Nomad Stand for Apple Watch review

Nomad Stand silver space greay

In my apparently endless search for the perfect Apple Watch dock, I have come across the Nomad Stand. Its simple design is what caught my eye at first, but after using it for a few days, I can say there is more to it than meet the eyes.

Most of the stands for Apple Watch I’ve seen so far seem to take the wrong approach. They appear to try too hard to design something that in many cases doesn’t compliment the design of the Apple Watch itself, but actually works against it.

Nomad Stand succeeds where many others have failed.

Before you even get to pick it up, you’ll notice its simple, minimalist and elegant curved design devoid of any rough angle. Made of one single piece of aluminum, it looks like it could have been made by Apple as it perfectly marries the design of the Apple Watch it supports.

That’s when you look at it more closely that you notice this minimalist design has been well thought through. Built from a solid piece of extruded aluminum, the Nomad Stand has a machined channel along its back edge to invisibly route the cable in the most discrete way, solving one of my biggest pet peeves with most Apple Watch stands. This is a very simple feature, but for some reason, most stands I’ve seen so far don’t seem to think out of the box to make that cable disappear as much as possible.

Back of Nomad Stand

Nomad Stand is not all about the looks. It’s also about the feel.

As soon as you pick it up, you’ll probably think you got your money worth in weight. That’s because on top of using high quality aluminum, Nomad added a solid slab of copper alloy between the aluminum and the rubber pad. This is once again a smart decision that ensures the stand will stay in place once you put your Apple Watch on it, even if you use the heavier stainless steel model with link bracelet as I do.

Speaking of placing your Apple Watch on the stand, this is something that is done as effortlessly as you would expect, unlike other stands I have tried. In most cases, you’ll just lay your Apple Watch on top of it and the magnetic charger will take care of the rest. But if like me you have one of those closed bands (ie. Milanese Loop, or Link Bracelet) where both ends don’t separate, then you can just slide in the watch on the side of the stand that is wide open.

So if it’s beautiful, elegant, simple, and seemingly perfect, then what is the catch?

After using the Nomad Stand for a few days on my nightstand, I had to relocate the accessory to my desk because it felt like it was taking too much space on this small piece of furniture. Of course, this is the minimalist in me speaking, and you likely won’t feel the same way. I just want my nightstand to be as clean and clear as possible. In these conditions, smaller definitely is better, which is why I opted for the Spigen S350 to be my bedside accessory of choice.

The Nomad Stand looks right at home on my desk though, where it perfectly fits the overall theme set by my iMac and HiRise for iPhone.

At that point, you’ve probably realized I’m really into the Nomad Stand. Its minimalist approach to solving problems most other stands don’t even address, as well as its elegant design and build quality make it an easy recommendation for me. The only hiccup might be the price tag, which is slightly over the competition. That’s the price to pay for top quality products.

The Nomad Stand is available from the company’s website for $69.95 in either space gray or silver (don’t be fooled by the cheap knockoffs made of plastic). You can also find the Stand at Best Buy, online and in stores). If you have the money to spare, this is one stand I can absolutely recommend for you.