You may recall that back in April we covered an Indiegogo campaign that offered beautiful wooden bands for Apple Watch, Android Wear, and Pebble wearables. Ottm, the company that manufactures the bands, has been kind enough to send us two of the bands for the Apple Watch, and we wanted to share our experiences with you.
Overview
The Ottm bands for Apple Watch are made out of three different types of wood. The firm offers bands made from Canadian Maple, Gabonese Zebrawood, and Indonesian Sandalwood. We received one 42mm band made from Sandalwood, and a 38mm band made of Zebrawood. The bands are all compatible with the original Apple Watch, as well as the new Series 1 and Series 2 models.
The Ottm website describes the process of making the bands:
“Treated with tung oil three times and hand sanded, each band is smooth to touch. The grain of your band makes it completely unique.”
The bands are certainly beautiful, and unique looking. My wife and I both get compliments on the the band whenever we go out in public. The bands fit the Watch well, and definitely add to the looks of the Watch. (My Sandalwood model band perfectly compliments the gold color of my Apple Watch Sport. My wife received the Zebrawood, which sets off her rose gold Sport model Watch perfectly.)
The packaging of the Ottm bands is quite low key and spartan. The natural brown box is completely recyclable, and Ottm includes a note with each band encouraging their customers to do just that. (The company uses recyclable materials for their packaging, and also plants a tree for every band they make. Nice going Ottm.)
The Ottm bands include removable links to resize the band, to better fit each user’s wrist. The company includes two extra links, as well as a tool that makes it easy to remove or add a link for sizing. My experiences with bands of this type in the past always left me frustrated, but the Ottm method of resizing was simple, and was accomplished in just a few minutes. The company even includes a link to a video to show how to resize the band. Nice.
I am currently in the process of losing weight, and had to resize the band once to account for a shrinking wrist. That is when I ran into one issue users should be aware of. After removing a link, the band was slightly tight, not uncomfortably so, but tight enough that if I flexed my wrist a certain way, the band’s fastener would trigger, and the band would come loose. No worries about it falling off, as the fastener doesn’t completely open the band, instead merely expanding it so it slides off easily at the end of the day.
However, this was a bit irritating, as it happened multiple times during the day. I eventually replaced the link I removed, which means the band is now a slightly loose, but not irritatingly so. Such is the nature of bands of this type. Your mileage may vary. (My wife’s band fit perfectly after resizing, and she has experienced no issues with the band unsnapping.)
Durability doesn’t seem to be an issue with the Ottm bands. While I expected to see some scratching of the finish I saw no scratches or scuffing during the three weeks I have worn the bands. My wife, who owns her own cleaning business, wears the Ottm on a daily basis, and also hasn’t experienced any scratching or discoloration, despite her more extreme working conditions.
Verdict
The Ottm lineup of bands for the Apple Watch is a great option for any Apple Watch owner who’d like to add a bit of style and elegance to their wearable. The beautiful polished wood is a perfect accent to any model Apple Watch. The pricing of the bands is quite reasonable, and would allow users on a budget to still own multiple bands.
I highly recommend the Ottm band lineup to any Apple Watch, Android Wear, or Pebble owner looking for a unique look for their timepiece. While I only tried the Apple Watch version, the other bands look to be just as beautiful and durable.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Price: $29 to $49 at the Ottm website. The bands are also available on Amazon, with similar pricing and free two-day delivery for Prime members.
Pros:
- Great look!
- Beautiful wood really accents the Apple Watch
- Easy to resize
- They plant a tree for each band they make
Cons:
- The fit could be less than optimal, depending on your wrist size
- Mine kept unsnapping. My spouse had no such issues.
Disclaimer: I received the Ottm Bands for Apple Watch at no cost for performing the review. I have not received any other compensation for the review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Photos are a mix of Ottm-supplied photos, and my own.
