I've been into Oakley since I was 9. Here's a rundown of the sunglasses that have passed through, or stopped at, my hands.

Frogskins (1st gen)



My first pair of Oakley's were Frogskins. I wasn't really into this stuff but I was (and still am) into frogs and somehow I was introduced to these via the Frogskins catalogue at the time. I can't say I necessarily liked them for how they looked but liked the name so wanted it.
I can't quite remembered exactly how much I saved up as a kid, in the $140 neighbourhood sounds right, but there was the one-and-only sports store in the small, shithole town I was in back East that carried the brand. I couldn't decide on what colour frame to get, not that there was a lot of choice back then, so I went with no colour and got clear. The lenses in em at the time were the fire iridium's, but I left 'em in my jacket pocket snowboarding one day and both lenses got scratched to shit. It's probably why I'm a little more paranoid about my shades now because of that.
I special ordered a different colour of lens from the same store (I think for $40 - $60?) and at the time had one-of-a-kind custom Frogskins before there was were options to customize Oakleys. I liked blue even then and got the ice iridium colour.
I think subconsciously I never wholeheartedly liked the style, just the name, and I believe I sold em to one of my brother's friends so I could buy my next pair off my him.

SubZero



My 2nd pair were Sub Zero's. Red/blue iridium lens with frosted edges and the grey hammer-finish frames. My brother got these somehow but then realized the whole 'being-different' thing isn't him. His loss was my gain and bought these off him for I can't remember how much.
I loved these and rocked them for like 4 years straight or something like that. 2 provinces later, I finally... finally put a scratch in the lens. Bound to happen I suppose. I was so distraught I called Oakley's Canadian office in Montreal and asked if there happen to be any extra lenses kicking around the back or something (this was pre-useful internet). There weren't, but they gave me a offer/deal; if I sent my Sub Zero's into them with a cheque for $88, they would in return send me a pair of Zero's of my choice, so that's what I did. I don't think Oakley would do anything like this anymore (at the time, they said something about getting their material back?) I'd like to have another pair again to add to the collection/occasionally wear.

Zero 0.7



These were the ones Oakley exchanged for me. Same colour combo as the previous Sub Zero's; down to the frosted edges of the lenses.
I loved these as well and rocked them for about 3 years until I came across a deal I couldn't refuse. My brother had a co-worker, and this co-worker had a brother himself who apparently worked for Oakley in Montreal. The deal was any glasses you want off the website, for half the website price; cash, no taxes, no questions asked. I looked online at the time to see if anything jumped out and my next pair called out to me. So I sold these for I can't remember how much to help pay for the next pair. I would also like a pair of these again...

Penny



These were the ones that jumped out at me that I got for half price. Online they were $465 CAD when they pretty much first came out, and I picked up the ice iridium lens and titanium frame; I got for $232.50 CAD which was great seeing as how I was still only working part-time at the time. These were great and loved em, but then an ex-girlfriend clearly didn't lock/arm my car properly. These got stolen from my car along with all my CD's, the faceplate for my deck and whatever change was in there. Needless to say, I don't keep anything in my car anymore. I think she offered to either pay or help pay for a new pair. Went back online and they were now $490 CAD. She never ended up contributing a dime and I don't believe the relationship lasted for much longer afterwards. I couldn't get them half price anymore as by then this co-worker's brother wasn't at Oakley anymore. Probably got fired for selling stuff out the back door...

Eyepatch * (I think?)



I borrowed a pair of Eyepatch's * (I think?) from someone cause I need glasses during sunny days or it's a headache at the end of it. They were the grey mirror lens with dark blue frames and gold O's on the stems. Can't say I liked em all that much.

* If someone could clarify what these actually were? I don't immediately recognize them...

Half Jacket



I couldn't really find anything I liked at the time (or in my price range), but found these Half Jackets in a random store in a mall arond here somewhere. I haven't seen this colour combo with the lens and frame before nor since (they actually came like this off the shelf), with the staggered blue and white. These ones did the job and I liked em more than the borrowed Eyepatch's but naturally not as much as my old Penny's. These ones I lost and completely my fault. I didn't use a case back then and left em in a black pouch on the floor of this chick's black interior car... at night. So it completely skipped my mind they were there and by the next day they conveniently disappeared. I'm fairly confident her crazy ex took em and sold em for booze money. She offered to buy me another pair and I said I'd just prefer cash as I didn't want a pair of Foakely's from the flea market or something like that. She asked how much I paid for em, I truthfully said $170. I haven't heard from her since...

Eyepatch ? (again)



I again borrowed these while I figured out what to get again, though I was now at a point in my life and age where I was consistantly working full time...

