I know different people like different things. For example, my pickup truck isn't jacked up and clad with tires that cost more than my house, nor are the wheels decorated by enormous but functionless bolts around the rim to make it look manly. But some people's trucks are manly indeed, and are practically dripping with testosterone. Apart from that sort of thing, there are people who like something that works for them regardless of what it looks like, so they're happy with--for example--a computer in a beige metal box. I tend to like Apple's industrial design, so I have an Apple desktop. Still. (Plus, I like its particular functionality for music and video.)
Decades back when I OW certified, there was some really kludgy, ugly stuff on the market, like the gear US Divers was still making: black, clunky stuff that looked like it came out of an Army Navy surplus store somewhere. But there were also manufacturers going a different marketing direction, like SeaQuest and Tabata, and Tabata's ads by themselves were designed to be beautiful; also, clear silicone was coming in, and matching colors. Now, as I'm getting back into diving, I see that the tech gear is all looking very masculine and military and dark indeed, as befits such sober endeavors, but I'm surprised so much recreational gear has stayed that way. In particular, ScubaPro. So you have the jet fin, which definitely has a particular retro look, and is probably a classic design that will always work, which I respect, but it is aesthetically unpleasing, at least for my tastes. And the company seems to have not budged from basing its industrial design on that sort of look. I mean, going back to fins, even the Mares move from Power Planas being an epic recreational fin to a tech fin involved making a fin that looks good. I go into a ScubaPro shop and think I'm in the 1950's. If all other things are approximately equal (in terms of functionality), how long is ScubaPro going to keep looking old before the company starts getting, well, old?
