Is the neXt-metal line dead?

[flyer]

Yup, they look awesome.
But you'd have to be a real hard buttocked collector to wear 60 gram shades, and there ain't many of us...

When they did make 'em out of plastic (sorry Lux), we wouldn't pay the freight.
Tough business...tough crowd.

 

[supersharp]

Yup, they look awesome.
But you'd have to be a real hard buttocked collector to wear 60 gram shades, and there ain't many of us...

When they did make 'em out of plastic (sorry Lux), we wouldn't pay the freight.
Tough business...tough crowd.

My shelf doesn't care how much they weigh.

 

[TheWannaBe]

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...

Couldnt agree more. I was in my local shop the other day and they are doing a bunch of store updates and re-organizing. My guess, when its done. Going to be a cookie cutter sports retail store. Well i am not really that into sports. So the more Oakley heads down the sports centered path, they are going to alienate at least one customer...

 

[illumination]

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...

I agree completely as that's what happened with me. I like the design of the madman and the badman, but didn't like the price point. At $400 I'd rather get a deal on a pair of Juliets or save it towards an R1 or XS. If the price was more in line with the materials then I would probably have bought a pair or two of the badman. Instead I just doubled down on buying classic X Metals.

And I do agree that they aren't able to release anything like the old X Metals. Unless the outsource the titanium casting. There are quite a few companies that offer that service. And even one that has made a titanium hammer using the exact same casting method as for the X Metals.

 

[TheWannaBe]

I like the point to about them trying to say "the x metal was a philosophy, not a design or material". That was the biggest load of BS i have ever heard. I said it from the beginning that was BS. Glad it is more obvious now to more people.

 

[SMman]

I also liked the Badmans when I tried them on but $475 CAD plus tax ($536.75) is WAY too much to spend. Prizm adds $25 and Ferrari adds another $100. I would have to think hard about even buying them at 50% off.

 

[Stanleybb50]

They're like $239 or something at least on the Verizon Smart Rewards website (Badmans). That's how I got my Sapphire and Prizm daily and subsequently Swapped the lenses between the frames.

< $250 is cool for them I think. I gotta say they are my favorite two to wear in my collection. Just wish they were even a little more durable....