Penny (again)



After sharing the previous scenario with some co-workers, it was when I was told about and introduced to the Oakley Vault at the Seattle Outlet Mall, and was told there are in fact Penny's on the shelf and for cheap. These were now $690 CAD online and the only colour(s) you could get were the ones Cyclops wore in the X-Men movies. The outlet mall did in fact have the ice iridium lens with the titanium frames on the shelf and picked em up for $230 USD; and probably the last ones new anywhere? I kept these for years this time til they wouldn't stay on my face anymore. Nose pieces aren't available anywhere, and some of the rivets are loose and floppy. They're now permanently on display as part of my collection...

Crankcase



With the Penny's not staying on my face, it was time to look for something new again. Of all the new styles that were out at the time, I, ironcially, liked some of the cheapest pairs available. Thought that was a nice change versus the styles I like are usually $300+. I got these from the Oakley Store in Metrotown Burnaby for $110. Dark grey frames with olive green O and dark grey lenses. Thanks to the internet this time around, I found and popped in a pair of green iridium polarized lenses now that these are easily customizable. These are currently in active rotation.

Fives Squared (new)



These were... interesting as to how I crossed paths with these Fives Squared. I received a $25 gift card to a store called Mountain Equipment Co-op (or MEC for shot) from my Secret Santa at work. I've never been in one of these stores, let alone what they sell. I went with my g/f and we were in there for hours struggling as to what to use this gift card for cause there's nothing really in there that I do (there's no snowboarding nor rollerblading stuff in there!). I ended up finding a new iron to wax my board with, cause the old one I had kept burning me, and my g/f happened to find a backpack for the gym.
During this process one of the staff came up to us and flatly stated that the store's closing in 10 minutes and that we pretty much need to get out. Well, this rubbed her the wrong way big time and asked for a manager. It was a Sunday and she got the acting-manager. She talked to her while the staff member that wanted us out was giggling with a co-worker about how upset my g/f got. Well, this was stupidly within ear-shot on their part which was also noticed.
After her discussion with the regular manger the next day, we ended up with more gift cards to the store. Great, what can I struggle to find now. I thought about getting a shit load of wax for my board, but then noticed they carried some Oakley shades on my way out last time. I ended up picking up these for only $58.62! Gloss black frame with a chrome O, and black lenses. I customized these by getting a pair of Ice iridium polarized lenses too. These too are currently in rotation.

Welcome again, and interesting stories on each pair. The EyePatch you are wondering about is the Eye Jacket 2.0.

Fantastic stuff, CL. It's the personal stories that make collections interesting in addition to truly displaying passion for the brand.

I thoroughly enjoyed the write-ups for each. Hearing stories for a given pair reminds me of my early days, where there would be a slow and deliberate process for each new one.

Nice stories here. I wish I could remind what were my first ten pairs.
Actually, I'm not even sure I could remind what were my first 5 pairs. That's a pitty.

Ah, Eye Jacket! Thanks...

awesome!

Fives Squared (new)



I originally wanted either the previous Fives Squared or Crankcase with the smoke frame, but they weren't on the shelf at the previous times.
Few years ago I wrecked the lenses on my other Fives Squared a bit doing spring snowboarding. I ordered a new set of blue lenses and never popped them in. Wasn't really a priority before, but now acquired some smoke frames for the lenses I've had! As per my g/f's idea, my black frame Fives Squared are now my "sport" glasses where I don't so much what happens to em.

Crankshaft (new)



My g/f's been on an Oakley kick lately, more so then me! (I brought her over to the dark side :P ).
While she's been looking at and buying stuff, I've been playing around with the idea of something with a clear frame for a few years. Was poking around online and found these for a deal that I couldn't pass up!

Love them! Congrats!

Uh oh, when the GF gets on board. Now it's a battle to keep up. Great pickup.

Thanks for sharing your Oakley journey!

EvZero Swift (new)


With the g/f getting something like 3 pais as of late, there was something else that caught my eye. As you know I still really miss my Zero's and SubZero's. Although I haven't quite found a pair of either yet (and not really a priority right now), I found some EvZero Swift's at, again, a price I couldn't pass up online.


I believe the Swift's are the narrowest/smallest of the EvZero's. Not a fan of huge sunglasses - I tried on some other EV's when there was an Oakly store in town and kinda made me look like a fly :P I also never had a pair of full-out black sunglasses. A bit of a change for me from all my funky colours.

The Swifts are great. It took a while to find one at a vault, but I snagged one not too long ago. It's nice to have a smaller lensed option.

Gascan (new)



Birthday present to myself this year! Olive camo Gascan's with Tungsten lenses. I initially was interested in something with a white frame and the Deep Water blue lenses.

Nothing quite jumped out at me on Oakley's site, so I looked at green frames on a whim and these one spoke to me! First pair of green frames (or camo for that matter). Also first pair I've ever had where the lenses aren't a 100% mirror from the outside - should be interesting.

I was able to do some digital wheelin-n-dealin with some coupons I had and managed to get a matching case at discount as well :P

I love reading stories like this. It reminds me of my humble beginnings as well. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.