Have you ever had a watch fall off your wrist due to a broken springbar?

No spring bar fail. But a pin in my Tissot titanium bracelet has broken twice.

I was climbing a shipping container few weeks ago and the bracelet of my Seiko srpd got caught and flipped open somehow. I collected the watch and springbar and put in my pocket and could reattach the springbar and bracelet when I got home. It somehow came loose and opened without breaking.

The only spring bar failures I have ever encountered were on natos. Yes, the functionality of the nato stopped the wrist from dropping, but it is the much debated “Does a nato save the watch, or is it the cause?” In my case, I like my straps a little tight, which does not help. I am not a huge fan of natos in general (too bulky), but my experience with flying spring bars does not help and this is a good reminder to get rid of the collection I have sitting in the drawer doing nothing.

Many many years ago when rugby shirts had long sleeves I wore my omega devile and played a whole game of rugby not realising it was still on my wrist. Managed to bend the spring bar but it held on

Unfortunately the watch or spring bars didn’t survive an incident with my wife and a lawnmower 🫣 took me 20 years to find exact replacement

20 year to find replacement from an incident between your wife and a lawnmower. Wife killed lawnmower and took 20 years to find new lawnmower?

I don't like NATO's either and I expected less than 1 % would have checked Yes but we're at 18 % - that's a lot of broken springbars.

Have had a springbar break on:

Helm Vanuatu

Marathon Navigator

Casio Protrek

Hamilton Khaki Mech

Bombfrog Pro 500

Seiko Lowercase Fieldmaster

Suunto Vector x 3

Helm really stunk since it was in the bracelet. Same with the SUUNTO and the Protrek. The rest no biggie cuz single pass straps FTW.

The watch was a tough little thing but not tough enough to survive the lawn mower lol lawnmower lived on and wife replaced the watch with a speedmaster so she also survived 😂

I get the dislike of NATOs. But for those that don't, have y'all tried cutting them down to single pass and cutting excess length off?

You can also play around with how to mount, just Google videos. Last count I did there were at least 4 wildly different ways of mounting the head to the watch.

And if bulk is the deal breaker, go with CWC elastic sewn in single pass, or one of the many MN Style:

Erikas OG

Nick Mankey

Watch Steward

Or some really out there but cool takes on updating the single pass nylon:

ZuluAlpha

Geckota Octopod

Hawkrigger Designs

CWC Falklands style

Final option, buy a mm or two bigger lug width, using knife and heat, notch spot where you want the watch head attached. Attach watch head. Go forth and conquer.

Just throwing it out there. YMMV. 🤘🏻🤙🏻😎

Some NATO straps look good but not as nice as a real nice watch/bracelet or watch/strap combination.

Agreed. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

And don't get me wrong I still like certain watches on a bracelet and/or strap. They have their place. For my daily use and wear, I prefer the security blanket of a single pass. Screw in lugs are ok. And yes I still wear straps and bracelets at work too. But I ALWAYS check the springbar and attachment before wear. Pre or safety checks before doing anything is something I'll recommend for life in general.

Makes it easier to say, meh, screw it, send it, do it...🫣

Ill also TOTS rock my hammy dress watch head on a purple NATO 😂.

Eye opening thread. Thank you all.

Never had a springbar fail...

However, I have had a ChronoGuy fail...

Tip: don't remove a quick-change springbar near your bathroom sink when taking off the NATO.

Second Tip: if you are foolish enough to remove a quick-change springbar near your bathroom sink...make sure to pull up the drain plug first 😉

Not broken but failed to snap into place. This cause the watch to fall off my wrist onto the tile floor and do quite a bit of expensive, irreversible damage. It makes me sick to even discuss it but now I make double sure the springbars are locked in place before putting the watch on my wrist.

Nope but it’s a re-occurring nightmare of mine!! 😣😖

Weirdly started when I started building watches and constantly thinking if I have forgotten to tighten or screw or test fit certain things … argh it’s torture … 😟😖🤯

Oh man!! Now I have to check and tighten all the bracelet screws in my pagani!!

Oh man!! Now I’m going to be OCD about where and when I’m fidgeting with my watches !!

No one that’s failed per se, just one that wouldn’t release so I just snapped that B off.

Yes - the watch was brand new too - and the quick release spring bars were 19mm - you can imagine there were a few choice words I was saying about myself when I saw the spring bar disappear down the drain 🙄

I never had a spring bar fail but I did experience a bracelet failure caused by the loosening of the screws holding the links together.

Spring bars will rust if subjected to sweat. So over time if not cleaned properly, the spring bars will fail.

Come on guys if it hasn’t happened your not living hard enough, I am 62 and have the broken bones and stitches to prove I’ve lived life and broken a couple of watches along the way :)

Good point David. I am very appreciative of the many people who voted in the poll and took the time to comment. After considering the input I conclude that most of us will not lose a watch due to a spring bar failure. However, the chance of failure is far more likely than remote. I like my watch bracelets and nice two piece straps too much to replace them with NATOs and similar single pass protective straps. Luckily I don’t buy expensive watches so the risk of loss or damage is manageable. I hope this thread helps others gain the perspective that works for them.

Lost a spring bar at night, near a body of water while I was working. Luckily I had nato.

I had one come loose today after I failed to secure a bracelet properly last night.