A high-quality, EDC band for your Apple Watch [Reviews]

If you’re looking for a hardy velcro EDC watch band for your Apple Watch, Mifa has you covered. Mifa’s Nylon Sports Leather Apple Watch Band is sturdy, the velcro is strong and the stitched leather is high-quality.

It’s a nice band for daily wear.

It comes in five different styles. The gray-on-black NASA-inspired design is my favorite. Two other designs in brown and black emphasize “EDC-34 Essential Series” with the Mifa name. And two new versions (in green and orange) sport NASA’s classic “meatball” insignia.

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Hands-on with Mifa velcro bands

The Mifa band is dead simple to put on and the velcro forms a strong bond. Tugging on the band, it won’t budge. Pull on the very end of the strap and it comes off in a second.

Style

You have five choices of color. All five styles have the same basic construction of black plastic lugs, a black nylon velcro band with leather accents and a stitched label.

On this first band, with the leather accents in a saddle brown color, you can see all the different elements. The label is yellow on black. I wore this band first because the brown pieces added a pop of color.

The second band I put on (and ended up wearing the most) has a NASA-themed label on the strap. I wore this band while I was rewatching For All Mankind and celebrating the launch of Artemis I on NASA’s SLS rocket. I only wish it had more accent colors. The black leather blends into the black nylon — perhaps blue or red, or even just gray, would pop a little more.

The last band is all black with a solid yellow label. I don’t have enough bright, warm hues in my wardrobe to make this work, but you might. This one will pair well with the Apple Watch Ultra.

This band places the greatest emphasis on “EDC-34,” which stands for “Every-Day Carry,” a phrase that refers to useful items that people carry around on their person. EDC often connotes pens, watches, wallets multi-tools, and other useful tools, but can also mean guns and knives.

The band can be ordered with lugs that make it compatible with any Apple Watch. But it looks best on the larger Apple Watch and the Apple Watch Ultra. I have the smaller model, and as you can see, the width of the band is about equal to the width of the watch case — traditionally, the band should be narrower than the case.

Comfort

The Mifa band’s wide width certainly helps with comfort. If you want a tight fit, a wider band like this will distribute the pressure. It keeps you from feeling handcuffed.

The dense nylon material isn’t as breathable as some other bands. I wouldn’t wear this band while working out, or even casually outdoors on an especially hot and humid day.

I use my Apple Watch for sleep tracking, so I wore the band overnight for a week. I’m a habitual arm-under-pillow sleeper and I was worried the velcro would get caught on my sheets and pull it off. I didn’t have any problems with this.

I do not recommend this band for taking a bath or going for a swim. While the Apple Watch handles water just fine, the nylon material retains moisture for the next few hours.

Except for the summer months, nine months out of the year I put on a button-down long-sleeve shirt. Whereas slimmer bands allow the watch to slide under the sleeve, the bulk of this band will usually keep the watch exposed.

You might consider that a drawback, but for me, it makes it easier to check the time.

I should also mention the length of the band using the universal standard of measurement, equivalent length in Sport Band notches. If you wear the medium-length Sport band on the middle notch, the Mifa band will be snug on your wrist. If you wear your Sport band on the smallest or second-smallest notch, the Mifa band will probably be too big.

Quality

The Mifa bands all have very solid construction. Not a single stitch came loose after a couple weeks of daily wear.

The velcro is pretty strong. On a velcro strap like this, you might expect it to separate a bit at the very end, but this wasn’t noticeable. Occasionally, bits of fuzz and dog hair get trapped in the band. This is equally a testament to the strength of the velcro and the fuzziness of my dogs.

The Mifa Nylon Sports Leather Apple Watch Band is a high-quality product at a low price. I’ve tested worse bands that cost more.

★★★★☆

Note: We originally published this review on February 20, 2023. We updated it with new info on green and orange versions of Mifa’s EDC Apple Watch band that feature a classic NASA logo.