Scuba Blue Woven Nylon Band for Apple Watch — First Impressions

I ordered my Woven Nylon band soon after Apple’s March keynote. I spent a long time trying to decide which colour I should get, especially since I was just going to get one. Since I already have black, orange, and red Sport Bands, I wanted something in a different shade, and colourful — after all, summer’s around the corner.

I chose Scuba Blue after spending at least two hours thinking about which one to get — Apple made this easier thanks to their online gallery/configurator. The problem was that I was drifting towards the black one due to the fact that its buckle is black (or rather it looks more like Space Grey), which would better fit my Space Black Apple Watch.

As you can see above, my orange Sport Band has a stainless steel bolt, while the black one that came with it is black, to match the case. The same applies to bands bought with an Apple Watch as a set — a rose gold Apple Watch Sport has a matching buckle. I wish Apple would actually offer this is an extra option, apart from just colour and size.

Whatever you may think about the Apple Watch as a platform, Apple’s bands are a work of art. It takes just a few seconds to swap one out, and I take advantage of this every few days, choosing a colour to suit my mood usually. While all of my Sport Bands slide in smoothly, this is the first time that I’ve had to use a lot of force to slide the Woven Nylon band in. I’m sure it will loosen up soon though.

The Swiss watch industry has not made anything even remotely as easy to change over all these years — this is the main reason I never swap bands on my mechanical watches; it’s too much of a bother.

Having only worn the band for an hour or so, I don’t have yet much to say about it. I’m sure it will collect dirt more easily than the Sport Bands, but it’s extremely comfortable. The strap has only one keeper for the loose end, once everything is fastened — I would like to see two, so that I can keep one near the buckle, and one near the end of the band. I’m also curious as to how it will fare after a few showers…

I’m so satisfied with both the look and the quality of the Woven Nylon band, that I’ll probably get another. I truly hope they will fit to the Apple Watch 2, whenever that one comes out. If not, I’ll probably hold off upgrading — I already have too many straps.