NOMAD Rocky Point Strap – how it stacks up against other Apple Watch bands.
NOMAD makes premium quality Apple Accessories – often as good or better than Apple’s own-branded gear.
The company’s latest product is the Rocky Point Strap, a new sports strap for Apple Watch. Let’s see how it stacks up.
What is the Rocky Point Strap?
This is the Autumn 2024 sports strap for Apple Watch by NOMAD Goods.
It’s only stocked and specified in 46mm/49mm sizes, thus compatible with the larger Apple Watch variants, including SE and Watch ULTRA. Specifically, NOMAD says they have designed it for the kinds of uses you would expect your Watch ULTRA to live up to.
It’s about 23mm wide and designed for wrist sizes ranging from 175mm to 225mm (pin side: 100mm, adjustment side: 125mm). There are two loops, one fixed loop (titanium) and one free loop (FKM). The underside is grooved, which NOMAD says aids breathability.
The rubber material is fairly thick and chunky, made from what the company calls FKM fluoroelastomer rubber. This is a strong and moderately flexible material with specific properties for heat resistance and resistance to chemicals. It’s great for swimming and scrambling through undergrowth.
The metals are all Grade 5 titanium, and that’s probably why the list price comes out at $80. Some nice details include the hole in the buckle tongue and a non-simple buckle design.
How Is This different From Other NOMAD Bands?
This is fairly similar in design and construction to the NOMAD RUGGED strap – immediately to the right of the rocky Point in the top picture. The rubber is moulded differently with fewer, deeper grooves. Overall, the new Rocky Point has more titanium content, and the titanium parts have a slightly more pleasing visual design.
Pros and Cons of the design
For me, Rocky Point is a durable and hygienic design.
I prefer the aesthetics and intricacies of the material strap designs, but they are a bit scummy and less easily kept clean. I return to rubber straps for those reasons, as I probably average at least 2 hours of sport daily.
This kind of strap, however, is not as good as a 24×7 strap. Like me, you might want to save it for particularly challenging conditions or when you want to give someone the impression you’re probably a bit more rugged than you are ;-). I find this strap a bit too bulky and inflexible for sleeping.
So you’re left with the quandary that this is a great daytime strap but less so at night.
Designs I tend to Opt for
As I said, Rocky Point is a great design for a weekend adventure in the wilderness, sea swim or chlorinated pool swim.
NOMAD’s ACTIVE Band Pro has a leather outer and rubber inner, making it a classy look suitable for sport.
The Apple LOOP looks the coolest, IMHO, but the clasp mechanism is a bit fiddly, and the loops stretch over time. It also gets dirty.
Apple’s OCEAN is one of my favourites. Its holes allow it a degree of stretchiness, and the design is relatively unusual. It’s also easy to keep clean. A downside here is that I got a cheap knock-off one from eBay, and while it looks almost identical to the Apple-branded one, the clasp and securing mechanism are not good. After a while, you WILL lose your watch when you least expect it – an expensive mistake.
I’ve also shown the Tasikar sports strap, which, at GBP17, is a bargain. It looks Ok but is a bit rough around the edges of the low-grade metal.
Buy NOMAD Goods – Rocky Point Strap
It comes nicely boxed and is very suitable as a present—a choice of strap colours and metal finishes.
Check the Latest Price and details at NOMAD: Rocky Point Strap.
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