Pro M RX Heater Lenses Questions

[oldYeti]

I bought a Pro M frame and some RX Heater lenses in 1997, then shortly after, ordered another RX Heater lens. Can anyone account for the difference between overall lens shape and insert shape differences in the photo below?

Can anyone give me a tutorial or any idea of changes in Pro M Heater lenses through the years, as well as the RX insert changes?

How about the years RX insert Heater lenses were available?

As one can see, the VR28 lens surround, as well as my clear one, are all broken up and clear taped together. However, the other tab finally broke off and disappeared. What are the chances of anyone selling good used RX Heater lenses that I can pop my inserts into?

 

[OakleyFrankFMJ]

Wow


@Rustpot

And

@Chris A Hardaway

 

[Chris A Hardaway]

My opinion... good luck. I'm pretty sure they stopped selling M-Frame RX lens replacement a few years back (maybe 2 years ago)... I personally never noticed they had changed the shape of the "orbital shape" in the heater lens. It looks like the Grey lens had more usable RX. Very cool. Now I'm curious.... which is newer? Did the RX lens get bigger over time to expand the peripheral vision? Or perhaps they made the RX insert smaller, so that the shields didn't pressure crack as easily.

Sounds to me like you got great use out of them (nearly 20 years). Time to go update the RX buddy, keep us all safe on the roads seeing 20/20 and buy a Radarlock RX

I like to see people update the RX ever 2 years.... And at least every 3-4!!!

 

[Rustpot]

Prescription stuff is out of my field of expertise. The heater shape itself is relatively unchanged aside from some minor variations at the frame hooks, but that's a Gen1/2 change in the 80's. I've seen lenses thinner, thicker, more or less edge bevel (especially under the frame), etc. Basically there's enough variation that I'd suspect either the inserts on the VR28 were not fitted entirely correctly and left enough stress in the lens to let it crack, or the lens tension in the frame propagated to those areas.

A lot of the old lenses simply crack due to pressure and use - the fact that your grey lens isn't cracked at the hook is almost surprising, and that the VR28 doesn't have a crack deeper into the lens there. There is a reason they finally killed off the M Frame, the design needs lens-to-frame tension to maintain the fit and it leads to wear and breakage. If it weren't for military adoption I think we wouldn't see it at all.

 

[oldYeti]

My opinion... good luck. I'm pretty sure they stopped selling M-Frame RX lens replacement a few years back (maybe 2 years ago)... I personally never noticed they had changed the shape of the "orbital shape" in the heater lens. It looks like the Grey lens had more usable RX. Very cool. Now I'm curious.... which is newer? Did the RX lens get bigger over time to expand the peripheral vision? Or perhaps they made the RX insert smaller, so that the shields didn't pressure crack as easily.

Sounds to me like you got great use out of them (nearly 20 years). Time to go update the RX buddy, keep us all safe on the roads seeing 20/20 and buy a Radarlock RX

I like to see people update the RX ever 2 years.... And at least every 3-4!!!

 

[oldYeti]

Yeah, you're probably someone who makes money off the sales of RX lenses. I'm a disabled senior who has had to forego a lot of needed medical attention, especially dental and vision.

I only wear my Oakley Pro M while bicycling, mostly on trails, with very rare use on a motorcycle. So you don't have to worry about public safety. I still can see excellently in one eye and quite well with the other (within legal limits) with these lenses.

I just had an offer the first day looking on eBay of RX M frame VR28 lenses, but I'm passing because I really want the Heater lenses. They were designed specifically with cyclists in mind, due to the frequency of skin cancer in the temple area of cyclists, and I've had enough growth removed from there already.

 

[GRFMotorsports]

Somewhere I have a bunch of RX M lenses stashed away. Not sure if the tint is a match but maybe.

