What's the Milanese Loop like?

[Arcontia]

I got a new Apple Watch S3, Stainless Steel.

I find the White Sport Band that shipped with it doesn't really match that well, arguably looks hideous imo. Black Sport Band + Black SS looks much nicer but i wanted Stainless specifically for better band versatility.

Yet funnily enough, unlike the cheaper Aluminium models (which have a plethora of fun color choices for sport bands), both Stainless Steel models have one sport band they come with only. Otherwise a more expensive Milanese Loop.

So what's the Milanese Loop like? I'll go try it on at the store tomorrow but anyways in the meantime - its not awful for guys with prominent arm hair hopefully?

 

[broadbean]

Milanese Loop is really nice. One good thing about it is the el cheapo copies from late last year has been really good. You could probably find a few online to try out.

 

[CarlJ]

White is one of very few colors of Sport Band that I would think wouldn't go well with the stainless watch - you have tons of choices for your 2nd/3rd/4th bands (most any bright color or pale color or dark color... pretty much anything besides white). If you're thinking of trading Apple for the SS watch version with the Milanese band, that might be a very good idea. They're really nice, and can be more dressy (when I was buying, they didn't have the black Milanese band yet, so it wasn't a realistic option for me).

 

[Arcontia]

White is one of very few colors of Sport Band that I would think wouldn't go well with the stainless watch - you have tons of choices for your 2nd/3rd/4th bands (most any bright color or pale color or dark color... pretty much anything besides white). If you're thinking of trading Apple for the SS watch version with the Milanese band, that might be a very good idea. They're really nice, and can be more dressy (when I was buying, they didn't have the black Milanese band yet, so it wasn't a realistic option for me).

I tried it on at the store today. Loved it - seriously regret not having paid a bit more upfront for that model. So then I asked, I would feel like its a terrible waste if I returned my watch upfront and got a new one just for the band. So could I just please swap out the band and pay the difference, I'm literally never gunna use the white sport band but they refused. And anyways, they are completely sold out of all the new Stainless Steel Watches so theres that and they don't know when they're getting more. I said what if I run out of the returns period and she said, oh well, thats that then, but we'll see

Fingers crossed!

 

[andrewface]

I had the Jet tech 3rd party one from Amazon and I was impressed. For 20 bucks its 90% as good as the apple one (which I now own as I upgraded my watch).

 

[gigaguy]

JEtech is good, the magnet is not as strong and the mesh is thinner than the Apple one. The Apple Milanese is thicker and will stand up when Watch is set on it's side. All 3rd party ones are thinner and kinda fold into a flat ball, when not wearing, For the price the 3rd party ones are fine.

 

[staggerlee41]

I've been using a Spigen loop that is a pretty spot on close match to my Space Gray Sport. Considering the asking price I've been more than satisfied.

 

[Ledgem]

I have the genuine Apple band and a third-party knockoff from Amazon. The genuine band is worth it, in my opinion, although the knockoff isn't terrible. I have hairy arms, and the knockoff's magnet would catch my hairs when first putting the band on. Not a huge deal, just manually remove the hairs once the magnet is in place, but for some reason the Apple band doesn't seem to do this. The metal weave on the third-party band is also thinner, and it had a tendency to snag hand towels, whereas the Apple band is thicker and more rounded; haven't experienced a snag with the genuine one.

 

[broadbean]

I have the genuine Apple band and a third-party knockoff from Amazon. The genuine band is worth it

I can't for the life of me remember if I bought an early Milanese Loop clone. I do remember counting horizontal links against Apple's website, and bought the wife a genuine version. What I remember of the first efforts were rather terrible, the band part itself could look "creased", and the magnet end could slip through the slot and/or fall apart. Maybe rust? Seems so vivid to me not sure if I owned one or saw too many pics in me extensive research!

The one I bought late last year has been great. I don't expect it to be as good as the original, but it's extremely serviceable. It does snag a little, and doesn't quite slide in as smoothly - no worse than Apple's plastic adapters. I think I filed back a sharp corner on the magnetic end.

I bought a black one and shows a little sign of discolourisation, but it's otherwise held up well. Just bought another one.

 

[dojoman]

If you have a lot of hair on your arm I would definitely avoid Milanese loop.

 

[verdejt]

I have one from Walmart that cost about 18 bucks. It works great, I wear it when we go out on the town.

 

[rsxmachine]

don't forget all fake milanese loops also are magnetic on both sides of the clip part. This means you will stick to metals as you go through your day. The legit one does not stick. There is a very very minor attractiveness on the legit one but hardly noticeable.

