Are you looking to spruce up your Apple Watch? Then you’re in luck! We’ve spent months using custom straps and can definitely tell you what the best custom Apple Watch Strap is.
For a minimalistic monogrammed look, get a Casetify band. If you want to print images, then you’ll have to get your Apple Watch strap through Zazzle. We’d personally stay away from custom bands from Case Station and SkinIt.
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| Skinit | Case Station | Zazzle | Casetify |
At Mobile Reviews Eh!, we do reviews based on actual usage. For this custom Apple watch strap, we used the watch strap side by side for many weeks before sitting down and reviewing them. We took into account how easy it is to design the watch straps in addition to the quality of the printing and band.
If you like how we do our reviews, please consider buying the products on the links scattered on this article.
SkinIt
Pros
- Customizable band
Cons
- The print fades easily
- Uncomfortable to use
Skinit band was the worst performing band in this review due to the fading. However, we’re not sure if itʼs the specific color that we used or if Skinit’s printing process is below average. To be honest, we’re leaning more towards the below average printing since the words on the band didnʼt seem as crisp as the one from Case Station.
The band by itself has a leather type of pattern though we donʼt think it actually is real leather. The inside of the band has a felt-like material that we didnʼt really care for.
After a week of usage, our yellow band became a light yellow band. Basically, any area where the strap made contact with anything was going to fade. Look at the difference in the photo below which was taken 6 weeks prior. The yellow is noticeably faded which isnʼt great. However, several of our followers on Instagram pointed out that the fading might not be a bad thing since it mimics the patina of a real leather product.
Designing the band wasnʼt bad using Skinit’s web designer. The designer wasnʼt as straightforward as Zazzleʼs but a notch better than Case Station’s. We will note that if you do get this band, make sure you leave graphics off the lug of the strap. Apparently, that area gets rubbed a lot so discoloration on the Skin-It product was very noticeable.
When it comes to comfort, weʼd have to say that Skinit, along with the Case Station is generally uncomfortable. We honestly canʼt use them for very long when we’re working on our laptop. We think itʼs the combination of the buckle and slightly more rigid material that really presses into the wrist when we’re working on our laptop. That doesnʼt happen with the Casetify bands.
Up until a few months ago, we didnʼt realize that having a free loop made with really flexible material was going to be incredibly annoying when it comes to watch usage. The free loop on the Skin-It and Case Station product are both quite flimsy and itʼs mildly irritating when trying to thread the strap into the loop.
Case Station
Pros
- Customizable band
- More colors
- Won’t fade easily
Cons
- Same band as Skinit
- Uncomfortable to use
Between the Skinit and Case Station products, thereʼs only two differences. Thatʼs because the product that Case Station and Skinit use are the same based strap. Same flimsy free loop, same annoying buckle and same felt underside.
First of all, the print quality of the Case Station product is much better than the Skinit product. The Case Station band has almost twice the usage and the colors of the band havenʼt faded much. The letters on the Case Station product are much cleaner and the wear and tear along the top of the lug isnʼt as bad. However, we will point out that the edge of the watch strap is a little worse for wear.
The second difference is the web-designer. Case Station’s designer was frustrating to use. It took many attempts to get multiple layers onto the watch and we honestly donʼt remember how we actually made our watch strap. We tried recreating it for the review video and couldn’t get the multiple layers to work.
The Case Station band is $50 dollars which are $5 dollars more than the SkinIt product. You got to pay more for better printing but you might not get the design you want? Both of those options arenʼt great.
Zazzle
Pros
- Customizable band
- Nice web designer
- Won’t fade easily
Cons
- Uncomfortable to use
- Sweating on the band might be an issue
When it comes to the custom image bands, the Zazzle product was the best but itʼs not better than the monogrammed Casetify ones.
The best thing about the Zazzle product was the web designer. It gave different views so we knew exactly what we were going to get.
Zazzle product was the last band to arrive so we were half-expecting the band to be exactly the same as the previous two companies. But it was not. In fact, it looks exactly like what one would think a plastic printed Apple watch band would look like.
We used the Zazzle band for almost 4 weeks before doing this review and unlike the other two products, you canʼt see any discoloration. The area around the lug still looks pretty good as there is no discoloration from what we can tell.
If the Zazzle band is your goto choice, check out the various discounts they have on their website here (this is an affiliate link that goes to helping us maintain this website).
The band is completely smooth and doesnʼt have the faux leather print. The band edge hasnʼt chipped yet which is the only band on this list that hasn’t.
Unfortunately, Zazzle bands buckle was just as uncomfortable as the Case Station and SkinItʼs. The smooth plastic underside isn’t great for strap sweat either.
Casetify
Pros
- Comfortable to use
- Won’t wear and tear easily
Cons
- A bit expensive than the others
- Only on monogrammed
Casetify doesn’t allow custom photo printing on the bands which is its biggest downside. They only offer monogrammed ones. If youʼre looking to print a picture of yourself to give to your parents for whatever parent day, youʼll have to go with Zazzle.
But if all youʼre looking is to add a bit of monogrammed class to your Apple watch, please donʼt bother trying to create it with the other three brands, just get one from Casetify. Casetify bands are way more comfortable because of the materials and the buckle. The material used by Casetify has more flexibility than the other products so when your wrist presses down on the watch strap, it conforms to the pressure.
Unlike the Case Station and Skinit products, the free loop is rigid so itʼs not a pain to thread the strap. Also, the buckle acts as another free-loop so the chance that the watch strap gets loose is quite low.
We’ve got a special deal with Casetify for 15% off so make sure you use our link to get the most out of your hard earned cash!
From a build quality perspective, the Casetify bands have generally held up quite well. Certain edges of certain bands have started to crack and we’re assuming that the band is going to look a little rough after a while. Our favorite band is the blue orange and white one and despite being used the most, is still in pretty good shape.
Casetify bands will run you 52 dollars so it technically is the most expensive on this list but is the only product that we’d use on a daily basis.
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