Screw Balsa...how about pressed fiber board? Imagine the laminates would could apply!

new OCP program would be to scan your head and develop a pair, with ANY material of your choice (eg. wood, CF, precious materials etc...), and the pair would envelop your face shape perfectly. now that would be custom!

How about some traditional Japanese steel, tamahagane. The stuff used for katanas.

Then you could really say that you have a "sharp" pair of shades. =P


~Yukio

I would have a new level of respect for Oakley if they could find a way to make high performance eyewear out of that.

Someone mentioned fiberglass above. That's not such a bad idea. Maybe some space age fiberglass could be in Oakley's future, like what's in this helmet:

http://www.polepositionusa.com/product/arai-gp5-helmet-gloss-black-1024.cfm

I would not be surprised if Oakley works with Tegris one day. It's used in armoured military vehicles, Nascars and sporting equipment...right up their alley.

http://www.milliken2.com/MFT/MFThtml.nsf/page/home.htm

Wow, that would be cool.

I would like to see some mokume gane and damascus steel incorporated in their product.

Crazy stuff. It's very cool.

Going WAY into the future...perhaps the use of nanotech such as shape-shifting materials for eyewear? Sunglasses can be foldered into your wallet and then transforms back into shape in front of your eyes when exposed to a current or light.

http://www.iom3.org/news/transforming-materials-shape-shifting-programmable-matter?c=574

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/32254/the-shape-shifting-future-materials

http://www.buffalo.edu/news/13534

Reminds me of what they used in Batman Begins, but I see they touched on that in the article.