Hands-on: Truffol stainless steel strap brings premium quality to Pebble smartwatch

I purchased my Pebble through Kickstarter and skipped buying the Pebble Steel because I was quite happy with the original Pebble. The excellent designers at Truffol just sent along a new premium metal strap that gives my Pebble a premium look with great comfort at a fraction of the price of a Pebble Steel.

I was sent the black $34.99 Truffol Strap for the Pebble Solid. They make the same strap for the Pebble Steel. Truffol also sent along the $3 strap adjustment tool that helps you change the length of the band. It sure would have been nice if Pebble would have sent tools to change out their leather and steel bands.

The strap arrived along with a band removal instrument and explicit, easy-to-understand instructions. The band is much higher quality than I expected to see, especially for the reasonable price.

I used the instrument to take off the leather/Kevlar black and orange band I had installed. I then installed the Truffol Strap per the instructions and it went on quite easily. One hole in my Pebble seems to always cause me trouble with strap pins, but it just took a bit of messing around to get it secure. I was very impressed with the way the end of the strap fit right into the curved ends of the Pebble. It is perfect really and one couldn't ask for anything better.

I then put on my Pebble and found the band was a link too long for my wrist. I used the strap adjustment tool to pop out a couple link pins and shortened up the band. It now fits perfectly. The strap is secured with a butterfly clasp that is easy to open, but remains closed.

The band is very comfortable and I honestly like the look and feel even better than the leather black and orange one I had before. It tapers down from the 22mm Pebble opening to 20mm in the middle to provide a great feel to the band.

I have hairy arms, but thankfully the band is nearly the exact same as my Citizen watch band where no hairs are pulled out.

The band is made of stainless steel and the black matches my black Pebble perfectly. The whole assembly looks fantastic together and upgrading the band like this makes my Pebble seem premium, quickly erasing any desire to buy myself a Pebble Steel.

They have the band in silver color too and that may go better with your colored Pebble. Truffol provides free global shipping, a 30-day return period, and one year warranty.

Further Pebble coverage

• ZDNet Great Debate - The smartwatch: Tomorrow's must-have gear or a waste of time?
  
• Pebble Steel unboxing and first look video
  
• Five reasons you should still consider the Pebble and Samsung Gear even with Android Wear coming soon
• Hands-on with the Pebble e-paper watch (gallery)
  
• Pebble comes to Best Buy; Five reasons to pick one up