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ssledoux

macrumors 601
Original poster
Sep 16, 2006
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Down south
I can't go through a thread with nearly 3500 responses to find this. Can anyone recommend a good knockoff?
 
I had seen a lot of good feedback on the JETech ones, but ordered from Amazon and was pretty disappointed. Overall the feel is pretty nice, but the magnetic clasp on mine was scuffed on arrival. Pretty badly, at that.

Granted, I didn't expect a whole lot from a $13 band vs the $199 asking price for the real deal. And having said that, the folks at JETech reached out to me and offered a replacement after seeing a photo. So I'm pretty pleased with their service if nothing else. I'll report back on the replacement once it arrives.
 
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I'm going to also recommend JTech. The only issue I had (and it may have just been me) was that the rubber type seal surrounding the magnet, allowed it to slip just a tiny bit throughout the day. I shaved off a bit of that and it works like a charm! It's one of my favorites. Don't forget too remove the plastic film from the magnet.
 
JTech for sure. I got one fall 2015 and love it. I've held it next to a real Apple one and I can't tell the difference. its also held up remarkably well.
 
Okay thanks! I got one that popped up when I ordered my leather band from Amazon (which I'm returning because it sucks), and it's BRG I think? It seems like a pretty good one and it has 4 1/2 stars with over 2500 reviews. I just wanted to see if any of you recommended that one. It seems fine, but I really don't have another knockoff to compare it to.
 
Moko I got based on reviews from here. I use it swimming too, if I have to buy 2 a year it will still not get me anywhere near the cost of the OEM before the AW2 is long outdated ;)

Some will say that you will spend and spend on aftermarket straps but tbh, I cant see it. Im sure the AW will be outdated long before I have spent anywhere near the cost of an OEM strap as I mention above.


but Im sure there are good 3rd party straps and crap ones too.
 
The knockoff black ones concern me that their paint will fall off quickly (confirmed in many reviews). It's probably because they are not PVD coated (which costs money).

I'm not too sure about silver one though.
 
I got a black one and will report when it starts to fail in any way. Like I said, I wear it in the swimming pool and the hot tub most days so if they that bad it wont last long.
 
I had the JTech black and it started to wear the black off right away. Magnet wasn't as strong as Apple's either.

Have tried others yet.

I strongly doubt others ones will perform better. Think about it. Black paint cannot be bonded to steel unless some expensive coating is used (PVD DLC etc). Even if they found another method, it may potentially harm you since these cheap companies most likely skip safety test procedures... Little things go a long way.
 
I just grabbed one off Amazon from the seller/brand Penom as others here I've seen got the same one.

The box was a nice touch, very Apple-like in a way. The band overall seems pretty high quality and has very strong Amazon reviews. I got mine after seeing it pop up on a 9to5toys email with a $2.00 off coupon. The fitment into the watch was very precise and well engineered. Also, the magnet appears to be very strong. We will see how time treats it, it won't be an everyday band for me however. Not bad for $7.99 either way.
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