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Apple Braided Solo Loop Band does Stretch 1 Year use with pictures!
- Thread starter earthdog
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Happy to know apple will replace stretched bands purchased less than a year ago.
Thanks for sharing it.
Might depend on the store. I had a hard time convincing them to replace a regular solo loop that broke within a year.
Of note, if you purchase your braided loop IN an apple store, apple support cannot help you. You have to deal with the Apple store specifically. This is especially problematic when you purchase from an apple store on the opposite side of the country, I was travelling and do not have a local apple store. Ugh.
Yes, I just got two replaced at no charge, purchased last December.
Does anyone know when the asterisk warning of the risk of stretching was removed? I am so confused as I am contemplating three different sizes and don’t know how date of introduction correlates to sizing and shrinkage. (ode to Seinfeld, I know) 🤪
If the loop is for ultra or the SS version, get a size that provides snuggest fit. The loop would slightly stretch and adjust to your wrist with in a week. Initial few days you would feel the band slightly squeeze the wrist more so at night to the point that you would want to up a size . But just hang in there for few days and the Snugness would vanish.
after using the midnight braided loop after 6 i can safely say that this is **** if you plan to use this on the ultra. i was super careful with the band and made sure i dont stretch it when taking off my wrist during the charges. but still the band stretched like hell. the size has gone from 4 to wopping 5.25.
so long story short, dont use baided loops and solo loops on the ultra.
so long story short, dont use baided loops and solo loops on the ultra.
There is a way to put on the Solo Loops without ever pulling them over your hand/knuckles. Just attach the top part, gently clamp the watch between your wrist and e.g. your thigh, slide in bottom part. To get the band off, flip the watch over so the sensor side is on top, click the connector button and gently slide the band out. All very easy and will prevent any stretching out or snapping. None of my Solos, regular or braided, are stretched out at all, and I have been buying these from day 1 as I just love the level of comfort they provide.
i used the braided loop for about 2 years with AW series 5 Aluminum without any issues. guess its due to how lite the aluminum variant is. was quite happy with it. but with the ultra, the fit was nice initially but started to stretch due to the weigth of the watch. apple did send me a replacement for the baided loop but i sold both,
couldnt be arsed really.
Not in my experience. I can only see this happening if the Solo is too lose to begin with and the Ultra keeps shifting on the wrist. But even then I‘m sure 99% of the stretching happens when putting the Watch on/off in the „conventional“ way.
Also, did you know the braiding itself changed? Newer Braided Solos have a tighter weave and probably stretch out less.
i have lots of OCD and i tend to be overly cautious when removing the watch to the point that my wife calls it a ritual. i make sure i dont pull the band more than required. i was doing the same thing when i had the inverness braided loop on AW aluminum. and this time around i had the midnight (2022 variant) on the ultra. to be honest the newer variants have a bit of shine and fray less than their previous counterparts. and atleast in my experience they both are same interms of durability. the braided loop i had on the ultra was size 4 and it was very snug fit initially. and i used to feel the squeeze overnights when the hands swell. the braiding did not change. it was still intact when i sold the band.my band was graded as grade A refurbished. so the band did not deform what so ever. it just stretched.
Fair enough. If that was your experience, I certainly can‘t deny it.
FWIW, when the Solos were first released it immediately felt wrong and „brute force“-like to me to stretch these bands over the hand/knuckles, which is why I looked for the different approach I described above. And from the wearing alone (first on the regular Steel Watch, now on the Ultra), none of them stretched, not one bit. OTOH, I have many (many) bands so none of them gets worn all that often. I can imagine that the Solo band experience might well be different if one wears the same strap very often or even every day.
could you please make a youtube video on this way of wearing the band. i am sure there are quite a few people like me who love braided /solo loops but shy away from them due to fear of stretching when worn traditionally.
tell me something, wont the band stretch when you flip the watch over to access the belly. and also wont the strap release buttons go loose eventually. they are spring loaded so i am slightly worried about that.
Very slightly so. No comparison to pulling the Watch over the hand.
I change the strap every day, sometimes even twice a day. Never had a problem with the connector; that design is rock solid.