Suunto D4 color replacement strap . Do they fail at the same rate of original ?

[smudge13]

Thanks for the reply. Maybe it was the US batch at those times? Must be honest, out of all the people I know using Suunto's in SA, I have never heard of anyone complain of such issues.

Very odd that the one side of the world would receive such bad quality, and the other better.

Different manufactures enlisted maybe?

No idea what the manufacturing/material issue was but I was very disappointed. Here's the factory one that disintegrated.

 

[smudge13]

First post and apologies posting to an old thread but anyone tried these knock-offs on eBay?

Silicone Replacement Watch Diving Band Strap for Suunto D4 D4i Novo Bracelet | eBay
View attachment 449828

I just received the above eBay knockoff band. The silicone band material is very good and appears to be the same material as the band on the new Novo watches. How can they sell it for $9.95 with free shipping you ask? The hardware. The "stainless" hardware that comes with the new knock off band is garbage. Use it at your peril.

The first photo is the threaded pin they send to attach the band to the watch body. I immediately stripped one out just barely tightening it.

That prompted me to take a much harder look at the remaining hardware. The next pics show the clasp and pawl that comes with the new band compared to the factory clasp and pawl. The factory clasp is a much heavier gauge of steel and the pawl is machined from a solid piece of steel stock rather than a rolled piece of flat stock. The factory clasp also has an indent to accept the pawl and the factory pawl is nearly twice the length of the knockoff. Also note that on the knockoff the clasp attaches to the band using a cheap spring pin like you would find on a K-Mart watch. Toss it! If you have the hardware from your old band reused it!

Be very careful not to damage the threaded pin that holds the clasp onto the factory band. It has some variety of thread locker on it and will need very gentle heat to loosen it.

I reassembled everything using the new silicone band and the old stainless factory hardware from one of my old bands and put Locktite 243 Blue on all of the threaded portions.

Now I just need to change my battery! lol

 

[Fires]

View attachment 461267 View attachment 461268 View attachment 461267

No idea what the manufacturing/material issue was but I was very disappointed. Here's the factory one that disintegrated.

Thanks for the pics. I see now this is the new d4i straps. (the 2 colour ones i.e. black and a colour). I had the old d4 and the d4i novo (silicone strap). So maybe the problem was with that in between model?

Either way, the more recent ones seems better.

 

[smudge13]

Thanks for the pics. I see now this is the new d4i straps. (the 2 colour ones i.e. black and a colour). I had the old d4 and the d4i novo (silicone strap). So maybe the problem was with that in between model?

Either way, the more recent ones seems better.

My watch is an original D4. I had two solid black elastomer D4 bands break and the blue/black D4i you see above disintegrate.

 

[Dan]

My D4 original strap broke apart in a year / 100 dives. I replaced it with the new & improved strap (blue band with black sides like @smuge13 strap, post #61, above). It lasted for 8 years / 1000 dives. Luckily it broke on the boat, when I was getting ready to dive.

I replaced the old strap with NATO Zulu strap. I think this NATO Zulu strap is a much better design than the OEM ones, in terms of materials and design where you won’t lose the dive computer if one of the pin holder breaks apart as the strap will stay on your wrist even with one pin holder.