Is it me, or is Oakley's selection feeling a bit lacking lately?

[Hyperion]

Since I just got BACK into my Oakley's after about a 5 year hiatus, I've been looking around for new pairs at great deals and recently picked up some Batwolfs for about $85 that I love. I then started looking around for other options and it feels a bit...minimalistic. Their top models pretty much all look the same with minor differences and some of their old standbys are a bit bland now. Where's the Over the Tops? Both figurative and literally. I'm trying to replace or repair my Why 3's and I discover the whole Why series is discontinued. I loved the Romeo 2's but now they've been replaced with Half X's which just don't look or feel the same. In fact they look like FAKE Romeo's with no hinges or bolts like the Juliet (which they still have, and I still don't like). The Oil Rig, Batwolf, and Antix look almost identical except the arms which lead most people to just go for the Batwolf or Oil Rig and forget the others exist, while the Frogskin, Holbrook, Jupiter, and Dispatch all look too much alike too. Even their wires are all a little too similar to pick between (and missing the frameless Why's I used to love). What happened to their crazy models, the Mars with leather wraps, the Over the Top, the Zero, the Penny, the Romeo, the Why, the MP3 models, those ones that looked like metal panels bolted together (but were really plastic), and all the other stuff I feel I should have missed in the last 5ish years?

Like whatever THAT is.​

Heck, the Gascan is still one of their best sellers and I've had mine for about 4-6 years, but everything else I remember from that time is gone. It seems they went for just a few styles that worked and are just giving you as many different color combo options to mix and match than ever before instead of giving you just different glasses. Is it just me? Is it just an off period for Oakley while they come up with new designs? Or am I just crazy and missing it? What other styles do you really miss? What's coming that you're excited for?

 

[Hyperion]

Since I just got BACK into my Oakley's after about a 5 year hiatus, I've been looking around for new pairs at great deals and recently picked up some Batwolfs for about $85 that I love. I then started looking around for other options and it feels a bit...minimalistic. Their top models pretty much all look the same with minor differences and some of their old standbys are a bit bland now. Where's the Over the Tops? Both figurative and literally. I'm trying to replace or repair my Why 3's and I discover the whole Why series is discontinued. I loved the Romeo 2's but now they've been replaced with Half X's which just don't look or feel the same. In fact they look like FAKE Romeo's with no hinges or bolts like the Juliet (which they still have, and I still don't like). The Oil Rig, Batwolf, and Antix look almost identical except the arms which lead most people to just go for the Batwolf or Oil Rig and forget the others exist, while the Frogskin, Holbrook, Jupiter, and Dispatch all look too much alike too. Even their wires are all a little too similar to pick between (and missing the frameless Why's I used to love). What happened to their crazy models, the Mars with leather wraps, the Over the Top, the Zero, the Penny, the Romeo, the Why, the MP3 models, Plates, and all the other stuff I feel I should have missed in the last 5ish years?

Like whatever THAT is.​

Heck, the Gascan is still one of their best sellers and I've had mine for about 4-6 years, but everything else I remember from that time is gone. It seems they went for just a few styles that worked and are just giving you as many different color combo options to mix and match than ever before instead of giving you just different glasses. Is it just me? Is it just an off period for Oakley while they come up with new designs? Or am I just crazy and missing it? What other styles do you really miss? What's coming that you're excited for?

 

[Batwolf]

That's Oakley for you nowadays. I've been trying to find older discontinued stuff lately.

BTW if you are looking for an OTT let me know.

 

[Hyperion]

Dear Mods, please delete this post. I don't know why it posted twice, there was a weird glitch and I hit submit and it took me right back to the same page and I hit submit again and it went through but there was two.

 

[dann]

Lux bought Oakley and now wants $1B in profit per year. Square O sells, and black sport frame sell. Medusa's and OTT's don't. We're in the same boat, only a fraction of what I have is post 2005.

 

[Hyperion]

That's Oakley for you nowadays. I've been trying to find older discontinued stuff lately.

BTW if you are looking for an OTT let me know.

I don't really WANT an OTT, I was just finding it weird with all you guys out there with HUGE displays of all their different models, but I was trying to get my own (much smaller) collection going and after my Batwolf, Gascans, and Canteens...i pretty much have their entire selection covered. Everything I look at looks like one of those 3 with different colors maybe, and at that point I might as well buy 5 gascans cheap and put different lenses in each or 4 batwolfs, etc. etc. Now I can't fix my Why 3's which couldn't be more unique from all other Oakley's and stand out, and I just don't see the wonderful insanity Oakley used to have. It's like all those hipsters and "douchey" guys who overwore the white gascans till we hate them now told Oakley, "THAT'S what sells! Square lenses and those things that look like cheap plastic sunglasses from the 80's! Let's ONLY make those!!!"

 

[Radar]

Yep, I feel the same but its more about the colors for me. To me they just keeping using the standard colors and then may put out 1 or 2 other colors that are stand out-ish.

 

[Hyperion]

I remember the crazy Oakley's like Plates or the leather Mars appealing to the just insane fashions (Remember Tyler Durden) and now they just coast along mimicking hipster styles which ironically hipsters swear they would never buy (but probably do).

 

[Hyperion]

Also I find it weird that they limit some of their colors. They're all about customization but I can't get polished blue icons for my batwolf because they're for the "clear frame only" or I can't get blue or purple polarized lenses.

 

[reggavegga]

You forgot the older zero's those were a little far out too.