Fit and finish are excellent and the band is very comfortable but I've only had watch and band for a week or two, so I can't attest to wear. I ordered mine from the looks of things sized larger than the one in the picture above so that may have the affect of protecting the velcro a little more. (Size M/L on a 165mm wrist, so depending on the time of day the tab comes up to about 10 to 15mm short of the seam that encloses the attachment to the strap eyelet on the watch, so that 10 to 15mm is the only exposed velcro when I'm wearing it). The stitching looks a cut above your usual fabric products, but I do think it's vulnerable to abrasion -- once again, I expect the oversizing in my case will help somewhat. For someone with a larger wrist, I think the risk of abrasion damage goes up with all that extra exposed velcro and the stitching on the end of the band rubbing against, say, a desk or a keyboard rest; I think Apple ought to consider making a true size large in this band.
For a hostile environment I'd probably favor the Ocean or Alpine straps or Nomad's sport bands over the Trail, but the Trail is definitely more comfortable than any other watch strap I've ever had -- only a Milanese-style band on my Swatch comes close (and the Apple Milanese band, with its slightly looser chainmail than on the Swatch band, looks like it would also be very comfortable; the Swatch band is just a bit rigid. But I digress)