bands but grew tired of them. Last week I took delivery of a Nomad sport band in Lunar Grey and love it. I think I might pick up a few more of the Nomads.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

I was loyal to the Apple sport bands and the Nike sport bands but grew tired of them. Last week I took delivery of a Nomad sport band in Lunar Grey and love it. I think I might pick up a few more of the Nomads.

Interesting, as I have never been a fan of the Sports Bands.

However, I love the new Nike Sports Bands, with the splatters, and I’ve bought two of them. Also bought the clay Sports Band, because I love the colour (also have the BSL.)

I truly believe that the unlimited potential to personally customise the Apple Watch is what makes it so special.

Each to their own 💯.

 

[Nell]

Way back when I got my first watch I bought a few non-Apple straps but gradually started swapping straps less often and relying on favourite Apple ones. The last non-Apple straps I bought were a couple of woven nylon ones because Apple had stopped making them and I really wanted one in blue (I got two different shades, I think, as they were cheap). The quality was unwearably awful and it put me off cheap knock-offs forever. I can see the attraction of widening the search to other good quality straps but haven’t seen anything I like as much as the Apple ones.

 

[rok8man]

I buy only Apple bands but I look for them in Amazon Warehouse and Woot deals. They are lower priced and the real ones. So far I have been lucky. Once you buy one strap you want to get another one.