I don't think they are necessary. I used them for an entire year without bands, and honestly never had a problem. I think of the band as an extra little confidence booster though for me, I know it's never going to open on me prematurely with that extra band. It now has the positive blade retention qualities of the Snyper, with the cutting diameter of the Rage. Win/win in my book.

Edit** If I didn't have access to these bands, I'd still use them.