Third-Party Bands?

[fabio_santino]

With the Blaze's versatility of being a removable module, I'd really like to see some third party developers get creative with an assortment of different bands/frames, or maybe even different types of housing for the blaze (like something that's just a clip if you didn't want to wear it on your wrist). Did anyone see/hear of anything like this? The only accessories I can find right now are the ones made by Fitbit, which surprises me. I'd really like to find a canvas band, or one that has a frame that is some color other than silver (like black or gold). 

[Fands]

wow, the FRAMES are nice and if you are seeing them there, we should be seeing them HERE before long.  thanks so much for sharing the pictures.

[nlmux]

I received this band today and will be contacting the seller for a refund. The band is not nearly as nice as the Oitom bands--it is clunky and the mesh is not as tightly woven, nor as flexible. The real problem, however, is that one of the ends of the bands is too wide for the frame and also the pin (and I tried all of them) will not fit into the end of the band itself without forcing it.

[racertempo]

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@Fands wrote:

wow, the FRAMES are nice and if you are seeing them there, we should be seeing them HERE before long.  thanks so much for sharing the pictures.

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Yup, I was very pleased, and I honestly don't even remember which of my bands it is on currently.  The best part was that it got to me so quickly from China.  I do hope you can get them in the US at the same price soon.

[racertempo]

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@nlmux wrote:

I received this band today and will be contacting the seller for a refund. The band is not nearly as nice as the Oitom bands--it is clunky and the mesh is not as tightly woven, nor as flexible. The real problem, however, is that one of the ends of the bands is too wide for the frame and also the pin (and I tried all of them) will not fit into the end of the band itself without forcing it.

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Yes, this seller has far far too many pin problems listed in the reviews for me to every buy from them.  SUre there are many happy buyers from them, but the % with pin issues makes it a gamble.  I do find my mesh to be tightly woven, as you have described, much like my old Skagen watch bands.  I wear this band 90% of the time during the day.

[Fands]

i thought this is the Otium band (which i think is the manufacturer name too) that i purchased in rose gold, the one that gave me trouble fastening the pins to it...maybe you want to try the pins that came with the Blaze band?  i cannot tell the difference in the mesh between this one and UMTele one i recieved attached to a frame. they are identical.

maybe you got a lemon?

[racertempo]

I think a large % of people are getting Lemons like Lmnux from that seller (Oitum).  The reviews with 1* are around 30%, most of which cite pin problems.  That is far too many for me to give my money with that risk, and I think it shows since they have dropped their price....the cost is now less than half of what it was a few weeks ago.

[nlmux]

To be clear, the Oitom bands I have (rose gold and black) are great. I have no problems with them. It's the Omita band that I received yesterday that is defective. The URL links for Amazon seem to go back and forth almost interchangeably between the two brand names/sellers, so it is sometimes confusing as to which one is being referenced.

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@racertempo wrote:

I think a large % of people are getting Lemons like Lmnux from that seller (Oitum).  The reviews with 1* are around 30%, most of which cite pin problems.  That is far too many for me to give my money with that risk, and I think it shows since they have dropped their price....the cost is now less than half of what it was a few weeks ago.

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[nlmux]

The pins are not the problem with this defective band (Omita), as one end of the band works fine. It's the other end that is the problem. The pins will not go fully into the end without forcing them, and it is too wide for the frame.

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@Fands wrote:

i thought this is the Otium band (which i think is the manufacturer name too) that i purchased in rose gold, the one that gave me trouble fastening the pins to it...maybe you want to try the pins that came with the Blaze band?  i cannot tell the difference in the mesh between this one and UMTele one i recieved attached to a frame. they are identical.

maybe you got a lemon?

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[Fands]

I also had that issue, took it to my jeweler (as i needed a battery for my real watch anyway), she showed me how to do it from the opposite end. (not the little nubby)..using tweezers, insert the nubby end in FIRST, then push the opposite end with the tweezers and give it a good tug.

hope this helps.

i ordered one from the Omita vendor too--it hasnt arrived yet. i had gotten impatient and then saw the silver mesh with the frame attached which is 2 seconds to pop the watch part in.

[nlmux]

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@Fands wrote:

I also had that issue, took it to my jeweler (as i needed a battery for my real watch anyway), she showed me how to do it from the opposite end. (not the little nubby)..using tweezers, insert the nubby end in FIRST, then push the opposite end with the tweezers and give it a good tug.

hope this helps.

i ordered one from the Omita vendor too--it hasnt arrived yet. i had gotten impatient and then saw the silver mesh with the frame attached which is 2 seconds to pop the watch part in.

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I have zero problems with the Oitom bands/pins. It's the Omita that is defective. The pins will not go into the band end at all without forcing it, and the band end is too wide for the frame. It's just poor manufacturing, not technique. I hope you have better luck with the Omita one when you receive it, as I'm sure they're not all defective. I'm still holding out on ordering new frames, in case someone comes out with affordable colored ones.

