Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap review
The Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap is a low-cost equivalent of the official Apple Milanese Loop. The black model that I tested has a list price of £10.99, but the cost varies depending on colour choice, with a minimum list price of £8.99 for the Starlight option, and a maximum of £15.99 for the blue Watch strap. This is a substantially lower-priced Watch strap compared to the Apple Milanese loop, but the build quality of the Milanese Loop, plus the use of 80% recycled stainless steel mesh goes some way to explain the chasm between the costs.
The strap I reviewed was the Series 10 38/40/41/42 model in black, but there are also options available for series 1, 2, and 3 Apple Watches. There are twelve colours available, including pink, rose gold, and silver, so there are plenty of colours to choose from to match your Apple Watch or your outfit.
The strap looked good for the price, or at least it did until I began wearing it and found that it would pick up fibres from my clothes and blankets. This was mostly along the edges of the strap, which resemble a flat-edged saw, with the little gaps easily picking up any loose threads or fluff. This would occasionally happen in the middle of the strap, as the tiny gaps would capture fibers too.
Attaching the strap proved a bit of a task as I found myself wrestling with the strap’s connectors and my Apple Watch to get them fixed in place. I had a similar issue when trying to remove the strap too, so my assumption was that the dimensions of the connectors, or this particular example may have been slightly out of tolerance.
Yoohoo didn’t reinvent the wheel with this magnetic closure, but I love it all the same. I found it really easy to loosen the strap by pulling away the two magnetic areas, one at the end of the strap, and the other next to the metal strap holder. It was easy to tighten the strap around my wrist, and I didn’t experience any issues with it loosening through the day or night.
The product information states that the Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap uses “super wear-resistant stainless steel material”, and while I can’t comment on the structural elements of the strap, the coated finish on the hardware at the ends of the straps became noticeably scuffed and marked after just a week of wearing.
Overall, this is a nice enough Apple Watch strap alternative for the price. The strap feels sturdy enough to last, but the finish on the hardware lets the aesthetic down as it tarnishes so easily. The Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap’s insistence on de-fluffing my clothing for me was also a bit of a bugbear, but even with this in mind, I’m still considering buying myself a pink one to match my Apple Watch. If this Watch strap doesn’t quite meet your needs, or would rather stay true to Apple and purchase an official Apple Watch strap, we’ve got plenty of suggestions over in our selection of the best Apple Watch bands.
Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap review: Price & specs
