Burton Goods re-launched earlier this year with a fresh collection of new leather goods for just about all of your Apple gear, from gorgeous MacBook and iPad cases, to its American full-grain Heritage Leather Apple Watch Strap you see here today. The Heritage, like the name suggests and falling in line with the rest of the gear in the lineup, presents a vintage-inspired leather treatment for your high-tech Apple wearable and we have had it on-wrist for the last couple weeks to give a run for its money. Head below for our hands-on impressions of the Burton Goods Heritage Leather Apple Watch Strap.
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On-wrist with the Burton Goods Heritage Leather Apple Watch Strap
The Burton Goods Heritage Leather Strap is the first band out of the gate from the brand with American full-grain leather construction, precision stitching details, and stainless steel hardware. It continues the brand’s focus on premium, timeless designs, and does it quite well.
Compatible with Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch (Sizes: 49, 45, 44, 42mm), it features a 26mm width and a softer leather treatment on the inside for a comfortable wear.
The Heritage Leather Strap comes in four colorways (Walnut, Onyx Black, Deep Sea Blue, and the Amber Brown you see on display in this review) at $79.99 shipped.
Take a closer look at the specs:
- Compatible with Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch (Sizes: 49, 45, 44, 42mm)
- 26mm width for a comfortable and substantial feel
- American full-grain leather
- 316L Stainless Steel solid-bar hardware for unbreakable durability
- Adjustable Fit: Suitable for wrist sizes 125-215mm
- Crafted from American full-grain leather with four handsome colors
- Features a soft, durable leather lining for ultimate comfort
- Stitched with precision thread
- Brushed hardware designed to perfectly complement the Apple Watch Ultra
9to5Toys’ Take
Burton Goods is a brand deeply seated in tradition with a focus on craftsmanship and natural materials that stand the test of time, and it certainly shows on its Heritage Leather Apple Watch straps.
This a beautiful piece of leather with a hearty and robust feel. This is a not tiny thin and dainty strap – it isn’t overly thick, but there is some presence to it on the wrist I very much appreciate. It’s not so robust and stiff that you’ll need to wear it for months before it’s actually comfortable and broken in – it is pliable the second you open the box, but it’s certainly not flimsy either. There’s a nice balance between raw and refined here.
Sometimes these full-grain leather straps can get a touch too thick as they are wrapped around the Apple Watch connectors, but Burton has managed to securely thread the leather exterior material through the connectors, wrap it around to the backside of the strap and stitch it into the interior liner. And this leads me to another sign of quality on the design here, the two-sided treatment.
Some of the more budget leather straps out there will simply use a single piece of leather, with or without stitching details, but Burton Goods has employed and a much softer to the skin inner lining, made of a smoother leather in a lighter color tone stitched right onto the main leather of the outside – it’s certainly not like a suede or anything like that, but it does provide a comfortable wearing experience.
The stitching details here, from an aesthetic point of view, are quite nice as well. They aren’t quite as hand stitched looking as they are on the brand’s fantastic iPhone 15 cases I reviewed recently, but they do deliver on that vintage artisan vibe. Sometimes you’ll find a pair of accent stitches just below the lug connection point on luxury and other high-end leather straps. You won’t find those here, but you will find a similar treatment just above the buckle on the other end of the strap – a small, mostly inconsequential touch, but also an extremely aesthetically pleasing detail I can’t help but point out.
The buckle system here comes in the form of your typical sort of belt-style pin setup. Made of a 316L stainless steel it looks great and functions just as you would expect. It features what the brand refers to as a brushed treatment, but it is a softer and smoother look than that description might suggest to some. I would call it a semi-matte with an extremely subtle texture made to match the connectors on the other end perfectly. It presents as a sort of steel-meets-grey, very much like the titanium treatment on Apple Watch Ultra.
While I wish I got a chance to see the Deep Sea Blue colorway in person, if it presents anything like the Amber Brown model I have here, you’re in good hands no matter what color you choose. Burton Goods’ is offering up a good selection of colors for folks partial to the full-grain leather vibes, ranging from options that will look great in business attire, at a dinner, or while you’re running errands in jeans and a t-shirt.
In the end, and to absolutely no surprise to me, Burton Goods is serving up a gorgeous leather Apple Watch strap with its new Heritage design. It’s not cheap with an $80 MSRP, nor should it be with the use of these sorts of materials, but we have and will continue to offer readers solid price drops coming directly from the brand to bring the price down anyway. The Burton Goods Heritage Strap is an easy recommendation for anyone interested in the look and feel of a proper leather strap and one you most likely will not be disappointed by.
Buy the Burton Goods Heritage Leather Apple Watch Strap
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