The Apple Watch Sport doesn’t come with a charging case or dock, just a charging cable. You’ll either have to charge your Watch as it lays on a table, putting it at risk of not being seen when you drop something else on the table, or you’ll have to purchase a third-party charging stand of some sort. Granted, Apple does now sell a charging dock for the Watch, but it looks like a saucer. It doesn’t offer the protection that the beautiful Leather Watch Travel Case from SENA can offer, nor will the Apple dock act as a travel case. Let’s take a look at the beautiful SENA case.
The Leather Watch Travel Case I received is wrapped in black European leather with a gunmetal-colored metal accent. (The case is also available in black saffiano leather with a gold accent.) The base is embossed with the SENA name.
You’ll notice that the leather on the base has a more pronounced grain than does the leather on the top of the case. I don’t know if this difference is because of the natural variations in leather or if the difference in texture was part of the design.
The case stands 2.8″ tall, measures 3.8″ in diameter, and weighs 5.11 ounces.
The case came with a small brochure.
Here’s the Watch case completely disassembled and ready for the charging puck to be installed. Although it’s hard to see because everything is so black, the interior of the top (bottom, left) is lined with a microsuede lining. The metal charging stand (top, center) lifts off the base (bottom, right).
The base has a slot cut in the back, opposite the embossed SENA logo, to hold the cable of the Watch charger.
The actual stand is made of metal. It has a spool on the bottom to hold excess charging cable, and the mount for the charging puck is permanently attached. The mount is designed to fit both the magnetic puck and the reinforcing collar at the junction of the puck and cable. There’s a microsuede-wrapped cover that lifts off so that you can mount the charger.
The plastic charging puck for the Watch Sport fit easily into the holder. The rubber reinforcing collar snaps into place easily, and the cord is guided through the spool without undue stress on the cable attachment point. (Some other charging bases I’ve reviewed stressed the cable so much, I was afraid the cable would get broken while putting the charger in place.) You just wrap the excess cord around the spool, then feed it through the slot when you set the stand back on the base. Slide the microsuede-wrapped cover back into place, plug the USB end into a charger, and the SENA case is ready for your Watch.
The Leather Watch Travel Case works with any Apple Watch model, and it works with both the 38mm and the 42mm sizes. It works with any band, as well. Here you see my 38mm Sport with the Milanese band sitting on the charging stand.
Here’s the case closed up and ready to sit on my nightstand. If you want to travel with the case, you’ll need to lift off the charging stand and wind up the rest of the cable. (You can’t wind it while the stand is sitting on the leather-wrapped base.)
The case has magnets that holds the charging stand to the base and others to hold the leather-wrapped cover to the bottom pieces. These magnets are strong enough that I was able to grab the top of the case and lift it with the Watch inside without the case coming apart.
When you use it on your nightstand, you can use the case uncovered. You’ll be able to access the Watch’s NightStand mode functions this way. If you have curious cats or kids, you could put the lid in place to hide and protect the Watch as it charges.
Or you can invert the cover and set the charging base on top to elevate the Watch for better viewing and to make it easier to keep up with the cover.
The SENA Leather Watch Travel Case is a beautiful and useful accessory for the Apple Watch. Sitting up high, as in the above image, I don’t have to worry that the Watch will get covered up by something or that I won’t see it laying there and knock it off the table. Granted, it’s the same price as the Apple charging dock that comes with a charger, but the SENA case is much better looking, more protective, and serves as a travel case.
Source: The Leather Watch Travel Case for Apple Watch used for this review was provided by SENA. Please visit the SENA website to learn more and to purchase.
