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"Metal" rear cover material for titanium models

Fil
8 months ago

I recently noticed some rash on my wrist that touches the back of my stainless steel Fenix 8 and came across nickel allergy in stainless steel models. So, I tried searching if titanium models would solve this. I noticed that in previous Fenix 7 Pro titanium models, the specifications for the case material read "fiber-reinforced polymer with titanium rear cover". However, for the Fenix 8 titanium models, it reads "fiber-reinforced polymer with metal rear cover". When I checked with a local Garmin store, they said that all Fenix 8 models had steel rear cover, including the titanium models. I thought this was a bit of a misleading marketing by Garmin, especially when everyone had assumed, coming from past titanium models, that the rear cover would be titanium too. 

Hoping that Garmin would state officially in the specifications page or verify this.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to drkglb
    drkglb said:
    The only explanation I can think of is that by stating "metal" they can use both titanium or stainless steel depending on their stocks

    No, it depends on the model. Garmin don't substitute stainless steel for titanium on a model labelled as being titanium.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to TODD D

    Thanks, this is really insightful and helpful! WI’ll you be able to share how did you manage to check the back and the screws? Cheers!

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to Fil

    @Fil I checked them using a portable XRF and compared to reference standards. Outside of destructive testing (what i would normally do for full analysis)  it was "good enough" to verify. 

    As a side note a common way to determine uncoated  titanium versus stainless at home is to mix a bit of oxiclean in warm to hot water and see if it darkens.  The main ingredient,  sodium percarbonate, does an excellent job to build up the oxide layer. 

    This is typically how I will fix scratches on a bezel or bracelet; buff out the scratch and then oxidize the raw titanium back to the surrounding matte finish.   It will blend the shiny polished areas back to the original finish. 

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to TODD D

    Thanks! This is really interesting and helpful information! Would you by any chance have tested to identify the material on the charging contacts on the back of the Fenix 8 too? I’ve noticed how they’ve looked different from my old Forerunner 255, as well as my friend’s Descent G1, but couldn’t find any official info on those.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to Fil

    unfortunately it is too small of a surface area for me to check.  The flat back was easy to spot check. 

    I'm assuming the pins are also plated so outside of pulling it out of the watch and cutting perpedicular/ mounting/ polishing/etching. No real way I can tell.   (And I am not willing to sacrifice mine for science just yet)

    BlushThumbsup

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to TODD D

    Haha I completely understand. No, but thank you, your comments have been really insightful and helpful!

  • 0 57 minutes ago in reply to TODD D

    I have one fenix8 solar with black titanium bezel. Cat.Number is 010-02906-40. My watch is an Asian Pacific edition and I sent a email to Garmin service of China (the watch was bought from overseas), they confirm this Cat. Number has stainless steel back with PVD coating,the bezel is titanium with DLC coating. I don't have X-ray XRD thus I can't certify this. And I found that the back is much more 'soft' than stainless steel because it's really easy to scratch.
    I'm really confused...