Quick-release Spring Bars vs Standard

I've not had an issue but have noticed the quality of spring bars varies as much as the quality of straps and bracelets. I have lost a watch when a spring bar broke many years ago but that was a 20yo spring bar!

Never had an issue with QR bars. They're just so convenient that it's gotten to a point where I won't purchase a strap if it doesn't come with them.

Never had an issue at all with quick release spring bars. Even if I had I’d take them every time over standard. The underside of the lugs of my watches are all the proof you need of the benefits of quick release.

I've got a few quick release straps and so far, there's no issue with them. They do tend to go on so easily that I get suspicious that they're not secure, but when I check, they're just fine. I do feel that if the watch got a real jolt or a tug, that they may fail before a standard spring bar, but I'm not willing to test that. 😀

The reason given is that they are more prone to breaking.

Was this claim supported with any theory or non-anecdotal evidence? Still a spring and little retracting push pin and all. I may be missing something.

You're certainly less likely to drop the watch while changing straps, that's for sure. I feel like I may have actually had a spring bar failure in my life, like thirty plus years ago. I realized watch was gone, retraced steps, found it, picked it up, put it in pocket and replaced the spring bar at home. If this ever happened, it failed to scar me for life or be memorably traumatic.

Apparently it happened to the author. Here’s the article: https://www.watchreport.com/nezumi-studios-aviera-gmt-watch-review/

I would suspect quality would be a bigger factor than whether it's quick release or not. Any spring bar can fail, quick release or not.

I really appreciate double quick release spring bars on bracelets. They really make it easier, and help avoid scratching up the lugs during bracelet removal (which can be quite difficult sometimes).

Never had a problem. I really appreciate the genius that first invented them.

No issues ever and it makes it sooo easy!

Author writes:

These pins are extremely prone to breaking, and I did just that. Went to take the bracelet off to put on the bracelet, the one side was stuck, and when I say stuck, no movement whatsoever would budge them, and eventually one of the prongs broke off.

Well, I was expecting one of these goofy stories where the watch just unexpectedly suicides itself off a cliff or into the ocean or something. So we were spared that.

But uh, is the supposition that a standard spring bar won't break if you, you know, force it with all your might until failure?

Anyway, he's inadvertently onto something in that these quick release bars don't seem to have shoulders that could have been used for retraction. It might've marred the lugs up, but presumably more force could be applied.

But, if the end is stuck...would we prefer the spring bar be unbreakable? I'd like it as the weak link, the sacrificial part. It's cheap and replaceable. It solved that stuck problem, didn't it?

So he may not be totally wrong, but when people worry about spring bar failure, they typically worry about the lost watch scenario.

Haha. Is this a fictional article to get a discussion going? I don’t think I’ll buy a strap with a standard spring bar ever again. Though it’s mostly the cheaper brands of straps and bracelets that have a quick release, in fact I’ve never see the more expensive brands with a quick release. The cheapness gives me pause, so I don’t wear my Rolex on a strap when golfing 😂. On a related note I put my GMT M2 back on its bracelet, probably for good. Most of my other “sports/tool” watches will remain on quick release straps.

I mean it’s a real article. I posted the link above, but I couldn’t say if the author was just trying to get a conversation going. Doesn’t seem like it though.

I can only think of one quick-release failure, on a Ti bracelet: The little slider knob detached from the bar, meaning it couldn't be activated by hand. The type of failure isn't one that would cause the bracelet to fall off. Rather, it makes it harder to remove. I've gotten around this problem by sticking a spring bar tool into the hole to apply leverage.

Perhaps if you wore a particular strap constantly there would be an increased risk of damage, but most people are spreading that wear and tear across at least a couple other watches/bands. I don't think it's really worth worrying about, relative to the significant convenience these spring bars provide.

Either way, it’s a good topic for discussion. I do wish some of the better quality leather straps had quick release. For me it wouldn’t matter if all watches had drilled lugs, but then many find them unaesthetic. I don’t.

Drilled lugs really do seem to be a rarity. Of the 45 or so watches I have, only 1 has them. I get the aesthetic reasoning, but you’d think more tool watches, at least, would have them.

Same. Only one of my Seiko divers have drilled lugs. Maybe the Monster has one, haven’t worn it in a long while. I’m thankful that my next watch has drilled lugs GS SBGA 373.

I've had no issues with quick release

I’ll chime in. I only use quick release and never had a problem and I even use them whenever I wear NATOs. I won’t buy straps without quick release. I wish there were more quick release bracelets too.

Everything should go quick release at this point. #lug scratch awareness

Never had an issue with quick release spring bars! At the same, I don't have any issues with standard spring bars. The quality of them matters more than the type

The newer trend for using them in bracelets, is terribly convenient.

Could care less about any lug scratches, it's just waaaay faster if you change between metal and single pass alot, which I do.

After having some spring bars fail on me during activities at work, I try and use Marathon shoulderless or Marathon flange tip springbars wherever possible. Basically unless the watch head requires curved bars, or Seiko style "fatbars", I'm using Marathon.

Sadly it appears as if others are catching on because Marathon seems to be regularly out of stock of them, especically in 20mm.

I too also wish more watches came with drilled lugs, so that way one could use shoulderless bars all the time.

Nope, I've never had a QR springbar fail. I don't see how it's anymore likely than a normal one 🤔

Never had either fail. I also haven’t had a QR spring bar fly across the room or slip down the sink drain either. For me I’ll take the QR. I just got the Longines Spirit. It has the best QR bracelet I’ve seen. I thought the Christopher Wards bracelet had a great mechanism. The Longines is amazing. Just push a button. That’s it. Of course I had to Goggle how to remove it.

I have that same watch and while I do like the QR bracelet, the QR on-the-fly micro-adjust strap option is way more comfortable to me.

For sure. The CW is the only one I have experienced.