When Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine advertised $10,000 to anyone who could demonstrate that their editorial contained "lies, misrepresentations or other distortions"; Force Fins designer Bob Evans took up the challenge.

Bob Evans, a small manufacturer of innovative diving fins, had always believed that the equipment tests carried out by Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine on his fins were not conducted fairly. He noticed that the big advertisers in the magazine always got glowing results, whereas the reviews of his own product were consistently poor - contradicting his own performance tests.

When Rodale's published a $10,000 challenge in 2000 to anyone who could show that Scuba Diving magazine contained "lies, misrepresentations or other distortions", Bob Evans sat down and penned a five page submission. His claim on the $10,000 was rejected by the magazine, so Evans took the matter to court, claiming breach of contract.

When asked to substantiate their equipment testing methodology and results, Rodale's could not provide any test data. In their defence, Rodales' lawyer claimed that Evans had failed to provide any conclusive evidence of bias.

A report in the Business section of the Santa Barbara News outlined Evans' grievances and his claims that he had lost millions of dollars of business due to the adverse reviews. He claimed that he was not interested in the $10,000 but in restoring the good reputation of his product. The two companies are said to be negotiating a settlement in the courts.

Independent scientific tests in DIVER magazine have consistently found ForceFins to be excellent performers.

Related pages
Equipment test, fins, 2002
Equipment test, fins, 1999
Force Fins website


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