The Great "Third Party Band/Strap" Thread

[KmanOz]

These bands look cool but there is no date yet. Can't wait since so far these are aesthetically appealing.
http://3dprint.com/49787/apple-watch-bands-3d-printed/

If these go into production and look the same when finished, they are something I'd invest in. A well finished product. Most of the 3rd party bands so far look ****** to me and would just stick with Apple

 

[KmanOz]

Just got a Huco band from ebay after 1 week.
It's a 24mm band for my 42mm ss.
Love the set up.
Pretty good quality suprisingly.

To me at least the point at which the band connects to the watch is very important. A good quality band needs to meld into the watch so it all looks like one. The original SS band from Apple does this well. I'm hesitant to buy a 3rd party band because so far I haven't seen one that does it as well as Apple

 

[KmanOz]

My SG sport wearing a 22mm Breitling Pro Diver 3, shortly to be replaced with a 24mm Pro Diver 2 which is a bit more subtle

LOL that looks chunky and nice. Too bad it says Breitling. BTW that band isn't cheap either

 

[KmanOz]

Deployant buckle from Holbens website. Made by Hadley-Roma. Band without a buckle from Amazon. Adapters/lugs from cheap Amazon band.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S7S71O0/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_ggIDvb09Z62V6

http://www.holbensfinewatchbands.com/hadley-roma-bkl100-butterfly-deployment-clasp-stainless-steel/

Mark

Best 3rd party combo so far. It was a small project getting it all together Im sure

 

[msink]

Best 3rd party combo so far. It was a small project getting it all together Im sure

Thanks... Ive since switched lugs for this band with the ones that accept springbars, and I think it's a better fit/look for the band. Not sure if the $34 deployant is worth it... just wanted to try something classy and different. These clasps do help with band wear however as you don't have to keep yanking, tugging and pushing to get it buckled and into the keepers. Thanks for the compliment. Got an Orange Diver sitting at home waiting to get hooked up in addition to the blue diver.

 

[Jmona]

If these go into production and look the same when finished, they are something I'd invest in. A well finished product. Most of the 3rd party bands so far look ****** to me and would just stick with Apple

They already have. Here's the link: http://cubify.com/store/freshfiber/flexbands

 

[Selfxplanatory]

I got my Lunatik Epik black aluminum band/case. I like it a lot! Had to remove about 8 links to make it fit, but it was easy to do.

I was looking at these but have a ?
Would it be possible to separate the band from the case itself and use an adapter for the band?

 

[PirateP]

I was looking at these but have a ?
Would it be possible to separate the band from the case itself and use an adapter for the band?

I wouldn't recommend it. It's a piece of poo and a fake. But no, it won't disconnect from the case part to use with adapters. It's not built that way.

 

[PirateP]

They already have. Here's the link: http://cubify.com/store/freshfiber/flexbands

I like them, too, but they still show preorder only.

 

[KmanOz]

Thanks... Ive since switched lugs for this band with the ones that accept springbars, and I think it's a better fit/look for the band. Not sure if the $34 deployant is worth it... just wanted to try something classy and different. These clasps do help with band wear however as you don't have to keep yanking, tugging and pushing to get it buckled and into the keepers. Thanks for the compliment. Got an Orange Diver sitting at home waiting to get hooked up in addition to the blue diver.

Post a photo when you can. I only bought a SGS so the SS buckle won't work for me but always good to see what people are doing

 

[KmanOz]

They already have. Here's the link: http://cubify.com/store/freshfiber/flexbands

Iv been bitten by the Kickstarter scam (for a want of a better word). Paid money, received nothing so far. I think I'll wait until they go into production and I can order from actual stock but thanks for that

 

[ianfann]

Welcome to Chinese crap. You cannot beat Apple precision. I feel for you. I'd be more worried that it will fall off when you least expect it. This is a good example of you pay for what you get unfortunately.

Pay peanuts and you WILL get monkeys. Don't hope for a miracle. You want quality and service, pay for it.

 

[Selfxplanatory]

I wouldn't recommend it. It's a piece of poo and a fake. But no, it won't disconnect from the case part to use with adapters. It's not built that way.

Thanks for the reply. Only thing I was thinking of doing with it lol. On to the next idea

 

[msink]

I have yet to see any single third party strap that looks good to me!

Which Apple straps do you think look good/not cheap, and do you think any of them DO look ugly and cheap?

 

[sdallnct2]

I ordered a red leather with black SS adapter for my 42mm SG.

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2015/06/review-makergrafix-custom-leather-bands-for-apple-watch

My harvested MK rubber band is my everyday band. Much more comfortable than the LL. My sport band is for gym/running only. And I'll mix up the blue LL and this red for little more pop or dressy.

Only thing is adapter on this one seems to have a lot of space. But will see how it looks.

 

[Jmona]

Iv been bitten by the Kickstarter scam (for a want of a better word). Paid money, received nothing so far. I think I'll wait until they go into production and I can order from actual stock but thanks for that

What kickstarter? I'm confused because someone here in the forums, ordered these. I just can't remember the thread I saw this.

 

[BvizioN]

Which Apple straps do you think look good/not cheap, and do you think any of them DO look ugly and cheap?

Apple classic leather looks quite sleek to me and quite comfortable to wear. Far from ugly. Overpriced, yes. Same goes for ML. Matter of fact all straps from Apple look/feel quite nice to me. I have 2 sports/ 1 leather loop.
I did quite expect the third party ones to be rubbish (just like 99% of third party iPhone/iPad cases) so watch straps will not be any different. People do spend £600 on the phones and then £5 on ugly cases!I do find it quite interesting!! However, I will personalty wait and keep an eye for that 1%.

