I needed a band, quickly, to replace the silicone one on my Suunto Baro 9, because it was literally burning my skin. Once I determined that this is a common reaction to the silicone bands, and that my only recourse was to find an alternate material for a band, I started hunting for one, hoping to get one delivered before my arm eroded away at the wrist. Not surprisingly, Suunto was all sold out of non-silicone bands, which maybe ought to be their clue that the bands they put on the watches as OEM are USELESS. Ahem. Anyway, Amazon to the rescue. This is a legit Suunto band, at the same price or slightly less, with fast, free shipping (ahem again, Suunto). So the band itself? Easy to put on and off, thanks to the quick-release pins. The material is webbing-like, but thin. No stretch to it, so I keep it a notch loose for daily wear, then cinch it down an extra hole on the band for workouts. The best part is that it comes with a longer end, should you have thick wrists, or if you're going to wear it over a wetsuit, or for that matter, over a cycling sleeve. Doing that will negate the watch's magical powers of optical HR, but you already knew that, of course. I will say that I have shockingly slender wrists but this band only has a few holes to spare. So for the ladies, the teens, and the dudes like me with delicate wrists, you won't end up with too much fabric wrapped around your wrist even when you tighten the band down for a workout. I like the black & gray camo colour a fair bit. I have some other non-Suunto bands that I swap in and out depending on my mood. This one isn't lasting any better than the other brands -- it has some signs of fraying after just a few months of wearing it every other week. Those other bands cost 1/5 of what this one cost, and do the same thing... so I again, look to Suunto and shake my head in wonder. How can they justify issuing these hugely expensive watches with a band that 50% of the population can't tolerate wearing, AND also charge almost a hundred dollars for a fabric replacement? Anyhow, if you can get past the consumers-done-wrong aspect of this, the Suunto band is fine. It does what it's supposed to, and doesn't burn your skin. It dries fast, it looks good, etc etc. If you don't care about having the name-brand match the watch, and don't need the longer tail that comes with this one, do check out the alternatives for 24mm bands even here on Amazon. Particularly the one that starts with a BAR and ends with an TON.
