Questions about the AW size and the best band.

[jaybar]

Hi

I am getting even closer to getting a Series 4 Apple Watch. My wrist is about 177mm in circumference. Would the 44 mm watch be outlandish? I am leaning toward the larger watch b/c if would be easier for me to read.

I am hard on watches. Would the SS be more resistant to scratches?

I have difficulty getting traditional buckle bands on and off easily. Would i be better off with a loop type band? Milanese loop? Leather loop? Sport Loop? Ease of getting the watch on/off is key as I have dexterity issues.

I don’t run. I don’t swim. I do exercise on the stationary bike though.

I could/could not shower with the watch. I am open. I plan to wear the watch daily.

Thoughts?

Thanks

 

[edhchoe]

44mm will be fine for your size.
Aluminum version is more resistant to scratches.
SS version is more resistant to dents.
It is a personal preference.
Loop type or Leather is not good for sweaty wrist when working out.
Genuine Apple silicone bands are the best for working out.
Get apple watch band adapters for $12 online and use whatever aftermarket band you want to use for making it more interesting when not working out.

 

[jaybar]

I only do 20 minutes on the stationary bike at low resistance. Milanese Loop?

 

[tgara]

Genuine Apple silicone bands are the best for working out.

I disagree. Apple's fluoroelastomer Sport Band is great, but in my experience the Sport Loop is better for workouts. Unlike the Sport Band, the Sport Loop can be fit snugly to your wrist, which optimizes data collection from the sensors under the watch. I know I'm getting better and more consistent data collection using a Sport Loop.

I only do 20 minutes on the stationary bike at low resistance. Milanese Loop?

I would get a band that you dedicate to workouts. During exercise, you are going to sweat and that will dirty the band quickly.

 

[bluespark]

44mm will be fine for your size.
Aluminum version is more resistant to scratches.
SS version is more resistant to dents.
It is a personal preference.
Loop type or Leather is not good for sweaty wrist when working out.
Genuine Apple silicone bands are the best for working out.
Get apple watch band adapters for $12 online and use whatever aftermarket band you want to use for making it more interesting when not working out.

It's not correct that the aluminum version is more resistant to scratches. While aluminum itself resists scratches better than stainless steel, the crystal screen on the stainless steel version is *much* more scratch-resistant than the glass screen on the aluminum version. Also, as is always true with stainless steel watches, you can easily buff out any scratches that do appear on the steel itself.

Also, Apple's Sport Band is not silicone -- it's fluoroelastomer. Most knock-offs are silicone.

 

[jaybar]

Thanks to everyone so far.

It looks like the SS version would be best for me as I am hard on watches.

I’m still undecided about band types. However, given my issues, I think the loop type would be best for me.

I go on the stationary bike three times a week for 20 minutes at a low resistance. I hardly ever get sweaty from a workout, but I do sweat easily in the NYC summer heat, when walking in the street.

Given that, I sweat easily in the summer, which of the loop type bands would be easiest to maintain?

Thanks

 

[DennisdeWit]

Thanks to everyone so far.

It looks like the SS version would be best for me as I am hard on watches.

I’m still undecided about band types. However, given my issues, I think the loop type would be best for me.

I go on the stationary bike three times a week for 20 minutes at a low resistance. I hardly ever get sweaty from a workout, but I do sweat easily in the NYC summer heat, when walking in the street.

Given that, I sweat easily in the summer, which of the loop type bands would be easiest to maintain?

Thanks

The Sport Band would be a better and safer choice. They make it less sweaty in the summer. Also, keep in mind a SpaceBlack Stainless Steel with a SpaceBlack Milanese Loop will easily scratch your Watch screen anyway because of the Diamond Like Carbon coating.

You’ll much less likely scratch it with the Sport Band, as it is a much softer material.

 

[jaybar]

How does the sport band fasten? Does the metal insert just fit in? Do you need to get it into a hole or slot? I may not be able to handle easily closing the sport band. How does it work?

 

[DennisdeWit]

How does the sport band fasten? Does the metal insert just fit in? Do you need to get it into a hole or slot? I may not be able to handle easily closing the sport band. How does it work?

Yes. What I do is putting the Watch on my arm, then take the upper part of the band (with the holes) and put it on the downside of my arm. Then just put the metal pin in the hole. It’s quite easy to do after you got the hang of it.

I use the M/L Sportband and have it mostly on hole 4. There’s one thing I dislike about the band. With one big snatch you can take off the band. That’s not ideal in places where pickpockets are active.