 

[msink]

Apple classic leather looks quite sleek to me and quite comfortable to wear. Far from ugly. Overpriced, yes. Same goes for ML. Matter of fact all straps from Apple look/feel quite nice to me. I have 2 sports/ 1 leather loop.
I did quite expect the third party ones to be rubbish (just like 99% of third party iPhone/iPad cases) so watch straps will not be any different. People do spend £600 on the phones and then £5 on ugly cases!I do find it quite interesting!! However, I will personalty wait and keep an eye for that 1%.

There is nothing special about the Apple leather bands. Anything that needs to be produced in the millions is not going to have a "hand-crafted" anything. I think you need to have a look at this.

https://medium.com/@flyosity/inconvenient-truths-about-the-apple-watch-11bafa44551b

If you don't like anything out there, you aren't looking hard enough. There are people wearing $2000-$15,000+ watches with aftermarket bands on them, and none of them came from Apple. Maybe you just like plain black, no stitching at all, and a simple buckle. Like Apple's. Nice, hand-made straps from Ostrich, Toad, Stingray, Snake etc are all over the place and much better looking/feeling than the stuff Apple pumps out of their machines.

 

[BvizioN]

There is nothing special about the Apple leather bands. Anything that needs to be produced in the millions is not going to have a "hand-crafted" anything.

I wouldn't give a damn if there have been millions of them produced or not. If ti looks nice and sleek to me, and it feels comfortable on my hand, it gets my money. Ugly/tasteless stuff is ugly, it doesn't matter if it is produced on a quite limited quantities or on millions. Now I do get that this entire thing is subjective, so am just expressing my view on this.

 

[sdallnct2]

Apple classic leather looks quite sleek to me and quite comfortable to wear. Far from ugly. Overpriced, yes. Same goes for ML. Matter of fact all straps from Apple look/feel quite nice to me. I have 2 sports/ 1 leather loop.
I did quite expect the third party ones to be rubbish (just like 99% of third party iPhone/iPad cases) so watch straps will not be any different. People do spend £600 on the phones and then £5 on ugly cases!I do find it quite interesting!! However, I will personalty wait and keep an eye for that 1%.

There are many high end band that have been used on nicer and more expensive watches than Apple Watch for decades (and longer). I love my AW. But the sport band is literally a joke. It is arguable the most over prices of all Apple bands. Give it a fancy name, but it is still just a small piece of plastic.

I like the look of the blue LL on my SG. But seriously over priced (look at your leather Apple cases for iPhone as a comparison even). There are beautiful leather bands available to people that have been making them for decades. No to mention other skins.

I'm not a fan of the ML. But I admit that is a personal thing. I just don't like that look. I do like the link. But seriously $450? More than I paid for the watch.

Of course the issue is the adapter. And 100% agree there are crappy ones out there. And even well made ones that seem to have too much space between the band and watch. That is wat to look out for.

Apple is new to watch bands. They are going against well established, long term fine band makers. Not just cheap, crappy knock offs.

 

[grenhall]

There are many high end band that have been used on nicer and more expensive watches than Apple Watch for decades (and longer). I love my AW. But the sport band is literally a joke. It is arguable the most over prices of all Apple bands. Give it a fancy name, but it is still just a small piece of plastic.

I like the look of the blue LL on my SG. But seriously over priced (look at your leather Apple cases for iPhone as a comparison even). There are beautiful leather bands available to people that have been making them for decades. No to mention other skins.

I'm not a fan of the ML. But I admit that is a personal thing. I just don't like that look. I do like the link. But seriously $450? More than I paid for the watch.

Of course the issue is the adapter. And 100% agree there are crappy ones out there. And even well made ones that seem to have too much space between the band and watch. That is wat to look out for.

Apple is new to watch bands. They are going against well established, long term fine band makers. Not just cheap, crappy knock offs.

Well if you'd purchased an SS-version then the link-band wouldn't have been more expensive than the watch itself.

Let me put it in another way. If the bands are overpriced I guess Apple won't sell any. If so third-party strap-makers will have a huge market to fill up. But the likelihood of that happening is what? 0.1%?

 

[ianfann]

What you guys think of this 3rd party black SS Link bracelet?

 

[iVegas]

Ordered this one from eBay. It reminds me of the Apple link band, which I really like but don't want to spend $450 on. It comes with or without adapters.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-S...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item5b137da625

 

[Bigdog9586]

I ordered this one yesterday from Amazon.

 

[sdallnct2]

Well if you'd purchased an SS-version then the link-band wouldn't have been more expensive than the watch itself.

Let me put it in another way. If the bands are overpriced I guess Apple won't sell any. If so third-party strap-makers will have a huge market to fill up. But the likelihood of that happening is what? 0.1%?

Love it! Your blaming me for Apple selling a black link bad at $450 that is more than I paid for the watch.

Since my main reason for buying was over a running watch and I use a lot for running and gym time, I took Apples advise and bought the watch they recommend for that.

Dude, your not serious are you? Does Apple sell more iPhone cases, or do 3rd party companies? What sells better Apple iPad cases or 3rd party cases?

3rd party bands will, eventually way out sell Apple bands. Like iPhone and iPad cases it won't even be close. Apple will still sell plenty. And good for them. I "like" my LL. but it's not that comfortable and embarrassingly over-priced. The band I took of my Michael Kors (Fossil) that is rubber is much more comfortable than either the Sport band or LL. and much better looking than the Sport. The Sport band stays in my gym bag and I use the LL for a bit dressier look. I have thought about returning it, but I'll keep this one.