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Watch Wear & Tear - Any Suggestions?

Former Member over 7 years ago

I've been getting red marks on my wrist from wearing my Garmin Fenix 5 daily. This used to occur on my Right wrist so I switched sides for a while, but recently the red marks have returned. I don't necessarily pull the watch band too tight, however, it has been hot recently so could be chafing.

Do any of you get this problem? Do you have any solutions/suggestions? Are there any alternative bands which alleviate this problem? Could it be a simple case of moisturising in the morning? I know most of you will say "just switch sides for a while" but I don't fancy having watch tan-lines on both arms - call me superficial...

Cheers for reading/responding, and remember, keep it rouleur.

Levi ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1372129.jpg ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1372130.jpg

0 AlexZ131 over 7 years ago

Hi,

It was discussed a lot here. There were some opinions that it is cased by the HR LEDs (personally I don't believe that). It is most likely due to sweat and overall hygienic issues. If you really wear it every day/night, make sure you wash your watch with soapy water. Also, ensure it's dry after washing. I had some marks too (but smaller than yours) - once I started washing/drying the watch everyday it stopped.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Cheers Alex, I do wear it day and night to be honest, should wash it more often to be honest, and will do it more often now! I’ve been looking at talcum powder, Vaseline, or a leather strap, that might sort it as a permenant fix. I think it’s just rubbing from the heat in the UK, wrist swelling etc.

0 savinoff over 7 years ago

It appears that stock silicone band is extremely allergenic. I'd never had anything like this with any bands until I bought Fenix 5, and just in two days I've developed exactly the same irritation as on the photos. Once I switched to some third party band the irritation was gone in just couple of days.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Hi Savinoff, I think you may be right, I've never had a problem with leather, steel or previous forerunner bands! Thanks for letting me know you;re experiencing troubles also and that a 3rd party band solved the problem. Makes me wonder how they can charge £40ish pounds for these bands.. I may give the Fenix 5 leather strap a shot but at £50 it's a bit of a risk!

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

I also get rash from the original silicone bands! Totally agree with you, how they can charge this amount for stiff and allergenic bands is also a mystery to me. I have exclusively been using third party bands since they were available on the market. The silicone bands from ebay give me zero allergic reactions and they are a lot softer. My favorite, however, is the stainless steel bands from ebay, they are absolutely wonderful (especially for 22 $). I have been using the stainless steel band 24/7 since October and have zero problems with rash or smell (rinse the watch when I shower and take it off and rinse with soap occasionally).

0 savinoff over 7 years ago

More to it, if we Fenix 5 owners at least have an option to exchange bands, the Vivosmart 3 HR, which entirely made of the same stuff, do not. I bought VS 3 for my wife and in a few days she had her entire wrist under the watch all red and itchy, couldn't stand a week wearing it and had to get rid of the watch. I wonder do they even test this material on real people before releasing it.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Hi,

It was discussed a lot here. There were some opinions that it is cased by the HR LEDs (personally I don't believe that). It is most likely due to sweat and overall hygienic issues. If you really wear it every day/night, make sure you wash your watch with soapy water. Also, ensure it's dry after washing. I had some marks too (but smaller than yours) - once I started washing/drying the watch everyday it stopped.

Yep - if you don't wash and aerate the area you're just creating a breeding ground for problems. I use the stock band and never get issues

0 mcalista over 7 years ago

Perhaps one solution would be to just switch wrists overnight. That way you would still get sleep data, your skin under the wrist would get a chance to breathe, and there would be no tan line issue.

0 Boban100janovski over 7 years ago

No issues for me either, i rinse the watch after every activity (running or MTB riding).
It's also a bit hot here, im from Macedonia so during summer the temperature is around 35 celsius, peaking to around 40.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

I also wash after every workout in addition to every time I shower plus the occasional rinse with soap (sometimes without) and I definitely had issues with the original band. And as I said earlier, no issues with the third party silicone strap.