Zeros - who's got a rundown on all the models/variations?

[Rustpot]

I find myself wanting to hunt for a pair of Zeros. My gut tells me the Sub or 0.6 are going to be what I want to go after, just from looking at pics and seeing them appear to be bigger pairs.

What pairs are most common (looks like 0.4, new and old, from ebay)?

What sorts of things should I look for? Stems, generation differences, etc.

Are all of the pairs similar in size, or do they increase with number, or does it really depend frame to frame?

What does the 'p' suffix signify, as well as the numbers and letters on different Sub-Zeros, such as N2T?

I've looked on O-Review and while they have a list of the retail pairs there's not a vast encyclopedia and limited pics available.

 

[Patient_Cero]

I would say the 0.4 or golf zero are most common. At least of those available for resale it seems. Like with other Oakley some models did feature the written text on the ear stems and just the O. I have forgotten most of the finite details about models. The P indicates those glasses where the entire lens is a viewable piece and polished or iridium if you will. Like the .3 I am posting below, the gray area is now complete iridium coated and viewable (I think). Not sure if you saw the breakdown of the letter designation on their wiki page. I have posted my current Zero collection below, I had a four sub zero that I bought new in '92 when they came out. I had a hiccup and it cracked right down the middle of the lens. IF anything you look at, it's the lens around the nose piece for stress cracks. I wish Oakley would do a repop run with these like they have with the Frogskins (in original looks, not all the new signature stuff), I would be all over that collection.


Taken from The Oakley Review - Wiki (Sub Zero)

The original line consisted of the 7 original Sub Zero Frames numbered #1 through to #6, and also, the specially named N2T. These letters signified the name of another corporation owned by Oakley founder Jim Jannard, Which was famously later used in 2002 as a registration number on one of the two Oakley Bombardier BD-700 jets. (The first letter "N" signifying the international prefix for United States, and the "2T" portion utilizing the characters needed in creating aircraft registration numbers.)

Of these 7 styles, each Sub Zero had it’s own number for identification denoting color and lens combinations, and not for size or shape variations, as in the later Zero family. Most of these new styles utilized a new and very appropriate frame color, Planet X. Though a few frames still featured the ever popular M-Frame colors, Carbon Fiber and Fingerprint.

Before the end of their short life in 1993 (although official discontinued in 1995), frames #1 through #3 were replaced with frames 1N, 2N and 3N which lost their lower orbital to give them rounder lenses, reminiscent of the wire frame Sub Zero only seen in Oakley's first aired television commercial. The N styling was first produced with the military in mind, so they were not available for retail at the time of original release, but eventually found release in colorways that matched the original save for the 2N which was found as Burn Brush/Bronze.

 

[Eckstream1]

Those Fingerprint/+Red Subs are really cool!

 

[dann]

Phil Barket and Lee Silver's article will sort you out:
http://www.o-review.com/images/Articles/Zero.pdf

But basically: 1992 Sub Zero's were released in 7 colorways #1-6 and N2T with the lines. 1993 brought the first few Zero's. Later on the first three 0.1-0.3 switched from completely round inner orbital circles, to ones that were flattened near the nose (Gen 1 vs Gen 2). After that the 'P' version came out and the lens was all polished rather than matte around the edges. By this time the flattened inner orbitals remained, but prototype 'P's had the round Gen 1 ones. A Zero 0.6 came out which was similar to the Sub Zero but a little taller, however the N2T colorway reused the old stock from the N2T Sub's, so all that's new is the frame. Additionally the Zero's had 'fang's where the stem would extend past the ear sock, much in the way Gen 1 and Gen 2 M Frames differed. In 1997, the Zero's went away and the 0.4 was transformed into the stylings of the Jackets of the time, most notably the Topcoat, and a 0.7 with smaller lenses took the same visual cues. In 2005 the New Zero came out in regular, S, L and Ducati variations. Originally these were called the New Zero 0.1 and New Zero 0.2, but that was changed prior to release.

As for icon and branding differences, Sub's had two Gens, the Gen 1 with the classic logo, and Gen 2 with the boxy thinstretch logo. The Zero's picked up the thinstretch logo, but converted it to a more oval 'O' in Oakley, but soon changed to the standard Icon, which was becoming adopted with the advent of the Jackets. Some of the Subs also crossed that bridge of boxy vs oval thinstretch since they ran in parallel for a while. The same goes for the logo on the len, however due to parts inventory, you can get a lot of combinations of the logos, so the Generations are really more of a general guideline. I did a survey back in 2006 and you can get a feel for the general distribution of gens in both the Sub's and Zeros.

http://www.o-review.com/images/Downloads/Zero_stats.xls

 

[Nemesis]

I'd say that's a pretty vast encyclopedia.

thanks Dann

 

[TOWSNBN]

wow that is some crazy information. thank you for sharing that.

 

[dann]

That's what I'm here for. Ask me about an item in the past 5 year however...

 

[Rustpot]

Thanks for the info dann! I couldn't find those two files when I was looking before.

Looks like 0.6 is where I want to be (with .1 and .2 following closely behind), now I just gotta hunt down a deal!

 

[BADNESS]

That's what I'm here for. Ask me about an item in the past 5 year however...

The last 5 years are Blue pill vs Red pill for a lot of people around here :laugh: