Seeking advice about X-metal frames

[tripper688]

Personal experience- IDK if it's the shape of my head but I find the hammer stems on the polished Juliets and XS preferable to the regular a fits. Very fond of the XS in particular as the shortened stems also make them light and unobtrusive under other head wear/head gear like hats and helmets so something to consider if you tend to have something on your head.

 

[Bilatron]

Good luck with the search sir

 

[tripper688]

Also IDK where you are but if you are local, I wouldn't mind meeting up and letting you try them on as long as it isn't too far out of the way.

 

[Someone Inconspicuous]

Also IDK where you are but if you are local, I wouldn't mind meeting up and letting you try them on as long as it isn't too far out of the way.

Wow, that is super awesome of you. Unfortunately, I live in what many view as flyover country. So that is not in the cards.

So what is it about the hammer stems that changes the fit / comfort? Also how would you describe the shape of your head? I would consider mine to be a medium overall head, with a narrow face, quite oval.

 

[tripper688]

Wow, that is super awesome of you. Unfortunately, I live in what many view as flyover country. So that is not in the cards.

So what is it about the hammer stems that changes the fit / comfort? Also how would you describe the shape of your head? I would consider mine to be a medium overall head, with a narrow face, quite oval.

IDK I find myself in Michigan and Wisconsin and what not a fair bit haha.

Gimme a sec to grab the pairs and I'll try to describe/show what I mean.

 

[Mystiko Neossia]

You already gave a thumbs up on my xmetal comparison photo. So I can't really say more. I do think you should save up some funds because everything went up. Penny's are expensive and it would be a waste to spend a lot on something that doesn't fit well. I would argue Juliet and Romeo for medium to large melons. I have found those frames to cost a lot less with greater spare parts availability. Once you meet the requirements, we can help you find the right people.

 

[tripper688]

Wow, that is super awesome of you. Unfortunately, I live in what many view as flyover country. So that is not in the cards.

So what is it about the hammer stems that changes the fit / comfort? Also how would you describe the shape of your head? I would consider mine to be a medium overall head, with a narrow face, quite oval.

This is going to be extremely individual and a very lengthy writeup but the following happens for me-

Hammerstem Juliet vs Regular Juliet:

The regular Juliet arms fit almost like a wrap with the arms encircling towards the back of my skull behind my ears with the primary contact and pressure being applied fairly evenly but loosely from basically a point just in front of my ears to about 2.5-4cm behind my ears. Tightening the nose or increasing the thickness of the templeshox increases the pressure mostly at a point right behind my ears. They don't necessarily feel loose but there is definitely some play with the sunglasses staying in one position consistently.

The hammerstems also have that wrap effect but the angle of the arms bending inwards feels slightly more aggressive and results in a slightly tighter fitting frame but also that "pressure point" or "contact point" winds up being lengthened a bit more to include the same areas as the regular arms but now extending to somewhere in between my ear and my temple. Increasing tightness of nose bridge or thicker shox also applies the pressure more evenly along that line which, for me, results in a fit that feels more secure and also noticeably doesn't move on my face even when I'm moving and active and sweating.

For what it's worth, the member that sold me my polished Juliets with hammerstems said that he honestly didn't feel much of a difference and for him it was mostly aesthetics

X-Squared vs Others

This is also going to be very iffy, since from what I understand, the design of how the XS fits on your head seems a little more polarizing than the rest and they are physically distinct from the rest of the x-metal line (I guess people feel more strongly about whether or not they like the fit/feel). The arms are shaped similar to the hammerstems of the polished Juliets and XX but they're noticeably shorter and the frame itself is slightly wider than then Juliet. In practice, this (at least for me) results in the arms having a "pressure/contact point" that feels a little less aggressive/pinchy than the hammerstems do but with even more coverage starting from right about behind the temple through to just about past the point where the Juliet arms start curving/wrapping around my head but instead of continuing to curve and slightly cradle the back of my skull like the Juliets, that's basically where the arms on the XS end. I personally really like this because that last bit of extensions and curvature never really helped my Juliets fit any better and now, the arms basically end right about where headgear starts coming into play. With the Juliets and most other sunglasses, I find that those extra couple of centimeters get in the way of wearing hats, helmets, headbands, etc where the headgear inevitably catches and pushes back on the end of the arms which then shifts how the sunglasses fit on your face. With the shortened arms, there's not enough material for anything else you're wearing on your head to catch and push around making it more comfortable/less aggravating if I wanted to wear them under a cap. Again, the general consensus though is that the fit on the XS is much more love it or hate it than many others.

Penny/Half X

I'm throwing these in because they kind of stand out in their own way. These two models have actual spring hinges rather than the adjustable temple shox mechanism on the other x-metal models. I do not own either model, and have no plans to own either model although I had a chance to try a pair of Pennies on. I just wasn't the biggest fan of how the hinges on the Penny felt (loose-ish?), and I would imagine I would feel the same about the Half X since it had nothing to do with the geometry of the frames themselves. Also, it's just one more complex part that will eventually need servicing.