- Dec 31, 2012
- 1,195
- 557
- 43
Disclaimer: I do not represent the company in any other manner then as a customer. I received the product for free as explained below.
I'd like to begin by explaining how I came to receive the products I'm reviewing. I read a post on these forums (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2973627) which mentioned these new bumpers. After browsing www.funwatchbands.com I added some bumpers to my cart. However I never completed the purchase as shipping from the USA to the UK was a rather steep $18! I made comment about the shipping in the same thread. Not long after I received an email from the guys at SnuG containing a discount code which essentially meant all I paid for was the $18 shipping and the product was free. So I thought what the hell and ordered a black and a purple bumper on 16th December.
A few days later SnuG replied to the above thread acknowledging the issue with international shipping. They also added that they had thrown in a few 'extras'! Festive spirit a plenty! The items shipped on the 23rd December and I eagerly awaited what surprises the parcel would contain!
Today, 28th December I found out. The guys at SnuG can only be described as AWESOME! I ordered two bumpers and received 7 of various colour. Not content with that, they also threw in a complete black strap with clasp AND an additional blue, purple and red strap! I was genuinely shocked at the generosity. So thanks to all the guys at SnuG for extending the festivities of this time of year for me!
I'd like to just take a moment to point out a few things here. When unknown companies or representatives take time to interact with consumers on forums and social media it always puts my mind at ease about any thoughts of legitimacy. Kudos to SnuG.
Secondly it's good to see that they have acknowledged the issue with shipping costs and are looking at ways of reducing.
Moving on to the products then...
Quick word on packaging. Minimalistic and environmentally friendly just about covers it. The items came in a long brown envelope which looks like its made from recycled material. Aside from the products inside, there was a letter again printed on recycled paper and a small round 'insert' for one of the bumpers.
I personally like this type of packaging. Less mess and no fuss.
The letter detailed a brief few paragraphs about the products, their development and their future development. I get the impression from SnuG that they care a great deal about their products and how they are received, as it went on to say that although they are happy with the current version, they feel it can be improved and as such, they expect a new version to be available January 2015.
They kindly included a discount code to be used in January for a free new improved version. Cheers!
I'll begin by talking about the bumpers. Installation is pretty easy and self explanatory. I found that lining up the button hole and stretching the bumper on was the best method after a few attempts.
Fitment is pretty good. The bumper is a good fit in terms of coverage and the cut outs are spot on, however I do feel that one area it could be improved is in it's attachment. It can be 'accidentally' removed i.e. by coat cuff if caught. It's not enough of an issue to avoid purchasing but it may be worth waiting to see what January's version improves.
The material is a silicone and its a real decent quality. Feels hard wearing but smooth to the touch. Its just pliable enough that its not too loose, especially after installation. Like most silicone though, it does pick up dust and lint (from hands in coat pocket) but does brush off fairly easy. Seems to affect the black colour more then the others but that's probably because it shows up more.
Addressing protection, it raises a couple millimetres above the screen and offers a good knocks and bumps protection to the 360 body and to a degree, may deflect some potential screen damage - though that is obviously not its main intention. What its intended for, it does well. Silicone cases are as old as smartphones and are still a top choice for most. So this is tried and trusted really.
Colour options available give a good selection for consumer. If I had one negative to say about options, I'd say some of the naming of the colours is a bit misleading. "Chrome Black" doesn't make a whole lot of sense given its simply a matte black bumper. The colours themselves though, are bright and vibrant.
The only issue I experienced with the bumpers was 1 of 7 did not have the cut outs. It looks as though the cuts just didn't go completely through. Nothing a knife couldn't sort out though.
The only other bumper I've tried is a 3D printed plastic one from Shapeways which was truly awful. In comparison, these silicone bumpers from SnuG are on a completely different playing field where quality is concerned. And to be honest, I feel silicone is a far superior material to use for this purpose then plastic.
In summary, I've no real complaints with the bumpers other then the aforementioned room for improvement where attachment (hold) is concerned. I would certainly recommend SnuG bumpers IF shipping suits your pocket. On price, I'd have to be honest and say that at $29.99 for a pack of six bumpers is probably a little too much. I can see where they have come to that price, at $5 each it doesn't seem too bad, but for a multi pack $19.99 may have been more appealing. I'm sure if sales and interest in the products takes off, pricing will go down in time. However, considering there is very little competition out there so...
