What's the draw?

[Arron1980]

So many cool stories in this thread but one small point I want to add is, I started collecting Oakley Sunnies just about a 18 months ago with RadarLocks & Antix & StraightJacket & Fast Jacket frames but when i got my hands on an X Metal it just changed how i look at everything Sunglass related. The X Metals are so substantial, they feel like they will last DECADES or even a lifetime. I still wear some of the Lifestyle frames but ultimately they come off feeling plasticy, not because they are bad or cheap, they still have cool designs but for the most part its molded plastic and I can picture hundreds/thousands of them being mass produced. The X Metal design & material just doesn't feel consumer-y or mass produced, it feels essential and personal. If you ever see a broken x metal it feels sad or frustrating but a broken Lifestyle frame just looks like a small heap of plastic to be tossed out. Since then I've been slowly selling off my plastic Oakleys and just keeping a few and putting my resources into X Metals

I know exactly how you feel. Once you've owned an X Metal, nothing else compares really. Everything else just falls way short doesn't it. It makes you realise just how special and unique the X Metal line is

 

[#1 Stunna!]

So many cool stories in this thread but one small point I want to add is, I started collecting Oakley Sunnies just about a 18 months ago with RadarLocks & Antix & StraightJacket & Fast Jacket frames but when i got my hands on an X Metal it just changed how i look at everything Sunglass related. The X Metals are so substantial, they feel like they will last DECADES or even a lifetime. I still wear some of the Lifestyle frames but ultimately they come off feeling plasticy, not because they are bad or cheap, they still have cool designs but for the most part its molded plastic and I can picture hundreds/thousands of them being mass produced. The X Metal design & material just doesn't feel consumer-y or mass produced, it feels essential and personal. If you ever see a broken x metal it feels sad or frustrating but a broken Lifestyle frame just looks like a small heap of plastic to be tossed out. Since then I've been slowly selling off my plastic Oakleys and just keeping a few and putting my resources into X Metals

Excellent post

 

[BHarry]

I've always had some Oakley products, but the Forum definitely pushed me over the edge when it comes to X Metals. I didn't have a single one when I joined, all of the interest in the line got me in the mood to hunt down a deal. I found a XS for $60 on the bay and was hooked. Internet bargain shopping and X metals became an obsession. I think the main draw fro me is the uniqueness of the line. They are timeless, nearly bulletproof and look pretty damn cool!

 

[Esscaster]

I only have three pairs but got all of mine in late 90s when they were somewhat new. Only discovered this forum recently, but MI:2 and x men initially turned me on to them. It was just the sheen of the material and how unique they looked at the time. With the r1s it was the awesome orbitals and the amazing fit, and with the julietS it was those rivets at the corner of the frame. They excited my teenaged senses at the time. They were really cool looking without being too garish, as many oakleys can be guilty of. Back then nothing looked like them and that stands true today.

It was later that I learned to appreciate the construction of them and just how ambitoous the xmetal project was. Now I can appreciate them even more because they are sort of timeless designs that are even more exclusive because they are discontinued and the factory is even up for sale, meaning they will never be made like they were back in the day.