Colour Coordination

[NudeDiver]

If that's how you purchase stuff -- buying your BC, fins and mask because they're all pink -- then you're just communicating to the rest of us that you are either very new, or focused on the wrong things.

See, that's the assumption right there. Just because someone bought all pink stuff, that they didn't look at or care about anything else. It's just unwarranted.

I'd never buy something (or not buy something) because of the color scheme, but if I have a choice between equally attractive items in different colors, the one with the RIGHT color wins.

That's all I'm saying....but the assumption seems to be that if people have matching stuff, that is all they care about - are dorks, or whatever.

By the way - if you're trying on the drysuit at the store and it is not DRY, you might want to get a different one, no matter what colour it is

 

[Beatlejuice]

When I bought my Reg, the salesman asked me what color Hose Protectors I wanted. That question wasn't even on my radar, but I chose green because I like green. At some point, when diving with a large group, my buddy said she had a hard time picking me out of the group, so when I bought a tank, I bought a bright green tank protector to go with it so she could see me better. However, when I replaced my blue mask, it ended up being black because that's what I could find that fit me really good. I think it's good to be able to individualize your look, but I certainly agree that function should come first!



...Now, when I get that wetsuit that's also a "Creature From The Black Lagoon" costume, THAT will be cool!!!

 

[aascubagirl]

There are those that focus on color first and will refuse to buy something unless it comes in their favorite color.

I thought the #1 rule in scuba was to look good!

 

[sambolino44]

I don't know if it has to do with economy of scale or just blind-sided product designers, but the fact that this is even an issue worth talking about says to me that the SCUBA industry has a long way to go. It seems to me that there are a lot of different brands and models of dive gear, and yet only in recent years has there been much (and still not a lot) choice of color. Sure, if you're more concerned with the color of your gear than the more important stuff, that's bad. But if you have a choice, everything else being equal, and you choose something with a bit of style or flair instead of the same thing everybody else is wearing, anyone who would ridicule you for that is having a negative impact on the future of diving for everybody, whether they want to admit it or not.

It kills me how something so liberating, so out-of-the-ordinary as diving can be so full of stuffed shirts!

 

[aascubagirl]

...Now, when I get that wetsuit that's also a "Creature From The Black Lagoon" costume, THAT will be cool!!!

I'm holding out for a chewbaca costume, myself! Imagining the reactions of divers I might encounter while diving makes me chuckle inside.

 

[Teamcasa]

I thought the #1 rule in scuba was to look good!

Oh Leah, you would look good in any dive outfit!

 

[NudeDiver]

I've seen a few pool sessions of different classes where all of the students had more or less the same (and non-rented) gear - same colour - same same same everything. It was clear they did all their buying at the same place (the shop teaching the class), and that place didn't stock more than one colour of the stuff. Kinda funny - like an army of divers or something. Well, I guess it would be a navy of divers, but you get the idea

 

[aascubagirl]

Oh Leah, you would look good in any dive outfit!

Hey, thanks! You made my day (well, my night anyway)!

Back to the OP...You know, why a diver would put another diver down just because they have matching gear is beyond me. I think diving is supposed to be fun and if you buy your gear for the right reasons (which don't involve color selection), who cares if it ends up matching and you look like the cover of a scuba diving magazine (did I overshoot that one a bit?) Our shop stocks the same fin in 4 different colors - a great fin sold for its quality and performance - but why not offer a little color choice in the deal as well? I think most of us like to express our individuality in as many ways as we can - does that make us a less-than diver? Not IMO!

BTW, if anyone knows of a chewbaca outfit that I can scuba dive in, let me know!

 

[catra8104]

I've been wondering about this color thing... When I started buying my gear, I found a mask that fit at my LDS and said "great I'll take it".. The LDS owner asked me what my favorite color was & hunted one down in that color... After that it was the matching snorkel & fins... Then BC and wetsuit color.. I just don't get it... I'm a girl, um, woman, but the matching thing just wasn't important to me.. It was more important to my LDS.. Strange...

To me all that mattered is that it fit and worked well and worked well for me...

 

[Sas]

I like brightly coloured gear as it is much easier to spot at night or during the day in bad viz. Most exposure protection I see, however, seems to come in black so I just bought mainly black wetsuit and a mainly black drysuit. It is not something I think about too much other than to try to get very visible gear if possible. Couldn't care less what other people wear and I don't think trying to be colour co-ordinated is mutually exclusive with picking appropriate gear.