03-09-2020, 10:56 AM
So I was a little surprised that one of the most common reactions to my most recent wasp-os video wasn't so much "wow... coding for PineTime in Python is so awesome" but instead more "wow... that's a neat watch strap you got there". As I said, a little suprised but I am more than happy to roll with it!
In other words I hope others will enrich this thread with their own watch strap reviews... but here's mine.
I'm not a big fan or rubber straps. However soft they just don't breath well enough perhaps because I favour a relatively tight strap. On that basis I started casting about for a different strap.
I tried the metal strap from my old Seiko 5 at well as a simple black leather strap I had lying around. Both worked at holding the watch on but both also looked a bit weird. The metal strap, being silver just didn't work and although the black leather should have worked it just didn't do it for me so I cast the net a bit wider. Eventually I found a magnetic Milanese strap on eBay (this one if you are interested).
It's working out pretty well so far. Once on it is comfortable and (I think that) it looks pretty good. It is a bit fiddly to take on and off because the strap (being magnetic) sticks to itself but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. The black surface will also wear a little over time, especially at the point the magnet holds it. If you like that sort of thing then you'd call it a "nice patina" but there are also people who will simply see it as starting to look worn in less than a month. Personally I'm in the "nice patina" camp and am happy with the way it is wearing so far. I've been wearing it for about three weeks now. There are some very minor signs of wear but currently they are subtle and almost impossible to photograph. I expect them to start look a little more silver streaked as time goes by.
Or the TL; DR: stylish, cheap, comfortable, patina
20mm Milanese strap for Pine64 PineTime (flickr)
In other words I hope others will enrich this thread with their own watch strap reviews... but here's mine.
I'm not a big fan or rubber straps. However soft they just don't breath well enough perhaps because I favour a relatively tight strap. On that basis I started casting about for a different strap.
I tried the metal strap from my old Seiko 5 at well as a simple black leather strap I had lying around. Both worked at holding the watch on but both also looked a bit weird. The metal strap, being silver just didn't work and although the black leather should have worked it just didn't do it for me so I cast the net a bit wider. Eventually I found a magnetic Milanese strap on eBay (this one if you are interested).
It's working out pretty well so far. Once on it is comfortable and (I think that) it looks pretty good. It is a bit fiddly to take on and off because the strap (being magnetic) sticks to itself but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. The black surface will also wear a little over time, especially at the point the magnet holds it. If you like that sort of thing then you'd call it a "nice patina" but there are also people who will simply see it as starting to look worn in less than a month. Personally I'm in the "nice patina" camp and am happy with the way it is wearing so far. I've been wearing it for about three weeks now. There are some very minor signs of wear but currently they are subtle and almost impossible to photograph. I expect them to start look a little more silver streaked as time goes by.
Or the TL; DR: stylish, cheap, comfortable, patina
20mm Milanese strap for Pine64 PineTime (flickr)