Review it – It seems that the smartwatch has become as much a fashion accessory as smart wear. While Samsung lags behind the rest of the Fruit brand when it comes to accessories, recently third-party manufacturers are stepping up and filling the gaps. Case in point: Pitaka, who entered the fray with a carbon fiber fashion watch collection that includes all colors and sizes from the fourth generation to the present. Does it live up to its promise? Read on to find out…
What is it?
Pitaka has developed a 1k carbon fiber watch band to complement the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 – all models, from the 42mm Watch 4 to the Classic 4 and Pro 5 with watch sizes of 46 and 45mm respectively.
What’s in the box?
- Go Carbon Fiber Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch Band
- A link removal tool that looks like a SIM card removal tool
- A series of single-sided spring-loaded pins used to attach the band to the watch
- Multiple pins for connecting/reconnecting links
- Note: the link doesn’t come as an accessory – it’s one I removed from the kit to tighten it on my wrist.
Assembling, installing, and wearing a watch band
The first step is to attach the two parts to the clock using the spring pin shown above. And this is where I ran into problems. On most watch bands they have a built in pin tray that gives you access to a tab that is used to pull the pin to hold it in the watch case. Pitaka has gone to the other side. Here is the clock panel ready to be connected:
What you don’t see in the picture are the straps that are used to pull the pin into place. That’s because the latch is inside the clock panel. To attach the band to the watch, you not only need to hold the band and face it in the right place, but you also need to use the pin removal tool above to push the latch back. Many people I know are missing the third hand that is needed to make this work, so simply attaching the band to the watch is a frustrating and time-consuming process. For me, carefully attaching the panel took more than 20 minutes.
For a while, Samsung changed the look of the watch. The wood that protrudes from the body of the clock was nailed down and the holes that the guard used to secure its pins to the body were slightly moved at the end of the points. To achieve this, many watch manufacturers put a mill through the pin connectors that not only help to hold the Pitaka Carbon Fiber Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch Band and watch together, but also provide better contact with your wrist for better use. heart rate and other health sensors. Pitaka chose not to include this piece, and the result is (to me) a subtle difference between the band and the watch. This picture doesn’t do it justice.
Assuming you’ve successfully attached the Pitaka Carbon Fiber Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch Band to the watch, the next step is to remove the extra links from the band to fit it properly, which is important if you use health monitors regularly. the back of the clock. And once again, Pitaka has done something unusual. Most watch bands use a pin that goes through the watch band. As you can see in the image above, Pitaka has a pin that is slightly larger than the end of the link tab (in the image above, the part of the link that points to the top of the image). To remove the pin, you insert the removal tool and locate the push button on top of the pin to release it. It’s like playing whack-a-mole while wearing a blindfold, and if you can find the button, you need to know how to navigate the link to get rid of the whole group. And I’m just putting it out there – reconnecting this group is very difficult. After removing the 1st link, I was unable to connect the two pieces of the band and ended up with a band that randomly cuts off at the removed link.
In this picture, you can see the bend where the link is not connected properly. Most of the time, everything is fixed. But, on odd occasions, this connection goes through and my watch crashes.
Finally, I have to deal with the magnetic tab that closes the watch band around the wrist. This is a very weak magnet, and I am often without my watch because of the link. I could move my arm, raise it quickly over my head or something that would cause the door to open silently and the clock would run out.
Which I like
- This team is one of the best teams I have ever seen
What I would change
- Almost everything else
Final thoughts
The Carbon Fiber Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch Band itself looks great. For the price, though, I wish they had all the contact styles. I think I’m a handy person, but if I were to do it over again, I’d take the watch and band to a jeweler and let them do the work. It doesn’t matter, though – if you put this band on (and by you, I mean you or a professional watchmaker), then you’re making a commitment to consider how difficult it is to wind this watch. And that just kills the whole point of being able to change teams to fit the occasion.
Price: $89.00
Where to buy: From Amazon or from bag directly
Source: An analytical example was given by bag