7z is a must for de/compressing files. For years winrar was my choice. I am a perfectionist about the GUI and I could not stand the 7z interface and shell icons.

My use of file compressing/archiving software is simple, compressing jpgs and tiffs, archiving website projects etc. I can safely say now that the 7z barely wins on those tasks (a few kilo to 1 mega or more - this is based on usage simple observations and not on scientific comparison).

I wouldn 't switch from winrar for the GUI thing, but where the better 7z performance didn' t the "open source" convinced me. OK, I can live with the 7z file manager GUI, but what about the shell icons?

The solution
http://mecablaze.deviantart.com/art/Replacement-Icons-for-7-Zip-133534627
for 32-bit and 64-bit windows systems

To install the icons...

1. Copy the appropriate "7z.dll" (32-bit or 64-bit) to your clipboard.
2. Locate your 7-Zip install directory. For example, Windows 7 64-bit installs at "C:\Program Files\7-Zip". It will vary depending on your setup.
3. Paste the .dll appropriate file into the install directory.
4. Backup the existing "7z.dll" by either moving it somewhere else or renaming it.
5. Rename the .dll you pasting in to "7z.dll".

Update -- Use the excellent 7-Zip Theme Manager - http://www.7ztm.de.vu/