Sapphire durability experiences?

I have had the F8 51mm Amoled for 7 months and I don't take any care of the watch. The glass is completely fine without a scratch. I wore the Fenix ​​​​​​6xPro Sapphire for 3 years and the glass was also completely scratch-free, I think this display cannot be scratched with anything commonly available and I wouldn't put a protector on it at all.

I have had the F8 51mm Amoled for 7 months and I don't take any care of the watch. The glass is completely fine without a scratch. I wore the Fenix ​​​​​​6xPro Sapphire for 3 years and the glass was also completely scratch-free, I think this display cannot be scratched with anything commonly available and I wouldn't put a protector on it at all.

Thanks again for the contributions. It’s hard to form an opinion. You hear both sides: the glass is amazing and looks like new even after months, or someone has used the watch for just two weeks and it’s already scratched.

I think sometimes it just comes down to bad luck. How likely is it really to hit the glass directly with a hard object? Most of the time, the raised bezel probably offers some protection.

6085704 said:

I think this display cannot be scratched with anything commonly available and I wouldn't put a protector on it at all.

And yet many people have scratched it, including myself. There is a coating on top of sapphire that can definitely be scratched. You can find posts about that on Garmin forums.

However I would still not use a screen protector.

Why would you not use screen protection? You already described that you had scratches.

I had sapphire on a 5x+, gorilla on the 6xPro and sapphire on my Fenix 8 51mm amoled.  The 5x+ never had a scratch.  This one never had a scratch and the 6xPro never had a scratch.  I wear it 24/7 and it has been exposed to knocks and hard use.  I found on my Fenix 3 that the screen protector cracked pretty easy.  Then, unless you removed it carefully and immediately, the edge of the crack in the screen protector would start causing a small etch in the watch lens.  So, I would go sapphire and NOT use a screen protector.  This is different than the newer iPhones where the glass they use sucks so bad, it scratches easily. 

Late to the party but I've not had any scratches on my 5X, 6X, 8X.  I run trails and ultras, about 1500-2000 miles a year for the last 8 and don't always remain vertical depending on the terrain.  I hit the ground at full throttle so hard one time the band on my 6x came unhooked and ended up with a gouge in the bezel after it skated along a boulder, screen didn't show any damage at all.  Not saying it can't be scratched but in normal usage or even abnormal like mine. 

But it takes something pretty hard. 

great experiences.

I'm only 3 weeks in on my Fenix 8, and as I expected (but not this soon!) I already have some minor scratches on my bezel. (natural titanium) 

as I have said elsewhere, the statement that the Fenix casing  is more durable than the Forerunner is not necessarily true for my type of use case. I never had any notable scratches on the polymer casing of my different Forerunner watches. more premium materials (metal): yes, more durable: now.  

as for the screen: still pristine after 3 weeks :)  I do hope I can vouch for the sapphire 3-4 years from now. (I've always used tempered glass on my Forerunners, but am rocking the F8 without any extra protector)

If you're a welder, I'd say get a protector or take off the watch. Otherwise, no. Had a piece of molten metal fall on the screen once and it left a mark, not taking that chance again.