 

[oldYeti]

Prescription stuff is out of my field of expertise. The heater shape itself is relatively unchanged aside from some minor variations at the frame hooks, but that's a Gen1/2 change in the 80's. I've seen lenses thinner, thicker, more or less edge bevel (especially under the frame), etc. Basically there's enough variation that I'd suspect either the inserts on the VR28 were not fitted entirely correctly and left enough stress in the lens to let it crack, or the lens tension in the frame propagated to those areas.

A lot of the old lenses simply crack due to pressure and use - the fact that your grey lens isn't cracked at the hook is almost surprising, and that the VR28 doesn't have a crack deeper into the lens there. There is a reason they finally killed off the M Frame, the design needs lens-to-frame tension to maintain the fit and it leads to wear and breakage. If it weren't for military adoption I think we wouldn't see it at all.

Rustpot, the Grey lens is perfect and was used very little, because it is so dark, it only is good to use in full sun. I bicycle through forested areas mostly, so the VR28s were my daily lenses. So I have to ask, as I asked a former Oakley employee: is the little used lens like new, as opposed to the cracked up VR28 and clear lenses(BTW, the clear is the same shape as the grey lens) due to my disobeying the instructions to only clean with the provided cloth bag, instead putting a drop of dish liquid on the lens and wetting my fingers with water and rubbing, rinsing and drying with an old cotton at shirt, or due to sun exposure? The former Oakley employee opined that it was the UV exposure. Obviously, you could say it was time in the frame under tension.

 

[oldYeti]

Prescription stuff is out of my field of expertise. The heater shape itself is relatively unchanged aside from some minor variations at the frame hooks, but that's a Gen1/2 change in the 80's. I've seen lenses thinner, thicker, more or less edge bevel (especially under the frame), etc. Basically there's enough variation that I'd suspect either the inserts on the VR28 were not fitted entirely correctly and left enough stress in the lens to let it crack, or the lens tension in the frame propagated to those areas.

A lot of the old lenses simply crack due to pressure and use - the fact that your grey lens isn't cracked at the hook is almost surprising, and that the VR28 doesn't have a crack deeper into the lens there. There is a reason they finally killed off the M Frame, the design needs lens-to-frame tension to maintain the fit and it leads to wear and breakage. If it weren't for military adoption I think we wouldn't see it at all.

Thanks, you just made me realize that I should probably take the lenses out of the frame while I'm not wearing them. I always left the last used lens in the frame, in the case.

 

[Chris A Hardaway]

Yeah, you're probably someone who makes money off the sales of RX lenses. I'm a disabled senior who has had to forego a lot of needed medical attention, especially dental and vision.

I only wear my Oakley Pro M while bicycling, mostly on trails, with very rare use on a motorcycle. So you don't have to worry about public safety. I still can see excellently in one eye and quite well with the other (within legal limits) with these lenses.

..... They were designed specifically with cyclists in mind, due to the frequency of skin cancer in the temple area of cyclists, and I've had enough growth removed from there already.

I would never make a recommendation based on profit. Although it is true that I make a living off other people's eyes
That's definitely against the code of ethics #1 I live by: TO KEEP the patients' eye, vision, and general health paramount at all times.
I hate crooks who give any medical professional a bad name!!! I'm with you 100% there.

I'm glad to hear you don't feel you or anyone else is at risk as public safety. I'm sorry to hear about your disabled status.
I hope that at least if you aren't wearing an "up to date" RX you are going in for regular eye exams. As a disabled senior your visits should be covered (at least 80%) by Medicare, Secure Horizons, AARP, United Healthcare or the Likes. Even Medicaid in most states covers one exam per 2 year period.

Best of luck, those lenses are extremely tight, jammed in there by the Oakley RX Dept. I have done dozens of mounts where the lens has a "groove" in it like that. However I have never personally worked for Oakley RX, so I haven't done one of the M-Frame RX's. You can tell by the way they crack around the RX lens that they'll be extra tight. At least we know you cna get them out easil (already cracked).

Stick around, if you want good advice don't be afraid to also LISTEN.