Gear Review: Cut the Rope x Modify Watches

As watch technology continues to evolve far beyond anything Peter Henlein could have ever imagined many centuries ago, Modify Watches is kicking it old school.

Modify Watches don’t track footsteps or sleep habits. They don’t integrate with smart devices and apps. They don’t play games. Hell, they aren’t even digital. But what these analog timepieces lack in cutting edge technology they make up for in modular interchangeability, affordable pricing, and a fresh, carefree style. Sometimes simple is just better.

One of the company’s latest watch collections, launched over the holidays, is themed after the mega-hit casual game series Cut the Rope, its candy-munching star, Om Nom, taking center stage on half a dozen different face designs. I have the Varsity 76 watch (with a turquoise strap, though I’m dying for an orange one), and the face artwork is playful and stylish. The other designs also appear to offer a good mix of cutesy charm and humor.

Available for between $25 (classic size) and $35 (sport size), each watch face has a pair of tongs protruding from top and bottom, allowing for quick and easy mixing and matching between faces and wrist straps, which sell separately in a wide range of colors for $15 apiece. Just pull from both ends of the stretchy wristband until the tongs on each side pop out of their grooves, and voila! You’re ready to swap in another face.

The silicone wristbands are incredibly soft, smooth, and cool on the skin, while also being lightweight yet durable. The watch faces are water resistant (not waterproof, so don’t go swimming with one strapped to your wrist), while the straps are good at handling sweaty wrists without trapping odors or getting all grimy, making these watches ideal for people with an active lifestyle.

I’ve been wearing mine for a few weeks now, but really put it to the test through multiple sessions of shoveling snow during the east coast blizzard this past weekend. After three days and 29 inches of snow shoveled, the watch constantly rubbing in and out from underneath my winter coat and being exposed to heavy perspiration and precipitation, it still looks brand new, like it just came out of the box. There isn’t even the slightest blemish on the face (thanks, scratch-resistant coating!). It took a licking and keeps on ticking!

The only marks were those left behind on my wrist. Due to the square cutout on the underside of the strap that provides access for inserting and removing the face, coupled with the way the silicone sort of sucks to the wrist (primarily when damp), when the watch is removed it leaves behind a noticeable imprint on the skin. There isn’t any discomfort or irritation, but it does look a bit goofy until the skin has a chance to breath and return to normal.

Modify Watches do a great job of marrying a slick, geek-chic sense of style with comfort, durability, affordability, and basic, no-frills functionality. In addition to the Cut the Rope line, videogame fashionistas can choose from other collections themed after game franchises like Borderlands, Tetris, and XCOM. Other brand collaboration themes extend into pop culture, sports team logos and player jerseys, artists and musicians, and organizations, as well as personalized options for designing a watch face with, say, a family photo. The possibilities are endless, and the modular design adds a gotta-get-them-all collectible quality that is hard to resist, even more so as a gamer.

Disclosure: A sample watch was provided to VGBlogger.com for review by Modify Watches.