After getting a smartwatch, perhaps you might be looking to accessorise it. Swapping out its watch band with an aftermarket one seems like the easiest thing to do. You just need to find a stylish band to go with your smart gear. This is what this new Indiegogo campaign wants to do, offering a range of pretty band designs for Pebble, Android and Apple smartwatches.
Vario already had a successful Indiegogo campaign earlier this year with their Nato watch bands. They are similar to the new campaign. The chief difference is that the new campaign offers 2-piece Nato watch bands with quick release pins.
The new 2-piece variant works and looks like standard watch bands. The challenge with the earlier 1-piece band is that it runs under the watch case itself, which obstructs the function of smartwatches with heart rate sensors, or simply causes the smartwatch to feel different.
Vario offered me two of the new 2-piece watch bands for this review. There are ten different designs, all stylish and casual. I chose the Ocean Chevron and Mono Plaid designs, pictured in the photo above.
The band is made from Dacron, a high grade polyester. It’s machine washable, so no worries about it getting wet. I personally have an aversion for leather bands because they tend to crack after some use. The buckle is made of polished silver. The quality seems to be pretty good, and the bands are comfortable to wear.
The bands are available in 18 mm, 20 mm and 22 mm width. The length is 89 mm on the side with the buckle, and 130 mm on the other side. There are 10 pre-punched holes, and for my wrist size, I’m using the 4th counting from the smallest.
In the above photos, I have the 22 mm band attached to a Pebble Time smartwatch.
The Vario watch bands are designed by Singaporean Ivan Chua. I’d love to support the few and far between Singapore crowdfunded projects, but it won’t be just for that reason for these Vario watch bands. I think they’re really good.
Get the 2-piece Nato bands from the Indiegogo campaign starting from US$22. Shipping is estimated in September, so it’s not a long wait at all.