I never intended to use the band that came with this watch, so I won't comment on that.  The watch istelf was set to a date about 15 days away from actual, so I had to wind it for a long time to reach the right date.  In the process, the winding stem came out.  I was able to screw it back in.  On an older Timex that would never happen.  Timex used to be the go-to cheapie that still had reasonable quality; great for people like me who are a bit hard on watches.  Somehow, I don't think this one will be around very long.