The best Apple Watch Ultra bands of 2024: Expert tested

With past Apple Watch purchases, I always moved on to straps from other manufacturers, but Apple’s Watch Ultra 2 options are compelling. After trying two of the three available options, it is clear that the Trail Loop is the best band I keep returning to for daily use.

The Trail Loop band is lightweight and durable, and comfortable to wear, making it my pick for the best Apple Watch Ultra band overall. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is excellent for tracking your metrics 24/7, and to wear your watch all of the time, the band must be extremely comfortable. This band stands out for the thin material and flexibility to adjust to your body’s daily changes.

Unfortunately, Apple’s official Trail Loop band is only available in three basic colors, and additional bands are expensive to purchase. There are some low-cost options on Amazon, but I have yet to find one that matches the quality and comfort of Apple’s official band.

Apple Trail Loop features: Material: Nylon weave with titanium ends| Waterproof: Yes | Compatibility: Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2, 44mm/45mm/49mm | Colors: 3 | Band sizes: 130-180mm and 145-220mm wrist circumference

With 13 different colors to accompany your Apple Watch Ultra, these sport bands from Nomad are customizable and made for intense workouts as well as everyday wear. The band is 100% waterproof, so you can wear the band as you exercise in rain, sleet, or snow with no worries of damage. With a lightweight design that encourages ventilation, if your sport band gets wet, it won’t stay wet for long or cling to oil. 

Keep an eye on the Nomad website, because the company regularly offers Limited Edition models with cool colors and styles (including the one pictured above on an Apple Watch Series 9). These historically sell out quickly, so if you see a Limited Edition offering you better make your purchase quickly. The company sometimes brings back popular Limited Edition models too.

While the bands are durable and made to last, they also close on your wrist using the pin and tuck in loop closure method that can sometimes be a bit of a challenge to close securely. If you take your watch on and off throughout the day, this band may annoy you at times.

Nomad Waterproof Sport Band features: Material: Fluoroelastomer rubber | Waterproof: Yes | Compatibility: Apple Watch Ultra, Series 8, 7, 6, SE, and all previous versions of Apple Watch | Colors: 13 | Band sizes: 45mm/49mm or 40mm/41mm

With the Nike Sport Band, for $49, you’re getting an Apple-branded sports band for all sorts of terrain. Wear it while you track your progress for marathon training or while cooking and cleaning around the house. 

The band features six colors with flecks randomly strewn across. For added breathability, Apple also included compression-molded perforations (essentially small holes across the band) to keep it durable, lightweight, strong, and soft. The only issue, ZDNET editor-in-chief Jason Hiner pointed out in his testing is that the holes can collect dust and dirt, taking some time to clean. 

Nike Sport Band features: Material: Aluminum | Waterproof: Yes | Compatibility: Apple Watch models 38mm, 40mm, 41mm | Colors: 6 | Band sizes: fit S/M (130-180mm) and M/L (150-200mm)

This rugged watch strap was handmade in the UK with the purpose of maintaining comfort in challenging environments. The Zulu Alpha Apple Strap features tubular bonded polyester webbing, which withstands abrasions better than nylon does. The material also dries more quickly, so you can wear your watch with less downtime or more comfortably if it gets wet while on your wrist. Metal connectors, which you can choose in steel or black, are sewn into the straps for a perfect fit.

Also: My search for the ultimate Apple Watch Ultra strap is over

ZDNET contributor Adrian Kingsley-Hughes tested this band and said he liked the strong stitching, the tri-glide buckle that easily fastens, and the overall comfort. As he wrote in his review: “This is a strap that will no doubt outlast the Apple Watch Ultra itself.”

The strap is made to order and handmade, taking around 1.5 hours to complete and passing through three hands before it ships out. This means that these straps aren’t mass-produced or gathering dust on a shelf before they reach your door. Instead, they’re carefully crafted with high-quality materials to sustain all of your rugged adventures. 

