Quick Release Watch Straps

What Quick Release Means

A quick release strap has a small sliding lever built into each spring bar. Push the lever with a fingernail, the bar retracts, and the strap lifts out — no spring-bar tool, no scratched lugs, no trip to a watchmaker. Putting the new one on is the same motion in reverse, and it takes about ten seconds per side.

This is the most common strap fitting on the market. It is what most non-Apple, non-Fitbit smartwatches use, and it is also what the majority of traditional watches have used for decades — which is why the same strap fits a Huawei GT and a 1970s dress watch, provided the lug width matches.

Does Your Watch Take Quick Release Straps?

Turn the watch over and look at where the strap meets the case. If you can see a tiny lever or a small notch on the bar between the lugs, it is quick release. Three quick checks:

• A visible lever or thumb-notch on the spring bar — quick release
• A bar with no lever, needing a tool to compress it — standard spring bar; our straps still fit, you just need a tool
• A proprietary clip, slide or twist mount — not quick release. Apple Watch, Fitbit, Google Pixel Watch and the Samsung Watch Ultra all use their own fittings

Garmin is its own case: most Garmin watches use QuickFit, a rotating clip Garmin designed, not a spring bar. Those take QuickFit 20, QuickFit 22 or QuickFit 26 straps instead.

Then Find Your Lug Width

Quick release straps are sold by lug width — the gap between the lugs, measured in millimetres. Measure that gap with a ruler, or check your watch manual. Once you know the number, go straight to your size:

• 18mm straps — smaller cases: Huawei GT 41mm, Fossil Gen 6 42mm, Withings 38mm, OnePlus Watch 3 43mm
• 20mm straps — the most common size: Amazfit GTS and Bip, COROS Pace 2, Polar Ignite, Garmin vivoactive and Venu Sq
• 22mm straps — larger sport watches: Huawei GT 46mm, Amazfit GTR, COROS Pace 3, Suunto Race, Polar Vantage

Get the width right and the strap simply fits — the brand of the watch does not matter.

How to Swap a Quick Release Strap

• Turn the watch face down on a soft cloth
• Slide the lever on the spring bar towards the centre of the strap
• Lift that end of the strap away from the lugs
• Line the new strap up, seat one side of the bar, then slide the lever and let it click into the other lug
• Tug gently on both ends before wearing it — a properly seated bar will not move