I try not to buy Pride gear unless I know a company directly supports LGBTQ+ organizations from the purchase. However, I made an exception for Apple this year. I just really liked the look of their new Pride Braided Solo Loop Apple Watch band. Furthermore, Apple does actually do regular contributions to LGBTQ+ groups. They’re not perfect, but Apple’s doing some good for the LGBTQ+ community year-round. Which, honestly, that’s our goal. Get companies to espouse these values outside of the month of June, with more than a sale and some nice words for a marginalized group.
“Apple is proud to support LGBTQ advocacy organizations working to bring about positive change, including Encircle, Equality North Carolina, Gender Spectrum, GLSEN, the Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG National, the National Center for Transgender Equality, SMYAL, and The Trevor Project in the U.S., and ILGA World internationally.”
– From the Apple Store listing for this band
With that in mind, I decided to get another Pride band this year. This review also works for the Braided Solo Loop. The Pride band Apple released is the same as the other Braided Solo Loop bands. So even if Pride isn’t right for you, you can still figure out if an Apple Braided Solo Loop band is right for your Apple Watch.
In This Article:
Appearance 9/10
This is going to vary a bit. After all, I went with a special edition that is wildly colorful. For Pride designs, I like it because I could actually see myself wearing this any day of the week, unlike most Pride-related designs. I usually only go over the top with the rainbows during, well, Pride. I usually like a more subtle look, like the Nike Sports Band Pride edition. This Pride band similarly mixes things up a bit. Sure, it’s all the colors of the Pride rainbow, but because they’re all mixed up and intertwined, someone may just think it’s a colorful watch band. But I’ll know, and that’s why I like it.
As for the structural appearance itself, the woven fibers give it an interesting, 3D appearance. Even the monochrome Braided Solo Loop bands look just a little bit more interesting than flatter, plainer bands. This is a good looking watch band. However, it is fabric, and carries the look of fabric, at least on the lighter colors. As such, it’s not going to carry the same air of class as a metal or wooden Apple Watch band. But it still looks nice for everyday wear.
This is one of the few Apple Watch bands that someone has pointed out that they liked it. Usually I don’t get too many compliments on my Apple Watch bands, so it was nice seeing this one get some attention.
Dirt and Cleaning
Before (top two) and after (bottom) giving the Braided Solo Loop a quick scrub
This is a fabric watch band, and therefore picks up dirt. That’s the only reason I took a point off the appearance. Fortunately, this is a fabric watch band. We sort of already have a solution for dirty fabric: washing. The problem is, like clothing, this doesn’t dry quickly. Also, this has metal attachments, it’s not as though you can just throw it in the washer. I found that using cold water mixed in a bowl with a small amount of color safe laundry detergent is key. Get that on the band, then rub it with your fingers until it’s clean. Rinse it extremely well, then place it by a fan to dry. This watch band takes forever to dry, so you’ll need the fan if you don’t want to wait a day.
Washing it is an annoyance, but it does clean up nicely.
Comfort 9/10
I had already tried Apple’s silicone Solo Loop. It was… okay. Not great for exercise, got uncomfortable over time, trapped sweat, and generally was mostly “meh.” An okay band that I don’t highly recommend. However, Apple’s Braided Solo Loop is different. They use a combination of yarn and stretchy silicone to make a textured band. This allows plenty of channels for airflow, and is far more comfortable. Despite being the same concept: a stretchy band that holds your Apple Watch tightly to your skin, it actually feels completely different. This is comfortable, breathable, and easy to forget. In fact, I often do!
It’s worth noting that if you get this band wet while washing dishes, your hands, or any other activity, it’s going to stay wet. The band is sweat and water resistant, you don’t have to worry about ruining it if it gets wet, but it does trap moisture. If you get it wet, you’ll want to take it off for a few minutes to let it dry, otherwise it can be uncomfortable.
I described the Solo Loop as being like the sweatpants of Apple Watch bands. It was a bit plain, boring, simple. This completes the sweatpants metaphor in a much better way. Maybe I’d call it more like yoga pants, as I’ve gotten way more into them during the pandemic. It’s comfortable and looks great. This is actually a band I can wear all day and forget. Pull it off the charger, slip it on, and you’ve got your Apple Watch all day.
Quality 10/10
This is a high quality watch band. It’s intrinsically woven fabric, all of different colors, with two perfectly fitting metal Apple Watch lugs on either end. It’s colorful, it’s beautiful, and even from a detailed examination, it’s quality. Apple certainly didn’t skimp on quality here, it’s put together nicely and consistent.
Durability 8/10
Besides the fact that you will have to wash Apple’s Braided Solo Loop band on occasion, it’s actually surprisingly durable. I was attacked by wild beasts over one weekend recently, and it held up well. Those wild beasts were two very curious puppies who could not be convinced that my Apple Watch was not a toy, and a baby, who could use the same convincing, but we’ll let it slide.
Surprisingly, puppies getting their teeth into it and a baby trying to pull it off my wrist didn’t damage it. Not even a little. Could these things damage it? Of course. It’s fabric, after all. But it’s a bit stronger than normal yarn or fabric, thanks to the interwoven silicone making it both stretchy and strong. This wasn’t as fragile as I expected.
Fitness and Sleep 9/10
After seeing how long this takes to dry, I thought any exercise with this would be a pain. After all, the silicon Solo Loop becomes uncomfortable when you work out. It traps sweat and becomes abrasive. However, the Braided Solo Loop is surprisingly breathable. Yes, it did get my sweat on it, but it didn’t soak up much of it. The watch band dried quickly, and wasn’t irritating. While I don’t think it would be perfect for exercise, it’s surprisingly not bad at all.
As for sleep, this is the perfect band for it. The soft fabric won’t catch on anything, like pulling your hair in the middle of the night (or the middle of a nap, as one of my bands did). Instead, it’s just comfortable, smooth, and safe to wear to bed. Honestly, it might be the perfect PJs band.
Value 6/10
This is a rather simple fabric watch band. Yes, it’s cool that it’s made out of woven recycled polyester yarn and silicone, that’s very cool. But $99 is a bit steep for a watch band that you can’t wear to an elegant affair. It took me a while to actually buy this band, despite wanting one. It’s $100 for a fabric band. $100 for some yarn! I can find high quality fabric bands for less than half the price of this. Still, this is a nice band, so it’s not a complete rip-off. You are paying for something of a high quality. Just expect a large Apple Tax. I think this would be a better deal in the $50-$60 price range. But $100 is a little ridiculous.
Overall 9/10
This is actually a fantastic watch band. I thought the woven mix of silicone and recycled yarn would be a gimmick. Just a cute little thing to wear during Pride. As it turns out, it would become one of my favorite watch bands. It’s comfortable, looks great, I can wear it all the time, and, while it doesn’t look exceptionally formal in this color scheme, no one’s going to comment on that for fear of appearing homophobic!
Messing with the straights aside, it likely wouldn’t work well in a formal setting. However, one of the more solid color choices, like the “charcoal” Braided Solo Loop or perhaps the red one with a black or red Apple Watch would work. The solid color choices do appear to have a greater air of “class” to them. A black tie, black dress, and black watch band affair.
This band is comfortable, looks great, is easy to clean—even if it takes a while to dry—and is more durable than I expected. I’m thoroughly impressed. The watch band may be a bit expensive at $99, but it’s going to become one of your favorites for that price.