 

[edhchoe]

man... all the bad advices are steering this guy into the wrong direction...

 

[jaybar]

man... all the bad advices are steering this guy into the wrong direction...

Thanks

I read a few blog posts written by people with disabilities/manual dexterity issues. The blogs that I looked at,plus the comments, consistently viewed the sport band as problematic when trying to get the watch on/off. They seemed to favor the looo type bands or the SS LINK bracelet.

Some considered the Sports Loop. Others chose the ML or LL. One even chose the link bracelet which surprised me.

I sweat easily in the summer when out and about. I don’t sweat on the stationary bike, which is the only thing I use to workout.

Thanks again

 

[pickles129]

Does everyone buy their bands from Apple? I find $149 is ridiculous for the milanese SS loop band. I want one to dress up my sport loop but I'm not paying $149. Are there any reputable sellers for less?

 

[MisterSavage]

Does everyone buy their bands from Apple? I find $149 is ridiculous for the milanese SS loop band. I want one to dress up my sport loop but I'm not paying $149. Are there any reputable sellers for less?

No way. I bought a cheap Orobay band on Amazon. I expected it to be trash but I actually love it. It looks great and I can adjust it to be as tight/loose as I want.

 

[pickles129]

No way. I bought a cheap Orobay band on Amazon. I expected it to be trash but I actually love it. It looks great and I can adjust it to be as tight/loose as I want.

Thank you!

 

[nepatriot]

I am getting even closer to getting a Series 4 Apple Watch. My wrist is about 177mm in circumference. Would the 44 mm watch be outlandish? I am leaning toward the larger watch b/c if would be easier for me to read.

Wrist circumference is irrelevant to watch fit. The AW case length is 44mm. You need 44mm if flat space on top of your wrist, measuring across the wrist, starting from and ending just where your wrist starts to curve down. Allow a few extra mm's if plan to were extensions.

The AW's 44mm case is small compared to the vast majority of men's watches, as a guideline.

I am hard on watches. Would the SS be more resistant to scratches?

Depends on what you consider to be a scratch. The surface of 316L SS is soft, so it will easily gather a myriad of micro-swirls from every dat activity. Reaching your hand into a backpack, even minor contact with the zipper can leave micro scratches. Polishing the case, tiny nearly invisible particles can leave micro swirls. BUT with SS you can polish swirls out easily. The DLC CC is more resistant to micro scratches, but cannot be polished out. On the other hand, the SS's will need a significant hit to leave a deep scratch. The ALU will can dent with a less significant hit. But the ALU surface is less probe to micro scratches. And it cannot be polished out like SS.

I could/could not shower with the watch. I am open. I plan to wear the watch daily.

It's WR to 50M. It has passed independent tests ... in stagnate water. Depending on the shower pressure, as long as it does not exceed the equivalent of 50M of pressure, you should be OK. It was designed for water sports like swimming. But there is a difference between swimming in a pool and surfing in heavy surf. General rule is at least 100M ISO rated for aggressive water sports, just to be safe. The AW does not adhere to ISO, as far as I can tell.

Personally, because it has buttons, and is not an ISO rated watch, I'd not use it for water sports, shower, etc. That's just me. Plenty of people use them for swimming. I'd closely follow the AW guidelines for after-water process.
[doublepost=1548517017][/doublepost]

I only do 20 minutes on the stationary bike at low resistance. Milanese Loop?

MANY reports of the Milanese scratching the crap out of AW's.
[doublepost=1548518663][/doublepost]

Does everyone buy their bands from Apple? I find $149 is ridiculous for the milanese SS loop band. I want one to dress up my sport loop but I'm not paying $149. Are there any reputable sellers for less?

IMHO, this watch does not need to be dressed up. I have the 4 SBSS. With the stock black rubber, IMHO, it's fine for business casual, and needs to be "dressed down" for casual use. The problem, I believe, is it looks too much like an androgynous fit tracker. It's not a "formal" watch, i.e. for a suit and tie business function. Of all the metal options, I like the look of the Milanese bracelet. But it comes at a cost: many many reports of this scratches the crap out of the watch.

If you have the shiny SS, one thing that could dress it up is black Horween Shell Cordovan leather strap. The one below is from Jack Foster, a maker of very nice leather straps popular among mechanical watches enthusiasts. This one not Horween, and too thick, but gives you an idea. The Horween is $110, custom made to fit you, premium Chicago leather, hand made in USA. Better than Apple's Hermes. I use these Horween's on my mechanicals pilot watch when I wear a suit.

