Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The Great "Third Party Band/Strap" Thread
- Thread starter appleboyy
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
I tried a couple and decided on this one in January of this year for my Ultra. I have not had any issues with it. It is light and has held up well.
LDFAS Compatible for Apple Watch Ultra 2 Band 49mm,Series 10 46mm Titanium Metal Strap with Hidden Buckle Compatible for Apple Watch 9/8 45mm Bands
LDFAS Compatible for Apple Watch Ultra 2 Band 49mm,Series 10 46mm Titanium Metal Strap with Hidden Buckle Compatible for Apple Watch 9/8 45mm Bands
www.amazon.com
I tried a couple and decided on this one in January of this year for my Ultra. I have not had any issues with it. It is light and has held up well.
LDFAS Compatible for Apple Watch Ultra 2 Band 49mm,Series 10 46mm Titanium Metal Strap with Hidden Buckle Compatible for Apple Watch 9/8 45mm Bands
LDFAS Compatible for Apple Watch Ultra 2 Band 49mm,Series 10 46mm Titanium Metal Strap with Hidden Buckle Compatible for Apple Watch 9/8 45mm Bandswww.amazon.com
Amazon said “Currently unavailable” 😔
I just bought these, but realized that they're "faux leather." Hilariously, when I bought them from the site, they were labelled as genuine leather, and now they're not (as seen in invoice). To be honest, though, I kinda prefer it this way - I've been wearing them in wet situations without difficulty.
I can NOT believe this band only costs $20.
Ordered it from AliExpress on Sept 30th and it arrived today. Super soft and flexible, quality leather. Smells great. Stitching is done well. the Lugs match the Ultra perfectly, there is no play. the clasp is a bit on the silver side but being brushed it still goes well with the titanium.
I'm gonna order a second one with the Butterfly Clasp.
www.aliexpress.us
Ordered it from AliExpress on Sept 30th and it arrived today. Super soft and flexible, quality leather. Smells great. Stitching is done well. the Lugs match the Ultra perfectly, there is no play. the clasp is a bit on the silver side but being brushed it still goes well with the titanium.
I'm gonna order a second one with the Butterfly Clasp.
Quality Leather Bands For Apple Watch Ultra 49mm 8 7 6 SE Hermès Accessories Bracelets 45mm 44mm 41mm 40mm Apple Watch Straps - AliExpress 1511
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
I've tried many, from super expensive to pretty cheap. This is by far the best one I've purchased and makes the other ones look like garbage:
LULULOOK Titanium Band Compatible with Apple Watch Ultra/Ultra 2 49mm, Grade 2 Pure Titanium Metal Smartwatch Replacement Band with Folding Clasp for Men
Design for Apple Ultra: Inspired by the Iron Man, Classic reimagined and special Titanium Ultra Color and 49MM connector are specially designed Only for Apple Watch Ultra, Titanium Ultra Color same with Apple Watch Ultra color. 49MM perfectly matches the ULTRA's look, with no gaps between the ban...
www.amazon.com
Has anyone seen a third-party Ocean band that would fit a 41mm AW? I saw this on Temu and it implies that it fits all case sizes, but that can’t be right. They show it with an Ultra and what I assume to be a 45mm. Otherwise it appeals to my love of pink and sprinkles. I wouldn’t expect the quality to be great but it could be a fun band once in awhile.
Has there been a crackdown on knockoff bands on AliExpress? None of the usual stores, like Urvoi, seem to be stocking “1:1 equivalent” bands anymore.
I got some knock off Ultra alpine bands in the new colours, but they're quite dark. The colours don't show well. I've also got some of the new Nike bands with the recycled bits on them, but the quality is very poor. Haven't found good versions of these, and haven't found any of the new Nike fabric loops yet.
I think there might have been. In the past I bought many 1:1 sport loops from Urvoi (and once from Crested), and initially the quality was good but then went downhill. Today out of curiosity I was browsing AliExpress and no vendors seemed to have the traditional 1:1 sport loops anymore; the ones they have now are weird two-piece jobs with a plastic slider buckle. Awful. Or maybe they all moved to Temu…I haven’t checked for sport loops there but I have seen a lot of other styles, like ocean bands.
I did see one vendor on Aliexpress selling the new Nike sport loops style:
Green Pepper Watch Accessories Wholesale Dropshipping Store
Last edited:
Since I looked last week, more of the Nike-type knockoffs have shown up on Aliexpress. Here are two that I was able to find. One seems to have real photos, and the stitching seems fuzzy, I‘m not sure I‘d be happy with it. The one thing I do like about third-party bands is that the ones I’ve bought are usually about .75” longer than OEM Apple sport loops, which I like. I feel like Apple is cheapening out on the sport loop length lately.
If these links work, Aliexpress will also show similar results from other vendors.
Original Nylon Strap for Apple Watch Ultra 2 49MM Sports Band for Iwatch Series 9 8 7 6 SE 4 3 2 45MM 44MM 42MM 41MM 38MM 42MM - AliExpress 1511
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
Nylon Loop Sport Strap for Apple Watch Band 49mm 45mm 44mm 42mm Bracelet for iWatch 9 8 7 6 5 SE Ultra 2 Watchband - AliExpress 1511
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
Last edited:
Southern Straps. Bought 3 since they did a Buy 2, Get 1 free promo.
