Aftermarket Lens Question For The X Squared...

[Kashton]

Hello Oakley Bros,

I am considering picking up some aftermarket lens for my X Squared Polished and Plasma and wondered if you guys would not mind letting me know which are the best to grab and that fit the best. There seems to be quite a few out there and I wanted to make sure to pick up some good ones. Thanks a bunch in advance for any advice you don't mind giving me!!

Thanks again,

Don

 

[hearno]

There are several threads addressing your question. A quick search should provide you with plenty of info.

 

[xmetalmaniac]

Why aftermarket?

 

[Kashton]

Why aftermarket?

I saw some cool looking colors out there and wanted to give them a try. I have most of the colors that Oakley offers. Was not sure if it was worth my money to try them out and wondered if anyone had tried different companies out or not.

 

[Eckstream1]

Linegear all the way...

 

[xmetalmaniac]

I saw some cool looking colors out there and wanted to give them a try. I have most of the colors that Oakley offers. Was not sure if it was worth my money to try them out and wondered if anyone had tried different companies out or not.

Like Eckstream1 said, linegear is a good choice, and you could always have a custom cut done.....

 

[Kiwi]

I wasn't looking for aftermarket lenses until I came across the thread about evolenses (customxlense). I was pretty impressed with the pictures another member posted of the lenses. The first lenses that i came across where there were positive reviews. But with most of the other am lenses the general consensus is that they aren't worth the money. Even if you get a cool look, the performance is no where near oakley quality.

But if you are still determined here are the brands that I've come across: linegear, customxlense (formerly evolenses), walleva (wl), VL, solstice lens (sl) and exovista. It might seem like $15-$30 isn't expensive to have some cool unique lens colors but research will show you that these lenses can cause headaches.

 

[Havok]

The cheap lenses causes headaches arguments are VASTLY over exaggerated. I life guarded for 6 years wearing sub $30 shades and still have 20/20 eye site and rarely ever got/get headaches. I may have had 2 headaches last year total. In all honesty, the pressure from wearing a pair of glasses is more likely to cause headaches then the lenses themselves. If I could wear cheap frames/lenses so can the majority of people. I wore my glasses for upwards of 10 hours per day and was and still am fine. With that said, there is something to say about Oakley clarity, contrast, and overall quality. Wear Oakley for its quality, but don't assume everything else is horrible.... its fine, just not Oakley standard.

With all of that said, I recently tried z-lens lenses and have been moderately pleased with them. They look nice, and seem of decent thickness and tint. Not a bad alternative when your looking for a unique shade or color. Like others I would recommend Oakley first and foremost, but sometimes Oakley doesn't have what you're looking for.

 

[Kiwi]

Great insight Havok. I am sorry for jumping to conclusions but it's just that when reading the same negative experience over and over, I begin to think of it as truth. The other reason I believed other "replica" brands to be bad comes from what Oakley advertises on its website. If you are not familiar with it: http://www.oakley.com/innovation/optical-superiority/hdo/proven Of course this advertising is intended to make Oakley far superior and may be skewed in their favor but it must have some truth to it. Based up what is showen by Oakley I thought that the blurriness of "other" sunglass lenses could cause headaches, dizziness or other issues. I can only assume that A.M. lenses are worse since they aren't by law required to meet any US regulations and aren't sold in retail stores.

With that, I personally am going to give some A.M. lenses a try. Z-lenses look interesting. Which of their models have you tried out Havok?

 

[OakleyCan]

Go Oakley or Custom Cut. Contact DrChop for Custom cuts