Stainless Steel - Space Black or?

[circatee]

If you have an Apple Watch Stainless Steel, is there a big difference between the Space Black and just the Stainless Steel?

Is it merely down to possible scratches? Thanks

 

[IphoneIssues]

Scratches on the Stainless Steel can be polished out. The Space Black is harder to scratch, but if it does get scratched, it will stay that way.

I have a Space Black Stainless Steel.

 

[exxxviii]

The three major differences are weight, SS body appearance (shiny vs matte), and screen scratch resistance (sapphire vs. glass).

For me, I noticed the difference in weight and preferred the sport version. Also, I wanted the black finish, and that was not available in the SS (other than the $1,100 link SKU) when I got mine. If I had to do it again today, I would probably buy the sport again.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The three major differences are weight, SS body appearance (shiny vs matte), and screen scratch resistance (sapphire vs. glass).

For me, I noticed the difference in weight and preferred the sport version. Also, I wanted the black finish, and that was not available in the SS (other than the $1,100 link SKU) when I got mine. If I had to do it again today, I would probably buy the sport again.

OP is asking about Space Black SS vs. SS, not SS vs. Sport.

 

[exxxviii]

OP is asking about Space Black SS vs. SS, not SS vs. Sport.

Great catch; I overlooked that. Glad you set the thread back on track.

 

[the future]

Also, there are way more bands that match the regular SS vs. the Space Black. I think both look really sharp but chose the regular SS for its versatility wrt bands.

 

[Doth]

Also, there are way more bands that match the regular SS vs. the Space Black. I think both look really sharp but chose the regular SS for its versatility wrt bands.

This is the only reason I picked the SS rather than the SB SS!

 

[Newtons Apple]

I picked the SB simply on it looks. Have a stainless but seldom wear it anymore.

 

[hallidc]

BSS I feel goes with most of the bands. The watch body looks great blacked out. Although the regular SS looks just as good.

 

[circatee]

I managed to find a SS SB on sale with a sport band...

 

[Vanilla35]

I managed to find a SS SB on sale with a sport band...

Let me know if you ever go running with it, or to the gym. I'm curious as to how the weight, feel, and look of it impact your experience. The weight of the SS/SB is almost double the weight of the Sport version, and so I'm interested in your feedback.

 

[BSG75]

Let me know if you ever go running with it, or to the gym. I'm curious as to how the weight, feel, and look of it impact your experience. The weight of the SS/SB is almost double the weight of the Sport version, and so I'm interested in your feedback.

I've got the SB SS with the link bracelet and while it's heavy, you get used to the weight. I use my AW as my primary fitness tracker (walking, jogging) and the weight really doesn't bother me. When I have swapped out the link bracelet for either the sport band or the nylon band, I notice the weight difference but only for a few minutes.

 

[Vanilla35]

I've got the SB SS with the link bracelet and while it's heavy, you get used to the weight. I use my AW as my primary fitness tracker (walking, jogging) and the weight really doesn't bother me. When I have swapped out the link bracelet for either the sport band or the nylon band, I notice the weight difference but only for a few minutes.

Thanks for the response! My plan would be to use it with a sport band at least for working out. So you said during jogs there isn't a whole lot of weight felt on the wrist?

 

[BSG75]

Thanks for the response! My plan would be to use it with a sport band at least for working out. So you said during jogs there isn't a whole lot of weight felt on the wrist?

Actually, it's not that bad. If I know I'm going to get really sweaty I put on the sport band. A good, "breathable" option is the Milanese Loop. The Apple SB version is expensive but there are plenty of third-party options out there for a lot less.

 

[JDnLex]

Let me know if you ever go running with it, or to the gym. I'm curious as to how the weight, feel, and look of it impact your experience. The weight of the SS/SB is almost double the weight of the Sport version, and so I'm interested in your feedback.

I had a space gray sport 42mm (before a tropical storm took it away) for 6 months that I replaced with a space black SS 42mm during a Best Buy sale. I definitely noticed the difference in weight when running, actually more than I expected.

It's by no means unbearable, but it does make me wonder if I would have been happier with another sport. I do like the improved screen durability. I managed to scratch my sport screen within 3 months, because I'm a klutz.

 

[wx4olf]

Thanks for the response! My plan would be to use it with a sport band at least for working out. So you said during jogs there isn't a whole lot of weight felt on the wrist?

I've got a 38mm SB SS with the sport band. I run with it all the time and I don't even notice it's there from a weight perspective.

