How is the stainless bezel holding up?

I am getting tired of waiting for the other models appearing in stores apart from Cotswold and Snow/Rock. So now looking at the standard stainless steel bezel model available everywhere. I have noticed another post saying with 10% price match at Blacks its available at £509 which isnt half bad in the UK.

How is it holding up for people? Does it withstand knocks etc? Appreciate people's views. Thanks

EDIT: Forgot to mention I currently have a FR 935 so would be looking at upgrading this.

0 Diggery over 6 years ago

Possibly my post? Hope it helps! £504 - £560 from Decathlon less £56 Blacks promise so you've got an extra fiver to spend on a coloured strap from Amazon, or cake ;)

Mine is holding up well after a few weeks. Early days but I've been biking, swimming, running, hiking, surfing, sand castle building, working on my bike and generally wearing it 24/7!
No visible marks but if they do they will blend in as it's already bare metal.
On the other hand, the dark bezels are coated, so scratches would show up.
I prefer the look of the black, but think stainless is better at not showing marks.

Just don't upgrade the firmware to 4.2 if you want to use if for pool swims!

0 Pseudo-fed over 6 years ago

Don't have newer stainless, but my F3 with stainless bezel shows many nicks and scrapes. But, you can't really see them are arm's length, let alone farther away. Close examination shows them, and I believe the bezel protects the screen well. My F5+ titanium, just a couple months old already shows a couple rubs, but again, only very close up. I believe the Garmin materials are good and the bezels do exactly what they are supposed to.

Edited to add: My all black F5 stainless has had the occasional knock, but every time I panic afterwards I rub off the debris and the bezel shows no wear. I think it is a good DLC like finish!

0 Gr4z over 6 years ago

Yeah it’s a hard one. I prefer the look of the black sapphire must admit just not sure it’s worth premium.

0 Diggery over 6 years ago

Same!
My reasoning is that it's a piece of tech that will be obsolete in 3 years ag spend as much as you are prepared to loose.
if it was a classic mechanical then maybe but it's already a silly price for a gadget.

0 Gratefulhawk over 6 years ago

Don't have newer stainless, but my F3 with stainless bezel shows many nicks and scrapes. But, you can't really see them are arm's length, let alone farther away. Close examination shows them, and I believe the bezel protects the screen well. My F5+ titanium, just a couple months old already shows a couple rubs, but again, only very close up. I believe the Garmin materials are good and the bezels do exactly what they are supposed to.

Edited to add: My all black F5 stainless has had the occasional knock, but every time I panic afterwards I rub off the debris and the bezel shows no wear. I think it is a good DLC like finish!

My black F5 had a couple nicks and you could start to see the silver stainless steel underneath. It really annoyed my OCD, especially at this price.

I was originally a little disappointed in the perceived durability of my new Titanium F5+. There were some "marks" after the first day. This made it look brand new in seconds. It's amazing. I know you can get cheaper 3M pads but this one is very fine grain for titanium.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015ESCNXY

It's definitely more durable than the black for repairs, so I know my OCD will survive my Fenix Acquisition Syndrome untill the 6 comes out.

The same company makes a pad specifically for the brushed stainless steel.