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Quickfit band comparison and pics

So for those interested, I currently have the official garmin black silicon and leather (received today, yay!) bands and a chinese yellow/green one and thought I'd make some pics on how they look on the 935...

I actually really dig the quickfit bands, they all give the watch quite a different look. Solid black, sporty/summery/happy green/yellow and more serious leather. A chinese blue one is also on the way.

So far my impressions:

1. Chinese yellow sillicon:

The material is more flimsy. Think of wearing the official sillicon one for a few weeks after which it gets more flexible, the chinese is that + some more. I think it actually reminds me a bit of the stock non-quickfit 935 band, Surely decent enough for day to day wear and also for running and such. The clip is set with a pushpin instead of torx (same as with the nonquickfit stock one I heard?) so that construction might a but less solid. The strapholders also are a bit more loose, but the strap stays in fine though. Excellent value for money!

2. Official black silicon:

More rugged then the chinese one, a little bit too rugged/uncomfortable the first day but it loosens up quite a bit and I found it comfortable very fast. The clip is set with torx screws making it more stable I think. They are overpiced imo but I love the idea and straps.

3. Official leather one:

Looks good, very stiff though. Guess that will loosen up with a bit of time as well (and already wearing it 2 hrs makes me notice it less). Wouldn't use this for sporting, but surely for day to day wear. Overpiced imo again, but got a discount as I had to wait so long for it and had a coupon so got it half price instead which is more the proper value.

Conclusion:

Official ones ARE more rugged/decent but are overpriced. Proper pricing would be ~30 for the sillicon ones and ~50 for the leather I'd say. The chinese ones offer great value for money and I have no problem whatsoever using them for general sporting and daily wear... Perhaps going deep-see diving and such you might want to reconsider ;)

If you have any questions, shoot!

0 Striff... over 7 years ago

While I can understand what you mean I have done quite a few runs with one of these chinese bands and no issues so far. Perfectly comfortable with it... But I can imagine I'd be less inclined to use it for swimming.

Also, the quality control on these is not quite that great of course so the chances of having a dud are a lot higher. (And perhaps multiple manufacturers and not all of them being the same level).

True, the official ones ARE sturdier but meh...Here the difference in price is about 42 euros (which is 45-50 bucks i believe) which adds up quickly with 2-3 bands (not even talking about the prices of the metal band ;) )

Agreed.

I've not had an issue on any of mine. And I'm speaking from experience with using these on a 935.

0 FlipStone over 7 years ago

How does one adjust the length of the metal band? Can you take out individual links using the Torx tool or by other means?
Thanks!
Q

You need a special tool for that, it was included with my 3rd party chinese metal band but not sure if it will also be included with the official band (or bands by other sellers on ebay, think so though).

0 dm_obrien over 7 years ago

Hey,
Just adding my 2c worth on my chinese cheapie 'leather' band:

Pretty happy with it for the price. In Australia we get stung $119AUD for a 22mm quick fit band. This bad boy was under $10AUD from here:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Luxury-Leather-Strap-Replacement-Watch-Band-With-Tools-For-Garmin-Fenix-5-GPS-Jul4-Professional-Factory/32818677865.html

Overall pretty happy with it for day to day wear in an office - classier and more appropriate compared to the stock silicon band.

Negatives:
- very still initially but has softened with wear. Band is quite thick (i.e depth not width) for the first 3cm from the watch.
- quick release not 100% secure - if forced it will spring open. Day to day this isn't an issue and it is fine. I wouldn't trust it for running, swimming etc. But then not sure I'd want a leather band doing that.
- it is PU leather - not real leather.

Summary - I like it. I've got compliments on it. $10 vs $119. Don't trust it for heavy activities. Came with two screw drivers to change band. Yes apparently I'm that kind of wanker who takes photos of his accessories in cafes. Luckily I don't instagram them or facebook them.
ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1246772.jpg

0 Striff... over 7 years ago

Hey,
Just adding my 2c worth on my chinese cheapie 'leather' band:

Pretty happy with it for the price. In Australia we get stung $119AUD for a 22mm quick fit band. This bad boy was under $10AUD from here:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Luxury-Leather-Strap-Replacement-Watch-Band-With-Tools-For-Garmin-Fenix-5-GPS-Jul4-Professional-Factory/32818677865.html

Overall pretty happy with it for day to day wear in an office - classier and more appropriate compared to the stock silicon band.

Negatives:
- very still initially but has softened with wear. Band is quite thick (i.e depth not width) for the first 3cm from the watch.
- quick release not 100% secure - if forced it will spring open. Day to day this isn't an issue and it is fine. I wouldn't trust it for running, swimming etc. But then not sure I'd want a leather band doing that.
- it is PU leather - not real leather.

Summary - I like it. I've got compliments on it. $10 vs $119. Don't trust it for heavy activities. Came with two screw drivers to change band. Yes apparently I'm that kind of wanker who takes photos of his accessories in cafes. Luckily I don't instagram them or facebook them.

I have this too, but find it quick release undoes easily with slight pressure. When ever I have it under my motorcycle jacket, I go to take the jacket off, the top band has come off.
Happens all the time, I did try to bend the clasp part, which seems to have helped.

Haven't had an issue with the 6+ other Chinese quick release bands I have https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AA1IIgQ04fOd5cM&id=345BE504071AAF06%2175665&cid=345BE504071AAF06

0 webvan over 7 years ago

Yes it's pretty good value for the money ! I don't understand why it doesn't clip securely like the silicone bands but it's ok for casual wear. I'm using its "unclipping" feature to remove it entirely without unfastening the buckle and therefore limit the creases in that area.

Has anyone found that the oHR performed worse with these F5 QR bands vs the original one or adapted F3 straps? I thought the recent poorer performance of the oHR was due to 5.10/5.33 but it seems these QF straps don't have "pull down" the FR935 as much as the original one.

0 FlipStone over 7 years ago

Then tighten it up a notch? But nope, no issue here it seems...

Can imagine the 3rd party bands are a bit more flexible (and thus less tightened). But no issues here, although I wear the leather original band most of the time during casual use and the 3rd party silicon only when running (but also sometimes when sunny or when not being able to be bothered to change bands).

0 Steve.E over 7 years ago

I also noticed that with the QuickFit strap it doesn't get the sensor quite as close to your skin as with the standard. Even when tightened. I Think it is to do with the strap being slightly thicker in the area where the pins go through.

0 webvan over 7 years ago

Yes that's it, regardless of the tightening the gap "remains" vs the original or F3/Trimmed straps. I've had really poor oHR perfomance since 5.10/switching to the QR straps, will go back to the F3/Trimmed strap to see if it helps (5.33 hasn't).

0 derek87 over 7 years ago

for those of you with Moko bands: is the clasp mechanism made of metal? also, i read on one amazon review that the silicon model is a dust magnet. have you found that the case?

finally, of very big interest is my search on Amazon today showed this:
https://smile.amazon.com/MoKo-Milanese-Stainless-Replacement-Forerunner/dp/B075P28H1W/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1507913456&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=moko+forerunner+935+band&psc=1

this looks like a potentially nice option...

0 hollyoak94 over 7 years ago

Can't speak for the Moko versions but I just received two new silicone straps from AliExpress today and I noticed that compared to the previous two the locking mechanism was now made of metallic material vs plastic previously and it's flatter. They keep getting better ;-) The clasp is unchanged and feels metallic too.