Lot #

Oh darn. Out of curiosity, do u recall if it had matte (vs glossy) finish? Supposedly the matte ones were fortified...
 
I've had the Band 2 for a year and wear it every day unless I accidentally leave it on the charger when I leave for work. The original one lasted about 6 months before I started having battery connection issues, and the replacement with the later lot number has been problem free for the 6 months except for the accident described below.

I was hanging security cameras at a friend's house when, due to poor ladder safety, I fell about 3 feet and landed in his shrubbery. The rubber strap on my Band received a significant scratch in the same area where most people have reported the tearing, but as bad as the scratch looked, it still did not expose any wiring and has not torn any more in the past month since this incident. Just as an extra precaution, I have filled this scratch with some vinyl/rubber adhesive in hopes that it will prevent the damage progressing.

In my experience these straps seem pretty durable outside of this accidental abuse, but again the original Band 2 I had for the first 6 months never had any tearing issues either. Maybe I just generally treat my Band more carefully than others?
 
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In my experience these straps seem pretty durable outside of this accidental abuse, but again the original Band 2 I had for the first 6 months never had any tearing issues either. Maybe I just generally treat my Band more carefully than others?

I suspect you may wear your Band more loosely then others. I think it's a tension over time issue.
 
I suspect you may wear your Band more loosely then others. I think it's a tension over time issue.

It could be due to the size and fit, but not because of how loose I wear the Band. I'm wearing a small. Out of the 10 possible clasp positions, I normally wear it at the 4th or 5th position from the loose end. For me, that results in the strap making contact around my entire wrist and gives no room to slide up or down. During workouts, I tighten the Band another click or two just to make certain that the HR monitor is held firmly in place against my wrist.

It's very improbable that I'm wearing the Band more loosely than most users who have experienced tearing issues.

I'm often reminded of this exchange from That 70's Show because I can relate.
Eric: Mom, do I have tiny wrists?
Kitty: No, not tiny. Dainty.
 
Pre-ordered the Band 2 last year and while my strap has a few scuffs, it has held up rather well. No clue what lot number mine.

I do take it off while working outside to avoid major scuffs but otherwise, I wear it daily.
 
After having 2 cracks after 3 Months (both times) i got a new "improved" Band around June( with 1616 Lot). You could feel that they have changed something. Sadly it ripped last week (after ~5 months). So in my opinion they have improved but still don't work correct. Wore it ~23.5 h a day, with running, hiking, cycling.
 
My day 1 band2 was better than the replacement I got in the summer. My day 1 didn't even rip yet but the microsoft store guy said oh, it's probably about to tear since you could a spot where it seemed to be stretching. My replacement very suddenly snapped a couple weeks ago. Like I didn't even know how/when it happened, just picked it up. I never got the lot# info for that one. I got another replacement on the weekend and it's lot#1620 ... we'll see. I don't want it to break down or anything, I just want to use it, not cost MS money :) What I found interesting is my store offered me full refund onto a gift card if I didn't want the band anymore.