I've had a pair of polarized Half Jacket's for around 5 years now and the lenses are beat and scratched beyond repair. The cost of another pair of replacement lenses is about half the cost of a new pair of Flak's anyway and I've wanted a pair for awhile so I figured why not. Back when I bought my Half Jackets I had wished they made a pair in a matte black finish...I've never been one for glossy finishes so I ended up getting the dark grey frame. It wasn't perfect, but they were good enough and they've been fantastic glasses.
In the hunt for a replacement pair I discovered they started selling matte black SI Flak's on the regular Oakley site and thought they were perfect. That is until I went on the custom Oakley site and started building a pair and discovered the grey smoke frame color. Research showed me that they used to be made in a matte finish, but the current iteration of grey smoke is actually glossy, similar to crystal black. Sadly my perfect pair wasn't made any more. I started scouring eBay for pairs of the SI and matte grey smoke frames, and almost won a few auctions for some of the SI glasses. Randomly last week when I was kicking around the house at my future BIL's bachelor party I decided to check my eBay app to see if anything new had been posted. Sure enough I found a pair of the older matte grey smoke/slate iridium Flak's for sale. I sent a message to the seller just to double check they were what I thought they were and then entered a bid that was sure to win me the pair. Auction expired a couple days later and I got them for what I feel is a good deal, especially considering they are exactly what I wanted.
Also picked up a couple flag bags from a forum member and those happened to show up today as well. In the process of working out a trade for some BIP lenses for the Flak's and then I'll have my perfect pair for under $75 cost. Of course I still want some of the matte black frames, but I guess this is an addiction after all.
In the hunt for a replacement pair I discovered they started selling matte black SI Flak's on the regular Oakley site and thought they were perfect. That is until I went on the custom Oakley site and started building a pair and discovered the grey smoke frame color. Research showed me that they used to be made in a matte finish, but the current iteration of grey smoke is actually glossy, similar to crystal black. Sadly my perfect pair wasn't made any more. I started scouring eBay for pairs of the SI and matte grey smoke frames, and almost won a few auctions for some of the SI glasses. Randomly last week when I was kicking around the house at my future BIL's bachelor party I decided to check my eBay app to see if anything new had been posted. Sure enough I found a pair of the older matte grey smoke/slate iridium Flak's for sale. I sent a message to the seller just to double check they were what I thought they were and then entered a bid that was sure to win me the pair. Auction expired a couple days later and I got them for what I feel is a good deal, especially considering they are exactly what I wanted.
Also picked up a couple flag bags from a forum member and those happened to show up today as well. In the process of working out a trade for some BIP lenses for the Flak's and then I'll have my perfect pair for under $75 cost. Of course I still want some of the matte black frames, but I guess this is an addiction after all.
