Hey all.

The other day while browsing through the forums, I went into the "Oakley Commercials" thread. Incidentally, I never knew Oakley had any kind of advertising. Anyway, I was watching the Max Fear commercial and saw this:



It looks like a mixture of the old styles of Zero, but with one unique exception. The lenses look extremely flat, compared to the other, slightly convex lenses on all the old Zeros.

I'm wondering if they were just some prototype pair that eventually got turned into like the Sub Zero 3.

Anyone?

Some have said those are wire framed; I firmly believe they are Sub Zeros that have been cut down - the part above the bridge is not open, it is just transparent due to the way it's illuminated.

Perhaps someone can change my mind.

It looks Wire to me.

it almost looks like there are implants on them

My wife and I agreed. When we first saw them, they looked very wire-frame.

Meh. Closely watched the video again and I suppose the bridge is wire as in Phil and Lee's article; I was wrong on this one (but you guys need to work on your arguments :P). The thing I don't get is if the bit around the orbitals is wire, how does it transition into the earstem?

That's the subzero 3n that has been cut down, I watched that video over a hundred times and blowed up the still image and studied it for hours. No wire anywhere in it, you can see it's a one piece lens during assembly and there is a still image blow it up enhance and examine!
I got an extra one and was going to dremel it down to copy, but wasn't to keen on messing up a mint pair.

Sorry guys, it's def a wire frame Sub Zero, preproduction. Check out the article Lee and I painstakingly assembled. You'll find the official US Patent Office submitted sketch and you can clearly see it's wire in the commercial, just pay closer attention to when he's placing the nosepice. Even in the above photo you can see right throught the bridge and the wire set into the nose piece groove as well as weld points.

http://www.o-review.com/article005.asp?ID=2347

The thing I don't get is if the bit around the orbitals is wire, how does it transition into the earstem?

It's a shaped metal piece that the earpiece attaches to same as the fin on the regular Sub Zeros welded to the wire orbitals.

I still don't see it(wire) as there is no documentaion other than your guys article and unless it can be confirmed by Mr. jannard, FP or another higher up mainly pics I'll still say just a cut down 3n.

Patents don't lie. It's a wire.




It's filed under Patent# 5,387,949 which is the attachment of the Sub Zero lens to the frame. The Wire version is listed as a further embodiment of the core technology. This of course was never used, but they patented a proposed application anyway.

Abstract. Read the end part.


Further detail. It goes on more





View the patent:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=5387949.PN.&OS=PN/5387949&RS=PN/5387949

The design was also patented as well as an ornamental patent. Patent D344,281
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=D344281.PN.&OS=PN/D344281&RS=PN/D344281

Most of Oakley's designs are patented in this way. These ones are only for the 'look' of a model rather than the technology used.

Of course. I don't think the dispute was over the existence of the patent (which I've seen) but how closely the Zero in the ad actually followed the description in that patent - i.e. any wire at all, whether it wrapped the full lens, my temple question, etc. etc.

Gotcha. I suppose it will remain a debate then.

Well there is one person who could ultimately answer the question. (Big Grin)
Nik

Well there is one person who could ultimately answer the question. (Big Grin)

That's not fair!!! =P

Info, info, info! We're new! ::LOL::

Dann the Man!

Thanks for proving my point, but I guess debating this subject is just as good as any other.

Acording to all that patent info, JJ was thinking of making them almost like the HJ. The Subzeros could still be around if they had followed through on that idea making them like the M-frame with interchangable lenses.

Would be good for Rx too.

I think you have to be blind to see it's not wire in the ad once you know what you're looking. I'll admit I only noticed it when we were writing the article, but that's also when the commercials became available to me by another source before they made it to oakley.com. Then I had time to watch it over and over again. As far as how close it actually followed the patent, I say pretty damn close. The bigger question would be release. It prob never was, to the public anyway. But then the N series def did resemble this.

I agree & here's all the proof you'll need in the detail areas I've shown



It's a shame they didn't produce these. They would've been the first Wires!

We could put up a vote!? ;-)

And not even just where Tick points out, but the brow bar, you can see the weld points to the orbitals. You can see the wire running through the nose piece groove. You can see the wire orbital form around the lens itself. You can see the unob of the nose piece through the bridge (because it's wire and there is no plutonite there obstructing it).

Good grief. We never expected such a huge response. Thanks all, for your input! Much appreciation!

Oh, and on a side note - Tick: my wife and I agree. You've gotta be one of the most wittiest mother#^({ers here. Not much to do in North Dakota other than sharpen your rapists wit?

sharpen your rapists wit?

Shouldn't that be rapier?

He's got that, too.

and is this just the wire frame? (33 seconds into the clip)



edit: here it is again at 38 sec, looks like there is a lens in there so I'm not sure what it is now!