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How long do you think it'll be before we see third party bands?
- Thread starter ra4oasis
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There are already third party bands of varying degrees of sketchyness. Check Amazon. The Monowear bands (on the higher end) are shipping Friday and there are lower end bands that include adapters available shipping now.
Casetify was offering preorders for custom bands back in April for $50. Quietly, it crept up to $60, and now it's at $70 for the band. Either they see this as a big cash cow, or they're starting to realize how much more costly it is for them to produce. Maybe it's more expensive because it comes with a stainless steel adapter. Lastly, I'm not sure if it complies with Apple's new "Made for Apple Watch" certification since they were building them before the certification was established, but I wouldn't be surprised if they obtain it.
Luckily, I preordered way in advance at the $50 mark, but you can also grab coupon codes to soften the blow. This one gets $10 off: ZFYU6U
http://www.casetify.com/apple-watch
They'll be shipping out in early June.
Soon I hope. Not loving the sport band. Very hard to put on w/ one hand and the tuck into the arm is annoying. The band on my Garmin 620 is perfectly designed for efficiency.
I have a red leather Monowear on pre-order for my wife, if they ship on Friday (the 8th) as expected, I guess we'll get it Monday, possibly Sunday, and I'll post up some photos, my $0.02 about the quality, fitment, etc. 
Now that apple had offered specific Apple Watch band design guidelines and hinted at a "Made for Apple Watch" program, I'm hopeful that some quality options will be forthcoming in the near future.
Oh I see some of the bands you guys are talking about, thats awesome. I've got some shopping to do now...
The 'Hoco' bands look great (steel & leather) and they look like they include the connector, too.
I've had positive experiences with this site. And this particular seller is very communicative and sends me a personal message with each status update. The band has already shipped. And since he lowered the price by $3 the next day he sent me a free iPhone 6 case.
Yep, the connector is definitely included with the Hoco bands. And I agree it looks great, can't wait to receive it. I'll probably get it before I get my Watch.
That stainless steel looks tempting. Definitely let us know!
I may pick it up too if it fits right. I am afraid to get any third party bans until they are proven to reliably hold the watch in place.
I have the "Amazon adapter" coming on Friday so I'll report my experience, but others have mentioned it fits exactly like the classic/modern buckle piece.