Blaze Stainless Steel Band: Fitbit says it will tarnish with sweat?

[Rob_R]

Was just about to buy the steel band for the Blaze when I noticed something strange in the specifications (see below) - stainless steel does not have any issue with water.  I have several Tag Heuers with stainless steel bands and have never had a problem.  Is this a generic disclaimer about some other type of metal that was posted by mistake?

Fitbit Store: Blaze Metal Band

"Metal bands are not sweat or water-resistant. We recommend limited or no contact with moisture to reduce tarnishing or damage to the band."

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hey there @Rob_R. Welcome to the Community! 🙂

The note about Leather and Stainless steel bands not being sweat and water resistant is to maximize the life of them. Also, these two types of bands are meant more for casual daily activities rather than for exercising per se in which case you can use the classic bands which are made of a flexible, durable elastomer material similar to that used in many sports watches, and includes a surgical-grade stainless steel buckle.

I don't think that by using the metal band or the leather band in regular daily activities will cause normal sweat conditions to damage them, though it's recommended to keep the bands clean and dedicating a couple of minutes to this every now and then. You can take a look at the care and wear guide by clicking here.

Hope this helps and if you still have any questions, I'll be glad to help!

[Rob_R]

Hey Ferdinand, thanks for the reply. My reaction is to the strong language used and it's apparent contradiction to the material used. On Wikipedia, the explanation of stainless steel starts off with: "Stainless steel does not readily corrode, rust or stain with water as ordinary steel does." That's not to say it is impervious or a perfect material, but the point of "stainless" seems lost in the fitbit disclaimer.

[wtksk8r]

Just putting in my 2 cents based on my past life as a metallurgist. Stainless steels while good are not truly stainless until the chromium level is above about 22% and most stainless steels in use are in the 15-18%.  That means that stainless steels will tarnish if exposed to sweat and other contaminants for long periods of time.  My past stainless steel band watches that I wore 24/7 tended to stain and look black in places after a while.  I don't fault Fitbit for being a bit overcautious to not raise expectations beyond what the material can deliver.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Thanks for sharing your expertise about this @wtksk8r. I do agree with you in the fact that I've also had stainless steel watches that if well they don't look "stained", they will sure not look as neat as they did when new. It's a minimal variation but that's what will happen over the time to these materials which shouldn't be a dramatic difference.

Also @Rob_R, as @wtksk8r states, this is to provide a proper expectation on how the band will perform and the type of care to consider when wearing it.

[SunsetRunner]

Not all stainless is created equal.  The more nickel the better.  Water and sweat should not effect the color of the stainless.  Betting FitBit uses a high quality stainless to avoid alergies in most but not all people.

[KiloLima64]

I'm sure that they need to put that wording in there for the person who expects it to be pretty no matter what and then gets ticked off because it tarnishes and such.