[alaskanexpat]

Hey, I got a silver milanese loop from a third party manufacturer through Amazon -- I love it. Aside from some battery/BTooth problems, I love the Blaze, but hated how it looked. I got a silver milanese loop to match my existing frame, and am a huge fan. I'll probably buy a rose gold frame/m.loop next. Good Luck!

As a side note, I've started wearing my Blaze on the inside of my wrist for everyday wear, and haven't noticed any significant change to my stats. The magnet on the loop lets me rearrange the position of the Blaze very easily.

[Fands]

http://www.amazon.com/Coper-Milanese-Magnetic-Stainless-Fitbit/dp/B01E8NHDL8/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=...

new seller with both frame and band, the price is right, but not a Prime seller, it will take a month to arrive unless you want the expedited shipping of $41.79...

these are only the silver frames but the the purple is nice too.

[racertempo]

Thanks Fands.  There is a seller with multi-color frames now, black, gold, and rose for $7.4+1 shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/Fitbit-Blaze-TOOPOOT-Stainless-Replace/dp/B01E38SSH6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=14...

I ordered a black frame and a gold frame, then from the same seller I ordered the gold loop band for only $12

http://www.amazon.com/Fitbit-TOOPOOT-Milanese-Magnetic-Stainless/dp/B01D8AFCEC?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirec...

So 2 frames and a band for <$30.  No reviews on this seller yet, I will post when I get them.

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@Fands wrote:

http://www.amazon.com/Coper-Milanese-Magnetic-Stainless-Fitbit/dp/B01E8NHDL8/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=...

new seller with both frame and band, the price is right, but not a Prime seller, it will take a month to arrive unless you want the expedited shipping of $41.79...

these are only the silver frames but the the purple is nice too.

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[Fands]

I looked up one of the various new inexpensive sellers reviews..it seems that a lot of them specialze in phone cases, accessories items...some feedback indicates flimsy/thin, which is why i am waiting a week or so to see what else comes along, with Prime...the prime seller that i used, UMTel, is now offering a buy one get one free (silicon sports band that protects the edges).
I did see a pretty mesh that is "coffee" colored, that appealed to me, and a blue regular link style too.
Patience is a virtue...lol, thanks to everyone for sharing!

[Nocturnx]

I ordered one of the $7 frames.  It will take a month to get here though.  I also ordered this stainless steel band: http://www.amazon.com/Fitbit-JETech-Stailess-Bracelet-Fitness/dp/B01DMQVTY4/  And should have it tomorrow.  I'll let you know how it is.

[nlmux]

Where did you see the BOGO offer?

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@Fands wrote:
I looked up one of the various new inexpensive sellers reviews..it seems that a lot of them specialze in phone cases, accessories items...some feedback indicates flimsy/thin, which is why i am waiting a week or so to see what else comes along, with Prime...the prime seller that i used, UMTel, is now offering a buy one get one free (silicon sports band that protects the edges).
I did see a pretty mesh that is "coffee" colored, that appealed to me, and a blue regular link style too.
Patience is a virtue...lol, thanks to everyone for sharing!

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[Fands]

Go to umtele milanese band and frame large, scroll down past "frequently purchased together", below that is "special offers and promotions"...there are 3-4 different offers./coupons..i think they may honor this even if you previously purchased, that statement is somewhere in their questions.

[KSimmarano]

Good to know! Thank you!

I ordered a silver milanese band from the same seller (toopoot) March 24th. I'm still waiting to get it. They do not do tracking and the order says I should get it between April 19th and May 5th. My brown leather band was ordered from aa-store (also on Amazon) and ships from the same location in China. It had the same delivery date span, but I got it almost 2 weeks ago.

I would really like to order the black and rose gold frames and milanese bands as well, but I want to see the quality of the silver band before I order them.

[nlmux]

Thank you. I never noticed that section before. I guess I'll have to pass on that promotion, though. I ordered a white band this morning and thought I might be able to cancel it and re-order with this code and get the dark blue one, as well. But it looks like the white ones are sold out already! A bird in the hand and all that...

I appreciate everyone posting about their finds.

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@Fands wrote:
Go to umtele milanese band and frame large, scroll down past "frequently purchased together", below that is "special offers and promotions"...there are 3-4 different offers./coupons..i think they may honor this even if you previously purchased, that statement is somewhere in their questions.

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[Fands]

i would just email the seller and tell them you missed it, they had stated somewhere in the Q&A that they wanted their "previous" customers to have access.  They are very prompt in responding with information.  good luck.

For the person who ordered from the TOOPOOT vendor.  I placed an order for a light purple mesh band on MARCH 26----it still is not here and they state the earliest of April 20-May 5....talk about a slow boat from China.  I hope that you have better luck, keep me posted.

btw, my dental hygenist wants a Blaze, she asked about the bands and i gave her the info...her exact words were "oh I didn't know that they came with such a pretty band, is is comfortable"?   i wore the rose gold today...with a fresh installed screen saver, the other one saved the top edge of the Blaze from cracking on the fridge shelf.