Moving on to the straps. At a good 5-6mm (which is about the same as the stock leather) thick they feel real solid. Again the silicone is high quality, smooth and rugged. The company logo is engraved into the silicone on each strap closest to watch body end - it's well placed, well done.
Installation was a cinch. If you've ever changed a watch strap, you'll have no issue here. Pop out the spring loaded pins, re-insert. Done. I had to cut a good CM off for a comfortable fit and I have average-to-slim wrists. With a few adjustment holes on the clasp too, you get a good range of size options which will cover larger wrist sizes too.
It's been pretty cold here in the UK so can't yet really comment on sweat resistance! However I can say that they feel really comfortable to wear. Having bought a cheap deployment clasp off Amazon previously and whilst it was functional, it was cheap quality I'm happy to report that the ones used by SnuG are of a high quality. You don't feel it there when worn. It springs open nicely when the buttons are pressed. It doesn't rattle at all when closed and feels secure and solid.
Quite honestly, I've not got a bad word to say about the straps. I can't see them having any detrimental effect on the watch back or contributing to cracked back. They slot in as well as the stock leather as unlike metal bands, you've no links to deal with here.
Again range of colours is plenty and I love that you can mix and match colours to suit your requirements. Add a bumper and your options for colour customisation are plenty! The straps do not detract from the elegance of the 360 thanks mainly to the quality of the silicone and clasp. This is a solid and sound product made with care, quality and pride.
I can only highly recommend these SnuG products. The silicone straps are a great alternative to metal and leather which may appeal more to fitness and sports persons, but not limited to. The range of colour customisation is universally appealing.
I get a really good feeling from SnuG, putting aside the freebies (genuinely), they seem like a sound, modern and professional outfit that listen to feedback and respond.
The products they produce are top quality and I would not hesitate to purchase from them again in future.
See the link below for a whole host of photos I took of the products I received.
Thanks for reading.
http://imgur.com/a/ETrra
Edit: just noticed SnuG have reduced shipping cost to $8 globally. Great news! Also use XDADEVELOPERS at checkout for 10% off (until 7th January).
I'd like to begin by explaining how I came to receive the products I'm reviewing. I read a post on these forums (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2973627) which mentioned these new bumpers. After browsing www.funwatchbands.com I added some bumpers to my cart. However I never completed the purchase as shipping from the USA to the UK was a rather steep $18! I made comment about the shipping in the same thread. Not long after I received an email from the guys at SnuG containing a discount code which essentially meant all I paid for was the $18 shipping and the product was free. So I thought what the hell and ordered a black and a purple bumper on 16th December.
A few days later SnuG replied to the above thread acknowledging the issue with international shipping. They also added that they had thrown in a few 'extras'! Festive spirit a plenty! The items shipped on the 23rd December and I eagerly awaited what surprises the parcel would contain!
Today, 28th December I found out. The guys at SnuG can only be described as AWESOME! I ordered two bumpers and received 7 of various colour. Not content with that, they also threw in a complete black strap with clasp AND an additional blue, purple and red strap! I was genuinely shocked at the generosity. So thanks to all the guys at SnuG for extending the festivities of this time of year for me!
I'd like to just take a moment to point out a few things here. When unknown companies or representatives take time to interact with consumers on forums and social media it always puts my mind at ease about any thoughts of legitimacy. Kudos to SnuG.
Secondly it's good to see that they have acknowledged the issue with shipping costs and are looking at ways of reducing.
Moving on to the products then...
Quick word on packaging. Minimalistic and environmentally friendly just about covers it. The items came in a long brown envelope which looks like its made from recycled material. Aside from the products inside, there was a letter again printed on recycled paper and a small round 'insert' for one of the bumpers.
I personally like this type of packaging. Less mess and no fuss.
The letter detailed a brief few paragraphs about the products, their development and their future development. I get the impression from SnuG that they care a great deal about their products and how they are received, as it went on to say that although they are happy with the current version, they feel it can be improved and as such, they expect a new version to be available January 2015.
They kindly included a discount code to be used in January for a free new improved version. Cheers!
