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Garmin Forerunner 610 Replacement Velcro Wristband: Quick Take

IMG_2753[1]In my previous post I reviewed the Garmin Forerunner 610 GPS watch. One of my complaints about the watch is that the wristband seems to be poorly designed and has a tendency to break off from it’s anchoring pins. This happened to mine, and I’m still awaiting a replacement from Garmin.

A Twitter friend suggested I try the optional velcro strap, so I went ahead and ordered one from Amazon. In reading the Amazon reviews, there was some concern about the pins that hold the strap on, and it was suggested that buying a set of 19mm spring pins would make things more secure. I bought a pair of those as well.

All relevant pieces have now arrived, and last night I attached the new watch band. At first I thought I had the wrong band because I didn’t realize you had to pull a little plastic anchor off before installing the new ones that came with the velcro strap (anchors are the little black plastic things in the photo below). After a bit of cursing and a quick trip to YouTube I figured out my error and got back to work.

Garmin 610 Velcro Strap

The first step is to attach the new anchors, which is pretty easy once you push/pull out the pins and get all of the parts of the old band removed (a handy tool is included with the velcro strap). I should note that the tool in the image below (taken from the Amazon page for the 610 strap) is not the same as the one that actually comes with the velcro strap, nor are the pins. The velcro strap comes with 4 straight pins that don’t have spring tips, and the tool only has a single tapered point at the tip for pushing the straight pins through the holes.

Garmin 610 Velcro Strap

This is what comes with the velcro strap – straight pins (4 total) and a different tool:

IMG_2758[1]

My impression of the anchors that come with the velcro strap is that they are made of a harder plastic material and seem more durable than those at the end of the original wristband, which almost seem rubbery and pliable. It took a bit of effort to get the pins through to anchor them, and I can’t imagine them coming loose.

The second set of pins included with the velcro strap are threaded through a second set of holes in the anchors and through a fabric loop on the strap to hold it in place. These pins did not fit as snugly, and I was concerned that they would slide out over time. This is where the set of spring pins that I bought separately come in. They fit perfectly and popped into place with what feels like a nice, secure fit (note, I initially thought the spring pins were to be used to attach the anchors, but they do not fit through that set of holes – this led to another bout of cursing until I figured it out).

Now that everything is assembled the band seems quite secure, and it fits comfortably. I used to use velcro straps with my old Timex stopwatches, so the fabric band is not a problem for me, though they do tend to take a bit of time to dry after being wet. The kit comes with both a long and a shorter band, I chose the longer band and it is almost too big for my wrist, so I suspect it will accommodate most people.

Here’s hoping this band holds up better than the original!

IMG_2756[1]

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About Peter Larson

This post was authored by Peter Larson. Pete is a biology teacher, track/soccer coach, and dad (x3) with a passion for running, soccer, and science. If you'd like to learn a little bit more about who I am and what I do, click here, or visit petermlarson.com.

Comments

  1. I went through the very same painful process of pushing in the pins for months until one day I dropped and scratched the watch.

    I then turned to forums where I’ve found other 00s of users complaining and I got to the same conclusion: get the soft strap and a pair of 19mm spring pins.

    Install is painless… but boy that soft strap cuts through your skin like knife goes through butter. A little friction is Ok, but above 10 miles of running the blisters get so painful that I have to switch arm… only to develop blisters on the other wrist.

    I completed a 19M run last week-end and at the end I was bleeding from both wrists. NOT GOOD, and it takes a week to heal!

    I’m now thinking to buy an additional cotton wristband to remove the friction, but SERIOUSLY… this is a really bad design flaw for such an expensive watch!

  2. I would be very careful with velcro wristband like this.
    I used similar ones and in the end they broke/twisted lugs of the watch (not Garmin) and rendered it un-useful (actually whole watch case cracked and started to leak sweat and water in).
    Just my 2C.

  3. Hari Sankara A says:

    I switched to the fabric strap about 11 months ago. I *have* to wrap my wrist with medical tape under the 610 for anything longer than a 20K if I don’t want to wear the skin down raw. If I’m running 30 or more, I need two layers or maybe even three at the contact points.

  4. Went to an expo where Garmin had a stand. The guy said there was a manufacturing error with the bands and Garmin is aware. He replaced the band insure for free.

  5. I´ve already replaced my garmin straps 3 times. It sure was a manufacture or project error, but garmin doesnt care about this issue nor about the back of the watch oxidation problem.
    I´ll try to avoid garmin from now on.

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