Review & Giveaway: GadgetWraps Straps for Pebble Time (Round)

One of the most annoying things about customizing any of the Pebble watches is finding the perfect strap. I’ve owned different Pebble’s for a few years now and it seems like I can never find a watchband that checks all the right boxes. Usually they’re either too big or too small, they just aren’t the right color, or they lack those nifty quick-release pins that we’ve come to love with the Pebble Time and Time Round watches. Fortunately the guys over at GadgetWraps have you covered with their new line of silicone watchbands for all Pebble models. This is our review on their selection of watchbands available here on the GadgetWraps site. In case you missed it, we also recently reviewed the skins available from GadgetWraps here. It’s definitely worth checking out once you’re all done here.

The right strap is definitely hard to come by but the team at GadgetWraps decided to keep it simple with their approach to the perfect everyday watchband for your Pebble. Skipping over the traditional leather or metal options, they opted to go with something a little more versatile. The one thing I’ve really disliked about my Pebble Time Round is the leather band it came with. It doesn’t fit the best, it seems pretty flimsy and it just isn’t the most premium looking strap out there. When I was given the chance to ditch the stock strap in favor of one of these watchbands from GadgetWraps, I jumped at the opportunity.

Color Selection

The watchbands are available in eight unique colors. From the more neutral Black, Light Brown, Dark Grey and Olive Green to the bolder Blue, Red, Pure Orange and Coral Red, GadgetWraps hit most of the colors you’d probably be looking for. Although the color selection is pretty good, it feels like they skipped over a few different color options (white and yellow came to mind for me). A more subdued version of their blue, orange and red straps would have been nice to see as well. Overall the color selection is nice. Personally I found myself gravitating to the plain black silicone band just to keep things simple. Another really awesome option that they’ve included is the ability for customers to add a brushed black buckle (in case you get tired of the default brushed silver one) for just $1 with the purchase of any strap. They take customization a small step further by selling replacement silicone ‘loops’ for your band as well. Customers can combine these colors with any of the strap choices from GadgetWraps for a truly unique feel. As a Pebble Time Round user, I was a bit bummed that they didn’t offer them in the 20mm size but they are available for Pebble, Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel owners.

Quality & Feel

After rocking these straps full-time since I got them, I have to say I’ve really come to enjoy wearing them. The silicone is lightweight and flexible, and the band is a comfortable thickness as well. Although this is a softer silicone than I’ve normally seen in watchbands and phone cases, during my first few days of wearing the black strap I noticed that it picked up a lot of lint. I was worried that this was going to continue and that the straps were going to attract every bit of dust and dirt I came in contact with. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case. After a few days of normal wear, the band seemed to lose some of its stickiness. While the black band does still seem to attract a few small bits and pieces, overall it has gotten much better. I think they stick out more because of the color. I didn’t notice lint quite so much on the red or dark grey straps.

The sizing did bother me for the first day or so as well. Mostly, I just needed to get used to the new material. I wasn’t accustomed to a silicone watchband and it definitely had a different feel than my Pebble Time Round’s stock leather band. After a few days of wearing (just like the lint problem), the sizing issue seemed to go away. It seems like the intention was to get these as close as possible to the stock straps for each watch. In this respect, they nailed it. I had the same sizing inconsistencies when I first started wearing my Pebble Time Round.

Overall, the quality on these things is top notch. I didn’t have any issues that I didn’t expect with a silicone watchband. After a sort of ‘break-in period’ my concerns for the watchband seemed to go away. A few days of wearing it and I wasn’t worried about lint and it seemed to fit perfectly. Another thing to note is that there is no external branding on these bands. When you’re wearing them, the GadgetWraps branding is on the inside of the band. I thought this was a nice feature considering some companies ruin a good thing with too much branding.

Price

If you’ve done any looking on Amazon or eBay, you have certainly come across some watchband options that might work for your Pebble for just a few bucks. The problem that I always ran into was needing a tool to change out the straps or I was stuck paying a ridiculous amount for shipping. For $20 each, these straps are a bit on the pricey side for a simple silicone strap. While they aren’t the cheapest option available on the market, you have to remember that you’re paying for quality and a great warranty. If the band is defective (inside of six months) they’ll replace the strap for free. After six months, any damage to the band and they’ll replace it for 50% off. Like they’ve proven with their skins, these guys stand behind their products.

Verdict

Overall these straps do a pretty good job serving as a replacement for your Pebble watchband. The color selection is great for most (especially those looking for neutral colors) and the quality is exactly what you’d expect from GadgetWraps. I tend to like silicone straps because when I’m outside working or exercising, it’s nice not having to worry about sweat ruining my leather band. They feel great and breathe well enough when wearing them. The silicone is soft and comfortable enough to wear 24 hours a day if you use your Pebble to track sleep. Just like the skins — these definitely work for me. Head over to the GadgetWraps website and check them out!

Giveaway

Just like our last review (here in case you missed it), we have a few of these straps to give to our readers! Head over to our Facebook page and give us a like so you can stay up-to-date with the latest posts from pebblestuff. To be entered to win your own 20mm watchband from GadgetWraps for the Pebble Time Round (sorry Pebble Time & Pebble Time Steel owners — all we have are 20mm straps), leave a comment below letting us know what you think about silicone watchbands on the Pebble. In one week, we’ll go through and pick three winners randomly from the comment section. Also, check out the gallery below for some sample shots of the GadgetWraps watchbands.

Update (3.14.16): The giveaway is now closed and we have selected the three winners. Those that were chosen will be contacted via email.  A big thanks to everyone that read the article, commented below and entered the giveaway. It really means a lot to us.

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