I'll begin by talking about the bumpers. Installation is pretty easy and self explanatory. I found that lining up the button hole and stretching the bumper on was the best method after a few attempts.
Fitment is pretty good. The bumper is a good fit in terms of coverage and the cut outs are spot on, however I do feel that one area it could be improved is in it's attachment. It can be 'accidentally' removed i.e. by coat cuff if caught. It's not enough of an issue to avoid purchasing but it may be worth waiting to see what January's version improves.
The material is a silicone and its a real decent quality. Feels hard wearing but smooth to the touch. Its just pliable enough that its not too loose, especially after installation. Like most silicone though, it does pick up dust and lint (from hands in coat pocket) but does brush off fairly easy. Seems to affect the black colour more then the others but that's probably because it shows up more.
Addressing protection, it raises a couple millimetres above the screen and offers a good knocks and bumps protection to the 360 body and to a degree, may deflect some potential screen damage - though that is obviously not its main intention. What its intended for, it does well. Silicone cases are as old as smartphones and are still a top choice for most. So this is tried and trusted really.
Colour options available give a good selection for consumer. If I had one negative to say about options, I'd say some of the naming of the colours is a bit misleading. "Chrome Black" doesn't make a whole lot of sense given its simply a matte black bumper. The colours themselves though, are bright and vibrant.
The only issue I experienced with the bumpers was 1 of 7 did not have the cut outs. It looks as though the cuts just didn't go completely through. Nothing a knife couldn't sort out though.
The only other bumper I've tried is a 3D printed plastic one from Shapeways which was truly awful. In comparison, these silicone bumpers from SnuG are on a completely different playing field where quality is concerned. And to be honest, I feel silicone is a far superior material to use for this purpose then plastic.
In summary, I've no real complaints with the bumpers other then the aforementioned room for improvement where attachment (hold) is concerned. I would certainly recommend SnuG bumpers IF shipping suits your pocket. On price, I'd have to be honest and say that at $29.99 for a pack of six bumpers is probably a little too much. I can see where they have come to that price, at $5 each it doesn't seem too bad, but for a multi pack $19.99 may have been more appealing. I'm sure if sales and interest in the products takes off, pricing will go down in time. However, considering there is very little competition out there so...
Moving on to the straps. At a good 5-6mm (which is about the same as the stock leather) thick they feel real solid. Again the silicone is high quality, smooth and rugged. The company logo is engraved into the silicone on each strap closest to watch body end - it's well placed, well done.
Installation was a cinch. If you've ever changed a watch strap, you'll have no issue here. Pop out the spring loaded pins, re-insert. Done. I had to cut a good CM off for a comfortable fit and I have average-to-slim wrists. With a few adjustment holes on the clasp too, you get a good range of size options which will cover larger wrist sizes too.
It's been pretty cold here in the UK so can't yet really comment on sweat resistance! However I can say that they feel really comfortable to wear. Having bought a cheap deployment clasp off Amazon previously and whilst it was functional, it was cheap quality I'm happy to report that the ones used by SnuG are of a high quality. You don't feel it there when worn. It springs open nicely when the buttons are pressed. It doesn't rattle at all when closed and feels secure and solid.
Quite honestly, I've not got a bad word to say about the straps. I can't see them having any detrimental effect on the watch back or contributing to cracked back. They slot in as well as the stock leather as unlike metal bands, you've no links to deal with here.
Again range of colours is plenty and I love that you can mix and match colours to suit your requirements. Add a bumper and your options for colour customisation are plenty! The straps do not detract from the elegance of the 360 thanks mainly to the quality of the silicone and clasp. This is a solid and sound product made with care, quality and pride.
I can only highly recommend these SnuG products. The silicone straps are a great alternative to metal and leather which may appeal more to fitness and sports persons, but not limited to. The range of colour customisation is universally appealing.
I get a really good feeling from SnuG, putting aside the freebies (genuinely), they seem like a sound, modern and professional outfit that listen to feedback and respond.
The products they produce are top quality and I would not hesitate to purchase from them again in future.
See the link below for a whole host of photos I took of the products I received.
Thanks for reading.
http://imgur.com/a/ETrra
Edit: just noticed SnuG have reduced shipping cost to $8 globally. Great news! Also use XDADEVELOPERS at checkout for 10% off (until 7th January).
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