 

[BarracksSi]

Thanks for the response! My plan would be to use it with a sport band at least for working out. So you said during jogs there isn't a whole lot of weight felt on the wrist?

My 42mm SS is lighter than my Garmin Forerunner 410. The aluminum model would be even better, but I think the steel model is just fine.

 

[Vanilla35]

Actually, it's not that bad. If I know I'm going to get really sweaty I put on the sport band. A good, "breathable" option is the Milanese Loop. The Apple SB version is expensive but there are plenty of third-party options out there for a lot less.

I had a space gray sport 42mm (before a tropical storm took it away) for 6 months that I replaced with a space black SS 42mm during a Best Buy sale. I definitely noticed the difference in weight when running, actually more than I expected.

It's by no means unbearable, but it does make me wonder if I would have been happier with another sport. I do like the improved screen durability. I managed to scratch my sport screen within 3 months, because I'm a klutz.

I've got a 38mm SB SS with the sport band. I run with it all the time and I don't even notice it's there from a weight perspective.

My 42mm SS is lighter than my Garmin Forerunner 410. The aluminum model would be even better, but I think the steel model is just fine.

Thanks for the replies guys! I'll be using it mostly during gym use and shorter-long runs (like 2-7 miles). I'm pretty mindful of things when I use bars so I'll probably just take it off for those exercises. Good to know that it's definitely noticeable when compared to the sport model; with the weight being double (aluminum is very very light) I'm not surprised, but I'm also glad to hear that it's not bad for normal length runs.

If I cared more about my runs nowadays I may consider the sport due to weight reduction - but for now, the Space Black just looks tooo good
[doublepost=1471025841][/doublepost]Further question: anyone have any comment on screen durability for everyday use? I'd assume the sapphire screen is more durable against nicks such as those from keys, grains of sand in pants pockets, scrapes against furniture etc. Is the Sapphire more or less visible than the Sport model's glass in direct sunlight? Aside from that, I think the sport has higher impact resistance, but one would assume that's not very important due to how rare you'd hit your watch straight on.

 

[exxxviii]

Let me know if you ever go running with it, or to the gym. I'm curious as to how the weight, feel, and look of it impact your experience. The weight of the SS/SB is almost double the weight of the Sport version, and so I'm interested in your feedback.

It depends a lot on how sensitive you are to weight while running. The Apple Watch is pretty heavy for a fitness device, but it is not crazy heavy. I bought the sport, because I noticed how much lighter it felt than the SS. My mac daddy Garmin 735XT weighs half of what the AW sport weighs and about 40% of what a SS weighs (with a sport band). Heck, even the piggish 410 that another person referenced weighs 15g less than the AW sport and 25g less than the SS.

I have run hundreds of miles with my AW sport, and it is OK. But, I prefer the lighter GPS fitness watches out there for running. Perception of the weight is all user-dependent, though.

Regarding your other questions about screen durability, this is also highly user-dependent. I have worn watches every day for decades. I have never done any kind of material damage to a screen whatever the screen material. I have had my AW Sport for more than a year, and it is flawless. Similarly, I have had dozens of cell phones without screen protectors, and I think I may have only minorly scratched one screen, and that was a plastic screen. So from my point of view, claims about screen damage resistance are more theoretical than practical, unless you are rough on a watch screen.

 

[BarracksSi]

... Heck, even the piggish 410 that another person referenced weighs 15g less than the AW sport and 25g less than the SS.

I have run hundreds of miles with my AW sport, and it is OK. But, I prefer the lighter GPS fitness watches out there for running. Perception of the weight is all user-dependent, though.

My 410 is lighter than my SS AW? I believe you (I hadn't looked up the numbers, TBH), and you're right about the perception, too. The 410 feels heavier because, I suppose, it's bigger and doesn't sit as closely to the wrist.

Also, the 410's back isn't as smoothly contoured as the AW's, so it just doesn't feel as nice on the wrist (the optional velcro strap helps, but it soaks up sweat like a sponge and needs to get washed when I'm done -- and because it's a pain to swap out, I've left it on the velcro strap for the past three years).

Neither the AW or 410 are as heavy as my Seiko SKX009 mechanical dive watch. That thing's a dense little hunk of steel. ;p

 

[rdavis41]

If you have an Apple Watch Stainless Steel, is there a big difference between the Space Black and just the Stainless Steel?

