reliability of replacement bands?

I went for a 3rd party band for my 920XT and nearly lost the watch in the sea. Never trusted bands like that again. In reality, after spending hundreds of dollars on a watch why risk it with a cheap 3rd party quick release band?

grguthrie said:

Are the Garmin bands more reliable?

I would say yes overall. However, I switched to velcro bands - Yooside Velcro Bands like these a long time ago. The way they fasten is almost certain to prevent a loss when swimming - get the ones where one end tucks under. I swim in the sea several times a week. While the velcro does become a little less secure after a year or so replacement is inexpensive. I have little doubt that they would be less of an issue with a loosening velcro for non-swimmers. 

Thank you. I had the impression that failures were not the band tearing, but the quick-fit snap coming off at the pins. Are there bands which have a traditional pinned connection without the quick snap-on issue?

Thanks. An odd situation, that a $1200 watch would have strap issues where it can (and does) get lost!

grguthrie said:

An odd situation, that a $1200 watch would have strap issues where it can (and does) get lost!

It’s not an odd situation if people substitute the supplied band for a 3rd party band of dubious quality. I am aware some people have reported losing watches due to a Garmin band failing but those issues are few and far between. Simply put, why put your $1200 watch at risk by using a cheap band of dubious quality just because Garmin choose to sell their bands of arguably better quality for a higher price?

I'm the outlier here I prefer 3rd party bands to Garmin originals. After some trial and error, I found great quality bands on AliExpress and then sourced buckles from another supplier with the torx screw like the older Garmin bands. Not a fan of the flimsy spring bars in the current generation of bands. To my mind the Garmin bands feel cheap and plasticky with zero stretch. Just my tuppence:)

Thanks - to me, I am surprised to have to worry about and fiddle to overcome something like this for the price of the watch! I've had Garmins and similar brands for decades, and never had this issue!

When buying the F8 there are a limited number of Garmin bands available for each model and size - so to get a band of a desirable color needing to add another $50 seems excessive to me. And that there is such a large market in replacements seems to show that. I don't know how to compare the quality of the 3rd party bands to Garmin other than by reviews, and since there are no online reviews of Garmin bands it is hard to compare, but it looks like a few percentage of others do fail.