 

[jaybar]

Wrist circumference is irrelevant to watch fit. The AW case length is 44mm. You need 44mm if flat space on top of your wrist, measuring across the wrist, starting from and ending just where your wrist starts to curve down. Allow a few extra mm's if plan to were extensions.

The AW's 44mm case is small compared to the vast majority of men's watches, as a guideline.



Depends on what you consider to be a scratch. The surface of 316L SS is soft, so it will easily gather a myriad of micro-swirls from every dat activity. Reaching your hand into a backpack, even minor contact with the zipper can leave micro scratches. Polishing the case, tiny nearly invisible particles can leave micro swirls. BUT with SS you can polish swirls out easily. The DLC CC is more resistant to micro scratches, but cannot be polished out. On the other hand, the SS's will need a significant hit to leave a deep scratch. The ALU will can dent with a less significant hit. But the ALU surface is less probe to micro scratches. And it cannot be polished out like SS.



It's WR to 50M. It has passed independent tests ... in stagnate water. Depending on the shower pressure, as long as it does not exceed the equivalent of 50M of pressure, you should be OK. It was designed for water sports like swimming. But there is a difference between swimming in a pool and surfing in heavy surf. General rule is at least 100M ISO rated for aggressive water sports, just to be safe. The AW does not adhere to ISO, as far as I can tell.

Personally, because it has buttons, and is not an ISO rated watch, I'd not use it for water sports, shower, etc. That's just me. Plenty of people use them for swimming. I'd closely follow the AW guidelines for after-water process.
[doublepost=1548517017][/doublepost]

MANY reports of the Milanese scratching the crap out of AW's.
[doublepost=1548518663][/doublepost]

IMHO, this watch does not need to be dressed up. I have the 4 SBSS. With the stock black rubber, IMHO, it's fine for business casual, and needs to be "dressed down" for casual use. The problem, I believe, is it looks too much like an androgynous fit tracker. It's not a "formal" watch, i.e. for a suit and tie business function. Of all the metal options, I like the look of the Milanese bracelet. But it comes at a cost: many many reports of this scratches the crap out of the watch.

If you have the shiny SS, one thing that could dress it up is black Horween Shell Cordovan leather strap. The one below is from Jack Foster, a maker of very nice leather straps popular among mechanical watches enthusiasts. This one not Horween, and too thick, but gives you an idea. The Horween is $110, custom made to fit you, premium Chicago leather, hand made in USA. Better than Apple's Hermes. I use these Horween's on my mechanicals pilot watch when I wear a suit.

View attachment 818219

Thanks for the leather band suggestion. Leather has been mixed results for me. There are some leather bands I can easily wear and some leave a red rash in the shape of the watch band within a day or two and there is no way to tell in advance.

I think I am safest with the ML. Also I suspect that the loop type bands will be much easier for me to manage getting on/off.

My dermatologist suggested sticking with SS. She cautioned against any synthetic materials that might trap sweat/moisture. Does that suggest the SS watch with ML?

 

[nepatriot]

Thanks for the leather band suggestion. Leather has been mixed results for me. There are some leather bands I can easily wear and some leave a red rash in the shape of the watch band within a day or two and there is no way to tell in advance.

I think I am safest with the ML. Also I suspect that the loop type bands will be much easier for me to manage getting on/off.

My dermatologist suggested sticking with SS. She cautioned against any synthetic materials that might trap sweat/moisture. Does that suggest the SS watch with ML?

Recommended the leather to pickles. But since your doc recommend avoiding synthetic materials, that rules out the stock rubber, and perhaps leather as well since tanning involves chemicals. Did your derm to testing to determine what exactly causes your allergic reaction? My son has many allergies, and his doc did a great job helping us know what to avoid via tests.

Nylon is also a synthetic material that can cause and also absorb sweat.

So your only options seem to be metal bracelets. You already know the trade off to that: high probability for scratches. Too bad on that: AW's are delicate. If I had to pick a metal bracelet for an AW, the AW can only pull off the Milanese, IMHO. I'd be very careful putting on and off, and especially how I put the watch down when you take it off, because of the open design (no clasp). But I'd also resign myself to the inevitable.

The ALU and SS use the same ceramic and sapphire case back, so that a toss up.

Good luck!