 

[broadbean]

don't forget all fake milanese loops also are magnetic on both sides of the clip part. This means you will stick to metals as you go through your day. The legit one does not stick. There is a very very minor attractiveness on the legit one but hardly noticeable.

That's interesting. But it's handy for those loose nails or screws!

 

[BillGates1969]

I love my Milanese band. My launch day S0 SS came with it and it is my favourite band from my collection of about 15 bands. Bought a black one too from apple and that goes well with the silver SS...I now have a black SS S3 and both go with it.

I find it really comfortable and looks classy. I'm reasonably hairy on my arms, but find it really comfortable - Also I love the way that during the day as your arms expand in heat etc, it is easy to adjust the loop.

Both mine are original Apple ones, but as others have said the 3rd party ones are good - look the same, feel more or less the same and a fraction of the cost.

 

[Laryl]

I have one from Walmart that cost about 18 bucks. It works great, I wear it when we go out on the town.

I have two of those now.. I like them!
And sadly I have hairy arms for a girl but I’ve never had trouble with them.

 

[Sword86]

I bought an AW with the Milanese loop paying the extra dough and regretted it the moment I saw the prices of the 3rd party ones online. I liked it though, but until you get the hang of getting it on your wrist it can and will make scratches on the case. To ME, I hated the extra bump in $ over the white sport band. I would never wear the white sport band and I don’t think selling a 42mm white sportband would be easy either. My thinking is they would be more popular with women and most women get 38mm watches. I could be wrong though. S

 

[Ledgem]

I bought an AW with the Milanese loop paying the extra dough and regretted it the moment I saw the prices of the 3rd party ones online. I liked it though, but until you get the hang of getting it on your wrist it can and will make scratches on the case. To ME, I hated the extra bump in $ over the white sport band. I would never wear the white sport band and I don’t think selling a 42mm white sportband would be easy either. My thinking is they would be more popular with women and most women get 38mm watches. I could be wrong though. S

Don't feel too badly about it; the Apple band quality is still superior to third-party bands. I have a third-party Milanese loop band in addition to Apple's version, and my wife has a Milanese loop for her FitBit (so technically not a third-party band, but still a band of that style made by a company that isn't Apple). My third-party band has noticeably thinner metal links compared to Apple's, and it snags cloth material (particularly towels) whereas the Apple band does not. My wife's band seems to have thicker metal links (but not as thick as Apple's) and it doesn't snag towels, but after a few months of usage the anodized color is starting to rub off where the band touches itself. My own third-party band (black) might do the same, if I had used it more regularly; all I can say is that my own "space black" Milanese loop from Apple still looks flawless all around.

You get what you pay for, I suppose. I had an Apple silver Milanese loop but wanted black, and went third-party, figuring that there couldn't be much of a difference... and ultimately ended up with the Apple black band, too, because there was a difference. If you've only ever had third-party bands then perhaps ignorance would be bliss, but once you use an Apple Milanese loop band, I don't think third-party versions will cut it.

 

[ssledoux]

My off-brand one is great for the $12 it cost me. In fact, I had it on one day when I went in the Apple store, and the saleperson was pretty impressed. I just looked at them on Amazon and bought the one with the most/highest reviews.

I don’t wear it a ton because I like mixing and matching colored bands with my outfits, but when I dress up, I put it on with a couple of my sterling bangles and it looks nice.

 

[Ixidor]

I second the JE tech loop. I have both the official and JE tech versions. The JE tech one is marginally thinner and the magnet is marginally weaker. Honestly, it’s almost impossible to tell them apart.

 

[Resqu2]

I’d love to have the black one for my new sssb watch, if I ever get it from Apple but at $200 I just can’t do it lol.

 

[triangletechie]

I would like to order this with my new SBSS watch but wanted to confirm something first. There's a 1 star review on apple.com saying the band scratched the sapphire screen? Has anyone heard of that before?

 

[Pseudo-Fed]

I would like to order this with my new SBSS watch but wanted to confirm something first. There's a 1 star review on apple.com saying the band scratched the sapphire screen? Has anyone heard of that before?

I have the S2SS with the milanese loop. I didn't really every use the loop as I preferred other bands. I've read in several places that the milanese steel loop will scratch even the ceramic HR sensor cover, but I doubt it would scratch the sapphire screen without trying really hard to do it. I have inadvertently let my sapphire screen rub against old, rusty metal frame of an outdoor prop while shooting defensive pistol competitions. Afterwards the rusty stuff wiped off the watch without a single mark on the screen. Did this a couple times, calling myself an idiot after each.....