Is it merely down to possible scratches? Thanks

Another factor I'd point out is that the regular Stainless Steel watch gives off a fairly substantial sun glare IMO, as the Space Black does not. I switched from the regular to the Space Black because of this. I've had Stainless Steel watches before and this was the worst in regards to Sun Glare while driving that I've ever had.

 

[Vanilla35]

It depends a lot on how sensitive you are to weight while running. The Apple Watch is pretty heavy for a fitness device, but it is not crazy heavy. I bought the sport, because I noticed how much lighter it felt than the SS. My mac daddy Garmin 735XT weighs half of what the AW sport weighs and about 40% of what a SS weighs (with a sport band). Heck, even the piggish 410 that another person referenced weighs 15g less than the AW sport and 25g less than the SS.

I have run hundreds of miles with my AW sport, and it is OK. But, I prefer the lighter GPS fitness watches out there for running. Perception of the weight is all user-dependent, though.

Regarding your other questions about screen durability, this is also highly user-dependent. I have worn watches every day for decades. I have never done any kind of material damage to a screen whatever the screen material. I have had my AW Sport for more than a year, and it is flawless. Similarly, I have had dozens of cell phones without screen protectors, and I think I may have only minorly scratched one screen, and that was a plastic screen. So from my point of view, claims about screen damage resistance are more theoretical than practical, unless you are rough on a watch screen.

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah it will definitely depend on how much I notice it. Looking at the Garmin 735XT, their website says it weighs about 40G, which puts it about 10G less than the SS apple watch, but 15G heavier than the Sport apple watch, so not sure if I was looking at that wrong, or if you got your numbers wrong. The numbers I got were 25G for the 42mm Sport apple watch, and 50G for the 42mm SS apple watch; this was just for the case though, I'm not sure how much a sport band would add to that weight. https://support.apple.com/kb/SP735?locale=en_US

I don't think I'll be hampered by the SS/SB weight, but I'll certainly try them out at the store and swing my arms around just to find out real life circumstances.

I agree about screen durability, I also don't scratch anything so that's not a concern. What bothers me is the sapphire display's visibility when compared to the sport model, but those are the sacrifices you have to make for sexy SB

 

[exxxviii]

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah it will definitely depend on how much I notice it. Looking at the Garmin 735XT, their website says it weighs about 40G, which puts it about 10G less than the SS apple watch, but 15G heavier than the Sport apple watch, so not sure if I was looking at that wrong, or if you got your numbers wrong. The numbers I got were 25G for the 42mm Sport apple watch, and 50G for the 42mm SS apple watch; this was just for the case though, I'm not sure how much a sport band would add to that weight.

The weights of the AW you are looking at are without the bands; the sport bands are heavy. The total weight of 735XT with band is 40g. I was looking at this site for total AW weights. http://robservatory.com/the-all-in-one-apple-watch-spreadsheet/#prettyPhoto

I just weighed my 42mm sport on a postal scale, and it is 58g with the black OE band. My OE blue band by itself is 30g. So, that sheet is probably off. Regardless, the AW sport in its lightest form is still heavier than a sport watch.

I have a number of OE bands and clone bands. The silicone clone bands are lighter than the Apple bands and more comfortable for workouts from a weight point of view.

Also, back to the weight perception comment from above. The perception of weight is affected by how the weight is positioned on your wrist and how susceptible it is to moving with you.

 

[Vanilla35]

The weights of the AW you are looking at are without the bands; the sport bands are heavy. The total weight of 735XT with band is 40g. I was looking at this site for total AW weights. http://robservatory.com/the-all-in-one-apple-watch-spreadsheet/#prettyPhoto

I just weighed my 42mm sport on a postal scale, and it is 58g with the black OE band. My OE blue band by itself is 30g. So, that sheet is probably off. Regardless, the AW sport in its lightest form is still heavier than a sport watch.

I have a number of OE bands and clone bands. The silicone clone bands are lighter than the Apple bands and more comfortable for workouts from a weight point of view.

Also, back to the weight perception comment from above. The perception of weight is affected by how the weight is positioned on your wrist and how susceptible it is to moving with you.

Oh wow, yeah I didn't consider the sport bands to weigh that much, but here we are. That spreadsheet seems a little off, considering the same exact watch, size, and bands have weight differences of over 10g just from color change lol. Aside from that though, it helps. I would have assumed leather to be much heavier than the sport ones - but it seems like the leather ones are actually lighter in most circumstances, probably due to potentially smaller footprint; depending on design.

Right, closer to wrist contributes it to feeling more proportional than if it's loose and contributes to more off center weight - I'd think.