 

[MEJHarrison]

You speak as though you have to pick your band up front and live with your choice. Honest question, you do realize the bands can be changed, right? I currently have around 10 myself and switch it nearly every single day. Get a band (or two) for working out. Get one for when you're not working out. Get one to look nice and another for casual. You're not limited to just a single band, style or color.

Picking aluminum vs stainless steel is an important choice to get right up front. But I wouldn't worry too much over the band. Try some different bands, see what you like. I thought the band it came with was perfect. Then a few months later, I decided to try a sports loop on a whim and fell in love. I went to the Apple store and tried the Milanese and found that for me, it was the wrong choice. The sales guy was bragging about how it was designed to not pull on your arm hairs, but I got caught in three different places before even fastening it (he said I must just have super fine hair, which is true). You won't really know what YOU prefer until you try them out yourself.

Best of luck on your purchase. And if you hate something (and buy from Apple), remember that you have 14 days to return it for something you like better. Now I think I'll order a couple new bands. It's been ages and I need something new and different!

 

[mofunk]

I would go with the Apple + Watch 44mm with the Sports Loop. And then get a Sports Band on Amazon. Once you get used to wearing it then maybe try a leather strap for days you're not working as hard. If its a skin issue, you could rub the inside of the leather band down with shea butter so it doesn't irritate your skin.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...L3W4S&linkId=31d1c8cb6ab89102a294a028facc9068

https://www.amazon.com/LoveBlue-Lea...f8-20&linkId=b3855f6838d21fe3f24bc9013741d770

 

[jaybar]

I would go with the Apple + Watch 44mm with the Sports Loop. And then get a Sports Band on Amazon. Once you get used to wearing it then maybe try a leather strap for days you're not working as hard. If its a skin issue, you could rub the inside of the leather band down with shea butter so it doesn't irritate your skin.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...L3W4S&linkId=31d1c8cb6ab89102a294a028facc9068

https://www.amazon.com/LoveBlue-Lea...f8-20&linkId=b3855f6838d21fe3f24bc9013741d770

Are you suggesting Stainless Steel or Aluminum Watch?

 

[mofunk]

I was suggesting the Apple Watch Nike + Series 4 which only comes in Aluminum. The Stainless Steel versions remind me of the first years of the iPhone and iPod Touch which had a Stainless Steel backs that was a scratch magnet. They are nice but the Aluminum looks just as good.

Stainless steel only comes in the Cellular models. If you plan on leaving your iPhone at home and need to be connected, then maybe. I noticed that the Series 4 has wifi connectivity and you can still be connected to wifi provided you have the password. The wifi feature is nice to have. Lets say I run into Starbucks and leave my iPhone in the car. I can still access the Starbucks app via wifi.

 

[Mike Boreham]

I have moderately big hands (glove size L, not XL) and I couldn't get my hand through the Milanese loop to put it on.

Don't know if there are different sized Milanese Loops, and if so whether the one I tried in the shop was large or small. It was an Apple one not a knockoff.

 

[tarsins]

I could just squeeze my hand through the original Milanese loop. The new 44mm Milanese loops open completely like the leather and sports loops do.

 

[douglasf13]

I disagree. Apple's fluoroelastomer Sport Band is great, but in my experience the Sport Loop is better for workouts. Unlike the Sport Band, the Sport Loop can be fit snugly to your wrist, which optimizes data collection from the sensors under the watch.

That's interesting. I wear my sport bands quite snug without issue, and I'd much rather have a rubbery material that quickly dries and is easily washable.

To the OP, my wrist is the same size, and I prefer 40mm, but either size will work.

In terms of scratches, whether it be Apple or Rolex, stainless steel watches are durable, but they're supposed to scratch. It develops a nice "patina."

This scratched up little Rolex still sold for $17.8 million.

 

[MHenr]

Thanks to everyone so far.

It looks like the SS version would be best for me as I am hard on watches.

I’m still undecided about band types. However, given my issues, I think the loop type would be best for me.

I go on the stationary bike three times a week for 20 minutes at a low resistance. I hardly ever get sweaty from a workout, but I do sweat easily in the NYC summer heat, when walking in the street.

Given that, I sweat easily in the summer, which of the loop type bands would be easiest to maintain?

Thanks

Your seem like me
I do a little exercise a couple a days a week without sweating much, though in summer I sweat easily especially under things like watchbands.

I switched from the silicon to the velcro band last year on my series 1 and went for a velcro band immediately on my new series 4.

I find it a lot more comfortable, easier to adapt, less prone to sweating and it looks nicer.
I'd never go back to the silicone band.