DLC or not, what's your experience

I wear a Fenix 6 Titanium not coated (silver) for 2 years and 7 months
It get a nice patina formed by all the marks. The screw are still like new and the sapphire glass is pristine.
DLC if well made can be hard to scratch. Mine get scratched and I like it. It gives a lot of class.

Baz 8755 said:

Having now decided to go non-solar I am still unable to decide between DLC sapphire or non-DLC Gorilla

I have usual 6 Pro version for a few months and so far there are zero signs of wear, with other watches usually some signs appeared during that period.

NemoSandman said:

DLC if well made can be hard to scratch. Mine get scratched and I like it. It gives a lot of class.

yeah, as long as you're not planning to sell the watch having some wear is cool and add a character. NIce watchface by the way, can you tell what is it?

sensovision said:

I have usual 6 Pro version for a few months and so far there are zero signs of wear

My 6 Pro has a spot where the black coating came off after 6 months despite having had either an ugly TPU 'bumper' or full cover on it all the time to keep it nice for selling it later. Maybe sand got under the cover/bumper, or it is just from the pressure of the bumper on the edge. It's really noticeable on the 6 Pro because the silver underneath contrasts so highly to the black.

When I chose Vivoactive 4 I specially went for silver version, unfortunately there Pro version comes in black only and I couldn't let myself to pay for something like titanium

thanks for telling about your experience with TPU protector, I've got one for myself already to wear it during bicycle rides as an additional protection but now I'm a bit concerned if it could cause more harm than help...

I was using a TPU silicon cover to protect GF6XPS but found it actually marked the titanium top, I was very disappointed.

The GF6XPS had a battery discharge issue and was replaced by Garmin for a brand new one, I've never used a TPU silicon protector again and prefer the original finish with the occasional scratch/mark.

I do use self healing screen protector and very happy with it's performance, currently trying the MATT, easier to make it look clean but really dulls the watchface.

I have a 6x Sapphire/DLC, black, and I'm not exactly "nice" to it; I wear it doing, well, everything.

It has held up amazingly well; I don't see anything of substance at all in terms of damage.  My previous Fenix 5, which was not, had quite a nice cadre of scratches on the bezel when I sold it.....  IMHO it was worth it.

I had a 6X Pro Solar Titanium DLC for 15 months before it was warranty replaced 11 months ago.

The first watch did pick up some very faint marks on the glass. My suspicion is that the scratches were from my DLC Oura Ring. Once I made sure to wear both watch and ring on the same side it never picked up another scratch. My recollection is that the DLC finish on the watch remained unmarked after 15 months.

My second watch shows no marks at all on glass or DLC after 11 months.

It would be my very strong preference to continue with DLC on all future purchases. I love the look and the durability.

Note - I am sort of careful with the watch and perform relatively safe sports such as running and cycling, not rock climbing, for example. And I don't frequent hazardous environments. Door handles, brick wall corners and my Oura Ring (if worn unwisely) are its biggest risks.

Baz 8755 said:

Having now decided to go non-solar I am still unable to decide between DLC sapphire or non-DLC Gorilla

This might help as I have both - DLC sapphire on left, non DLC gorilla on right

The DLC tends to have a nice 'glow' to it and can almost look silver in some light sources. Obviously the gorilla glass display is clearer and more contrasty, while sapphire can be terrible visibility-wise at times, depending on the angle of the light source

I've had DLC and non-DLC and have not noticed any durability difference - if you mark either, in both cases you'll see silver underneath anyway.

I prefer the uncoated titanium actually to either of the above, marks don't really show up - my 'perfect' watch would be non-sapphire but with the silver titanium bezel rather than DLC but sadly that doesn't exist.

I have worn my F6x sapphire DLC almost every day for over two years, and I use it regularly for mountain biking. I'm also a bit clumsy when it comes to bashing parts of my body on inanimate objects like walls and doors.

After almost three years, my DLC coating looks the same as when it came out of the box, and there are no noticeable marks on my sapphire display. It's actually very impressive how well it has held up. Every time I think I must have scratched the watch, I look closely and there is nothing.

I was torn between the sapphire and the gorilla glass, because for sure the gorilla glass is clearer with less reflection. But then I would probably want to use a screen protector, like I did on my F3, and that narrows the gap considerably. In the end, because I was afraid of scratching a new $1,000 watch, I went with sapphire. It would always be nice to have a clearer screen with less reflection, but I have no regrets.

The Epix 2 51mm (when it comes out) will be my next watch.

I have a DLC for more than 2 years and before I had a Fenix 5 no DLC. 

The watch is pristine  but the sapphire in the 6 has a anti reflective coating that can scratch. Never had the problem, but there are a lot of posts about the problem. However, the reflection is much better in the 6 than in the 5 (look for comparisons about that)