Is the neXt-metal line dead?

[Oakster]

I love the badman. Great frame. The shift looks awesome but i assume the price point will be absolutly insane. The ferrari was msrp at 2K? Non ferrari at 1500? For a non serialized and without an epic display, that will fall on its face.
They need to bring the original back.

I should know CDN pricing on them next week but I don't feel like it's going to be anything crazy.

 

[pjd1234]

Cheap metals???? It was dead one month after they came out lol.

 

[kronin323]

Let's reality check a bit...

X-metals are dead. Whether or not they put out another neXt-metal, the relaunch was a failure.

Why did it fail? It wasn't the design; people liked that well enough. And the materials and construction, on their own merits, were decent. The problem was the quality / durability of the materials were inferior to the originals. The marketing spin that x-metal had always only been a design philosophy was rejected; x-metal is also a material and the frames need to be near-indestructible. And they weren't.

So, let's say they did bring the originals back. Same frame styles, same materials, either same production method or a more modern 3D printing. Would they sell? Yes. But for how much? IMO for the current market price of wear pairs. Think about it; you have $400 -$450 for a pair of x-metals, would you rather spend that money on a complete, LNIB vintage pair or a modern reproduction for the same price? Why spend that money on a modern reproduction when it could buy you a pair with more "gravitas" instead?

But, let's say you have $300 to spend on a wear pair. In that case, the $300 is better spent on a new modern reproduction than a worn used vintage pair. You think in 2016 they'd still sell them for $300? Nope.

Then look at the recent Heritage reissues. Sure, they sold, but a whole lot of them ended up at the Vaults, practically giving them away. And that was for pairs they can build with their existing manufacturing capabilities; they didn't have to invest in new tech to make them.

Imagine if they did a Heritage version of x-metals using their existing manufacturing capabilities... They'd end up being made out of... aluminum! Oakley would be making their own fake x-metals!!! Want a pair?

So no, the originals aren't coming back; they couldn't sell them at a price point to make the production investment worth it and they know it.

There is one and only one way a relaunch of x-metals would be successful - new, innovative designs AND material quality / durability that is equal to OR BETTER than the originals. And that's not going to happen. The culture and executive management that allowed the release of the originals just doesn't exist there anymore. Instead they want to be the next Nike.

But I could be wrong...

 

[SMman]

I think you nailed it @kronin323

 

[Stanleybb50]

Wow - well stared. Fully agree that the new things that came out are maybe 1/10th as durable as the original x-metals.... I would love a modern design x-metal though. Either the old material or their alloy - what is thst c6 alloy?

Like the wiretap material - but made exactly like the Badman. With easily replaceable and sold o-matter replacement parts and an x-metal hinge setup.

 

[supersharp]

what is thst c6 alloy?

I think you mean C5, but yeah, I wondered why the new stuff couldn't have been made in C5. It's mostly Aluminum also. They prob couldn't make it 3D though.

Edit to correct: Ti statement. Should have stated aluminum.

 

[Stanleybb50]

I think you mean C5, but yeah, I wondered why the new stuff couldn't have been made in C5. It's Ti also. They prob couldn't make it 3D though.

Yes - sorry. Exactly. The C5 material.

 

[kronin323]

C5 is an alloy of five metals (hence the 5 in the name). They don't list what they are but IIRC it's primarily aluminum (I could be wrong on that), compared to x-metal alloy being primarily Ti.

But they did make prototype madmans and badmans out of C5; apparently they were very heavy and inflexible. Pics of them here:

Oakley NYC/Miami Collectors Events - 2/15 Info and Picture Thread

 

[supersharp]

But they did make prototype madmans and badmans out of C5; apparently they were very heavy and inflexible. Pics of them here:

Oakley NYC/Miami Collectors Events - 2/15 Info and Picture Thread

Those just look so much nicer. Wow.

 

[Stanleybb50]

Yeah I wouldn't care if they were heavy... Those look awesome!