Best Third Party Woven Nylon Band?

[tlo07]

There are so many on Ebay and Amazon. Does anyone have one they are impressed with?

 

[Just_Me_D]

Hopefully members who have one and can make a recommendation will reply soon...

 

[Tartarus]

I bought my Apple Watch two Saturdays ago and have used the original sport band till last Saturday.

I went straight to the Apple Store for the Stainless Steel band, but was shocked with the price of $169. I then looked at the display with Apple Watches and set my eye on the Black Woven Nylon band.
I'm glad I did. It costs $100 less but it fits nice and gives the watch a more sophisticated look.

I could have bought a high quality third party band but chose not to, because I wanted to know how the original bands are supposed to fit and feel in their casing.

Now I can be sure what to look for when I buy a third party band.

I recommend you to buy bands from renown websites or stores instead of white label brands, as they are more prone to do more harm than good.

Good luck in your quest and show us your bands and watch from time to time in http://forums.imore.com/apple-watch/325959-show-off-your-watch.html

 

[phreddyl]

I only have the apple ones sorry. They aren't that expensive and I know I'm getting quality

 

[Rob Phillips]

I only have the apple ones sorry. They aren't that expensive and I know I'm getting quality

Exactly. My black woven band is worth every penny.

 

[Mac Guy]

They aren't that expensive and I know I'm getting quality

Exactly. My black woven band is worth every penny.

I went with the Apple Black Woven band for my Gold Sport to see what the "standard" was, and Apple set it pretty high.

The $50 price is a little pricey to me, but it really is a nice band. Now that it's on the Watch I don't regret paying the price at all. Any band put on the Watch should reflect the fit and finish of it equally. Some of the really nice third-party bands aren't much cheaper than Apple's offerings. Those that are usually just look- cheap.

If somebody comes up with an inexpensive Woven band that looks as good and is durable, I'll give it a shot.

 

[imwjl]

I have bookmarked some but not made a purchase.

Quality could be an issue considering the mounting/connecting part because it's not like a NATO band woven through the quality spring bar of quality Swiss watch.

It looks like some of the 3rd party bands could be VERY long for my wrist size.

 

[tcuprof]

It looks like some of the 3rd party bands could be VERY long for my wrist size.

I recommend you consider the Kartice woven nylon band. It seems identical to my Apple nylon band and it's a good fit on my wrist which is very small.

 

[imwjl]

I recommend you consider the Kartice woven nylon band. It seems identical to my Apple nylon band and it's a good fit on my wrist which is very small.

Thank you. I saw those, Penom, Moko and others that are popular but when you look at Amazon reviews quite often 1 and 2 stars add up to 20-30% of the buyers. Looking at some reviewers who give 5 stars and think great, it seems like some are paid rewires or would call anything great.

My interpretation of the reviews is a significant number of buyers have inexpensive 3rd party bands break. My lifestyle and activities probably mean I'm at risk for broken band. I'm a MTB rider, trail builder, skier, and hiker. My day job can have my hands reaching, be on a ladder, dealing with cables. I'm torn between what my inner cheapskate says and going with Apple's high prices.

Over decades bought and fixed up some old mechanical watches, have some fine Swiss watches, and a nice Japanese sport watch where there's a middle ground between luxury or top tier brand and cheapest that's quality. That seems missing in current state of Apple Watch accessories. It looks like the huge crop of $9-20 stuff killed or keeps away slightly better stuff.

 

[SIKAI]

In this case I would recommend to use the stainless steel band, since due to your activity routine there is a high chance of mechanical damage.

You can definitely buy a good one also in this price range, but as you noticed the majority of the stuff is mediocre at best.

Most of them are just small sellers reselling stuff from local markets, which was made for domestic market in China, where people prefer cheaper stuff opposite to higher quality.

So to get a good one, you would need to find a Brand or a Factory who targets the European or American market, then you may buy a good one.