Zulu Alpha strap features: Material: Tubular bonded polyester webbing | Thickness: 1.2mm | Width: 22mm | Waterproof: Yes | Compatibility: All Apple Watches | Colors: 14 | Band sizes: 38mm / 40mm / 41mm or 42mm / 44mm / 45mm / 49mm

I reviewed the Nomad Rugged Strap in October 2022, highlighting its high-quality, flexible FKM fluoroelastomer rubber. FKM rubber is antimicrobial and easily wiped down with soap and water. It won’t get damaged if you expose it to high temperatures, sunlight, oils, or chemicals. The buckle and lugs of the band are made of marine-grade 316 stainless steel. The material is pre-curved out of the box, so it sits perfectly on your wrist, and the band has notches that allow sweat to run free without getting trapped between your wrist and the band. 

Also: Nomad Apple Watch Ultra bands: Waterproof bands as rugged as the watch

I wore the Rugged Band while I was running, swimming, biking, and fly fishing, and at the end of all of that activity, the Nomad Rugged Strap still looks brand new. Avid swimmers will benefit from a band as waterproof as this one, and it’s comfortable for everyday wear as well. You can choose between silver or black hardware and ultra orange or black for the band color.

Nomad Rugged band features: Material: FKM fluoroelastomer rubber | Waterproof: Yes | Compatibility: Apple Watch Ultra, Series 8, 7, 6, SE, and all previous versions of Apple Watch | Colors: 3 | Band sizes: 45 mm / 49 mm or 40 mm / 41 mm

This band is not only pleasant to look at, with its wide array of color choices and substantial embedding of rhinestones, but it is also waterproof and comes with an 18-month warranty. At the time of this writing, over 28,000 customers have rated it an average of 4.5 stars. 

The secret to such high levels of satisfaction lies in the band’s sizing. To ensure a perfect fit, especially for smaller wrist sizes or in-between wrist sizes, the company includes a resizing tool with the strap, as well as an extra 1/2 link for those who fall in between. Don’t worry if you’ve never used a resizing tool before — there’s an easy-to-follow video on the product page. Some customers have even used the resizing tool to adjust the links of other watch straps.

Lelong band features: Material: Stainless steel | Waterproof: No | Compatibility: Apple Watch Ultra, SE, Series 9 and all previous Apple Watches | Colors: 10 | Band sizes: 38mm/40mm/41mm or 42mm/44mm/45mm/49mm 

As sweat-wicking and lightweight as some of our favorite workout straps are, there are times when you want to dress up your Apple Watch Ultra, and a bright orange sports strap isn’t going to cut it. For an everyday band you can wear to work and out on the town, this Casetify Genuine Leather band works perfectly. Made with authentic Italian and German leather, the straps are intentionally designed for prolonged wear. With nine band colors and four buckle colors to choose from, you can personalize your watch strap for dinner parties, work conferences, and weekend outings. 

Casetify is known for its vast assortment of phone cases and continues that approach with highly customizable watch bands. You can select the buckle color (4 options) or leather band color (9 options) as well as having two characters put on the band for an additional $7 to make it truly your own personal band.

Casetify Genuine Leather Band features: Material: Leather | Waterproof: No | Compatibility: All Apple Watch models | Colors: 9 | Band sizes:38mm/40mm/41mm or 42mm/44mm/45mm/49mm 

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the best smartwatch available today, and the silver titanium body material is durable and attractive. Titanium bands for this titanium watch, however, are expensive. Apple’s Silver Link Bracelet is $349 and others are priced over $300. Withit not only offers an affordable titanium metal band option, but also has the best link adjustment design I have ever seen on a watch that lets you remove or add links in seconds with no tools required.

Simply find the links with arrows, pull the top link directly out and away from the band, rotate the link 90 degrees, and then slide out the link adjacent to it. 

Review: One feature makes this the best Apple Watch titanium band available

The grade 2 titanium watch band material perfectly matches the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 and is lighter than the stainless steel option. The band isn’t exclusive to the Apple Watch Ultra series and works with 42mm, 44mm, and 45mm Apple Watch models. The band also has a DLC protective coating and still looks as new as the day it arrived for testing.

Withit Titanium Band features: Material:Titanium Grade 2 | Waterproof: Yes | Compatibility: Apple Watch Ultra 2 & Ultra, 42/45/49mm Apple Watch models | Colors: 1