Quiksilver

You wouldn’t expect me to cozy up to Quiksilver, a company that makes skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing products targeted at people about a third of my age. In fact, half the time I’m reading product descriptions, I have to open another window to search for translations of the contemporary argot. I backed into the relationship by coming across a discounted pair of their board shorts, which turned out to be close to the perfect bottoms for paddling. I have since acquired a second pair of the same model and a third they make under a different brand name. And, while this is reason enough to establish an affinity, I just realized, while packing for a trip, that they have provided yet another reason to like them. At the risk of appearing to jump topic, within the past month, I acquired a couple pairs of pants. While the manufacturers were different, they were both more age-appropriate for me than Quiksilver. I didn’t realize until I received the products that there was some elastic built into the waistbands, enabling them to reach beyond the designated size. What’s the message there? It’s either, “you’ll let yourself go to pot before these pants wear out” or “you’re probably one of those people who deludes himself and orders smaller.” While there may be some practical thought behind it, I’m not wild about the implications. On the other hand, the Quiksilver shorts come with two sets of eyelets with the laces threaded through those further apart. The message there is “we think you’ll get even more buff.” How can you not like these guys? Or, maybe it’s just that I’m into my pre-trip displacement activity writing (babble).