Last edited:
Any recs for third party trail loop / alpine loops that will fit smaller wrists? a lot of them seem to be one size and I'm a woman with slim wrists so I'm worried about fit.
Also interested in non-Apple k/o bands for the Ultra that people with small wrists love. Thank you!
Also interested in non-Apple k/o bands for the Ultra that people with small wrists love. Thank you!
I have small wrists. The Temu ones will fit small wrists. I bought a couple for less than $3 per Alpine band.
Since I looked last week, more of the Nike-type knockoffs have shown up on Aliexpress. Here are two that I was able to find. One seems to have real photos, and the stitching seems fuzzy, I‘m not sure I‘d be happy with it. The one thing I do like about third-party bands is that the ones I’ve bought are usually about .75” longer than OEM Apple sport loops, which I like. I feel like Apple is cheapening out on the sport loop length lately.
If these links work, Aliexpress will also show similar results from other vendors.
Original Nylon Strap for Apple Watch Ultra 2 49MM Sports Band for Iwatch Series 9 8 7 6 SE 4 3 2 45MM 44MM 42MM 41MM 38MM 42MM - AliExpress 1511
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.comwww.aliexpress.com
Nylon Loop Sport Strap for Apple Watch Band 49mm 45mm 44mm 42mm Bracelet for iWatch 9 8 7 6 5 SE Ultra 2 Watchband - AliExpress 1511
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.comwww.aliexpress.com
I bought some from the link above and got them yesterday. Can’t complain imo they feel pretty good and the colors look better in person. I have a small wrist and shouldn’t have a 45mm but I do so lol these, like the Apple ones, are long enough of straps.
Those are some good looking 98 CENT bands… heck, one could buy them for workouts, hiking, etc. and essentially just DISPOSE of them after wear. ;-0
Question: Does one think they are true knock-offs, or are they like many items that come out of China essentially made in some way by the same supplier or textile manufacturer, with obvious changes like the ends, clips, possibly some small MATERIALS change? Or did someone just reverse engineer them and produce them?
OT: TLDR
Also, not having really done it before, how hard is it to buy off allipay, and stay safe vis a vis using a credit card, etc. Is it best to fund a debit account, or use a single use CC # for these transactions?
How long does it take for some of these things to arrive?
I have bought a number of things from Aliexpress in the past 5 years, and have not had any problems like fraud charges. At first I used a credit card, but most of the merchants seem to take Paypal these days, so that’s what I use now. I’ve had one incorrect order, which was eventually refunded, and I returned another order for a refund because I didn’t like the color (took about 3 weeks). The two things I have ordered this fall have taken about 12 days to arrive, which is pretty fast compared to a couple of years ago. In fact, my orders sometimes take longer to come from New Jersey to Maryland, via Pitney Bowes and USPS, than they do from China to New Jersey. Processing and shipping does come to a standstill during Chinese New Year.
Some of my knockoff sport loops are great. Some unfortunately have badly painted metal lugs that peel (instead of solid colored plastic). It’s kind of a crap shoot but for the price I think it’s worth the gamble. I do keep the bad ones for exercising.
Some of these knock offs are pretty good. When URVOI sold some they were extremely well made and close 1:1. I think most have to have slight variations from the OG for some obvious reasons and probably comes from OG manufacturers.
i haven’t had any issues ordering from AliExpress and just use apple pay w/credit card (i never use debit for online). The shipping takes a bit, some are faster than others but typically a few weeks to arrive. This particular order took 2 weeks.
Great! May I ask, which of the two links did you buy from, Shop1103126017 Store or the New Boys Watch Accessories Store (what a name)?. Although I‘m guessing they probably all come from the same factory, I’d like to try to get the same exact one you got.I bought some from the link above and got them yesterday. Can’t complain imo they feel pretty good and the colors look better in person. I have a small wrist and shouldn’t have a 45mm but I do so lol these, like the Apple ones, are long enough of straps.
Also, can you tell if the lugs are solid colored plastic, or are they painted metal? Thanks!
I picked up a LDFAS SSR (Super Scratch Resistant) titanium band a few weeks ago. It's expensive but I'm very impressed. Not one scratch at all with constant use. See pics in this thread compared to a Kordiz:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/titanium-link-bracelet.2407277/post-32741990
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/titanium-link-bracelet.2407277/post-32741990
Looking at bands now on Amazon, saw this Spigen DuraPro Armor. VERY unique.
My only nit pick is I wish the Spigen logo wasn't all over it. The logo on the buckle would have been just fine.
My only nit pick is I wish the Spigen logo wasn't all over it. The logo on the buckle would have been just fine.
Looking for an Ultra/2 band for small wrist. I purchased my U2 a month ago and chose the green alpine band - small.
It fit nicely with the clasp latched 4 or 5 loops from the watch edge. So far I cannot find another band which fits my small wrist. Are there any suggestions?
It fit nicely with the clasp latched 4 or 5 loops from the watch edge. So far I cannot find another band which fits my small wrist. Are there any suggestions?