I love the older ones. The new ones are junk. Hard, crispy type material with weak stretch. And you can no longer simply slide the plastic buckle to adjust; you have to grab that and then a piece of the band and pull it awkwardly.
i kind of see your point, my first holder was a black rubber one, and pretty soft, when it broke, i ordered a replacement, it was gitd type, it was not as soft, which i found to be an advantage, cuz it would cause less wobble, but i did rip one while putting the band in.
if you have a 3d printer, i can give you a file for the holders i printed , pic in a post above, they are made to work with 35-40mm rubber bands, you can get those at hobby stores, craft supplies, or internet, since i made them for my self i did not need to make them adjustable, tried several bands, with different stiffness, now i only use wide bands, and rigid holders, to me the difference is huge, i remove thin oem bands from every headlamp i buy, and make my own, unfortunately my printer broke, and i can't print anymore, i just got new ylp gekko, it is the only light i have that still has oem band.
