If it looks cool, I’m sold.

Some guys want a pure black wetsuit in all SCUBAPRO fashion and some want a yellow stripe here and there, and some girls want a reg that can be fitted with a purple cover plate or that has a colored shiny finish and some girls want “a stealth, rugged, nylon fiberglass case and a dark anodized aluminum ring.” I have been working at Pro Scuba for about two months now and there is one thing, in particular, I have noticed. Despite Dave’s advice in his basic scuba courses, that fit and comfort should be your prime concern when choosing gear, color and style are what really hook someone on a product. A customer will find a mask that has zero gaps, hits all the right places on his or her face, and seals nicely on an inhale, but the fact that it comes in a black and bronze frame with a mirrored lens is the clincher. I’m not saying they will throw the fit and comfort rule out the window but they might choose the second best fitting mask or wait a week for the preferred color to come in over just choosing a neutral mask.

At the shop we just got in the new G260 Tactical second stage and, as you may have gathered from the name, it is just cool. It has all the incredible features of the normal G260, including the air balanced valve, diver adjustable inhalation effort, diver adjustable VIVA, superflow hose, super comfort high flow mouthpiece, and the left/right hose attachment that the techies love. Those components mean you will have the maximum air availability at maximum depth and can customize as needed, which is what you want as a diver. But, here is what got my attention: it has a stealth, rugged, nylon fiberglass case and a dark anodized aluminum ring and a stealth design knob and nut. Those elements mean it is strong and abrasion resistant, but from the moment I heard the word “stealth” I had to see what it looked like. It did not disappoint; with its black nylon fiberglass case and anodized aluminum ring it epitomizes _________. If James Bond were going to choose a regulator it would be this. It also has the added bonus of coming with the swivel attachment, which means as you move your head you are not inhibited by your regulator hose, and that attachment on its own costs over $150. I thought I held true to choosing gear based on Dave’s rule of fit and comfort, but I must say this regulator proved me wrong. If it looks cool, I’m sold.