Have any of you guys talked to someone at Garmin about the wrist band issue? Seems to me they have a good product but a crappy wrist band. Maybe they can come up with something better? I have two Garmin GPS units (on ETrex, one 3 Pilot) and both have been excellent for about 6 years now. I have heard good things about their factory support, all they need is direct input from end users and I think they will try to help, it is in their best intrerest of course. I will buy a Fortrex for sailing and bike riding, but not until they figure out the wrist band issue. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
I haven't spoken with them but heard from several people who did - Garmin didn't seem that interested in addressing the issue (though I heard that 2nd hand).
The pins are weak - but the problem is also that the unit is long and the wrist band is in the center. Everytime I've lost one, it's because it slides down my wrist (so the wrist band is where it should be) but the unit extends over the back of my hand. When I flex my hand backwards (like when I brace myself on the hull coming in from the wire) it puts a lot of stess on the pins. My thought was to build a thin composite enclosure with a stronger band attachment and offset the band to the right of the unit so I can wear it on my left hand and not have it extend over my hand. Someone else made a good suggestion to me to make a band that is as wide as the unit itself so it won't slide down over your hand.