Last week I took delivery of my new LunaTik iPod Nano watchband. Established industrial designer, Scott Wilson, launched his design on funding website Kickstarter.com with the respectable goal of raising USD$15,000 to get the product to market. Instead the project, with its two variations of watchband, raised a sum just shy of one miiiiillion dollars by the close of its funding round. The project sold itself to everyone who saw it and I was no exception. With my $50 pledge I just had to have it.

The really wanky part about this is that I bought the watchband before I even had an iPod Nano. I won’t lie—I have wanted a 6th generation Nano since they came out last year. But it’s a little embarrassing that buying the LunaTik actually forced me to buy an iPod that (until then) I haven’t needed.

Apple made it happen
The LunaTik and its smaller sibling TikTok, aren’t the only watchbands inspired by the Nano, a simple Google search will show you that. When you consider the Nano’s form-factor and the fact that it features a clock face screensaver that you can configure to display “on wake”, then it’s pretty clear that Apple’s intention was for 3rd party manufacturers to turn the Nano into a watch.

Snug as a bug
Wilson’s emphasis on quality is evident from the moment you (frantically) un-box the watchband. The LunaTik’s two-piece body is machined from aluminium to the same level of finish as that of the Nano itself; technically speaking—it’s pretty sweet. Contrary to my fears, the Nano sits inside the two halves as snug as a bug (in finest pure wool Berber), without the need to force it in either. The two halves clamp together using four Allen key pins that also secure the silicone rubber wristbands.

1 week later—it’s (not) just a watch
I’ve been wearing this thing for a week now. As a watch, it functions perfectly. When I want to know the time, I lift my arm until my wrist is in my line of sight. Then I press the wake button and I stare at the clock face. Suddenly I know what time it is, thus I bring my arm down to its rest position. [None of this was in the user manual, but I’m fairly sure that’s how I’m supposed to do it.] But of course, it’s not just a watch—it’s a wrist-mounted iPod. Every morning at work when I head to my local dealer for a hit, I plug in my Lady Gaga, Dr Dre headphones and dial up my Bob Marley playlist. The rest of my day just falls into place.

Getting some wrist action
One of the justifications I used when first buying the LunaTik was that it would make me go to the gym more (read: at all). To my defence, my iPhone is like a dead-weight in my pocket when I’m bench pressing 100kg (or maybe that’s pounds) and that’s if I’m fortunate to be wearing my one pair of gym shorts with pockets. Otherwise, I’m carrying the stupid phone around like this old lady in my street carries around her discman when she walks (someone buy that lady a Zune)! So having an iPod with in-built pedometer on my wrist makes SO much sense!

So far, I’ve not been to the gym all week. I really am starting back on Sunday though… really.

There are a few things that do annoy me about my new watch. Firstly (and this is hypothetical because I haven’t been to the gym with it yet), the iPod connector port is totally exposed. Beefcakes like me can raise a hell of a sweat when pressing… somewhere in the vicinity of… 250kg, so beads of sweat are bound to find their way into this orifice. The other day, riding the last 300m to work, it rained heavily enough for me to get moderately drenched; I had to take the watch off and put it in my pocket. Surely some kind of silicone plug could come with the LunaTik?

It’s big. Though the iPod is tiny, the LunaTik’s aluminium casing adds a fair amount of visual heft to it. Whilst I do think I can pull this look off, it really does make me look like I have lady wrists. I would suggest that this watchband is suited to men with plenty of girth there. The smaller-bodied TikTok is probably a better idea for women and slight-wristed gents.

My only other complaint is that the silicone rubber bands smell bad for the first few days. Oh god I’m picky, but that’s the kind of thing a wanker picks up on.

Despite these slight niggles, I’m right chuffed with my new watch. It looks like something out of an early 90’s sci-fi movie or 00’s ABC kids TV show. It’s eye-catching and people keep saying it looks like a Star Trek communicator—WHICH IT DOESN’T BECAUSE IT LOOKS TOTALLY DIFFERENT—but I don’t mind. So if you see me bench-pressing 490kg at the gym, be sure to ask me for the time… and with my spare hand I’ll be able to show you!

LunaTik is available for USD$69.95 from lunatik.com