I wanted to give my 2 cents, so here goes;

For me it's a combination of factors.

Firstly I'm 10 years older than when I first started heavily collecting, my situation and priorities in life have changed. It's crazy but going from being single and living with parents to married and owning a house does things to your outlook on life (and mainly your wallet).

Secondly, as others have mentioned Oakley is a different company to what it once was. I'll never forget the feeling when my Dad bought me my first pair of Eye Jackets (Gold X/Gold EJ's if you were wondering) as a present (he bought a pair but in Corten), I really did feel that they'd come straight from the hands of a mad scientist, via a little eyewear shop, to my face. Oakley was small, independent, adventurous and making, as far as I was concerned, the coolest damn things you could put on your face.

I chased that memory of my first pair for many years, I won't trivialise substance addictions by saying that it was like a drug but I wanted that same feeling, I wanted the excitement, the buzz of getting that first pair in the early ninteies. Of course I also tried to find the older pairs that I couldn't afford at the time, to buy new release pairs where the detailing made them like tiny works of art (the sculpting and detailing around the orbital and frame of a pair of Hatchets still impresses me today)

Put simply, Oakley seemed to me to be a company that would stop at nothing in the pursuit of making the highest quality, best engineered and stylish glasses. No made in China to the lowest bidder, no strange mishmash of styling lines throughout a frame, no distorting/eyeball ruining cheapo lenses. It was something to which there was no comparison.

Sadly I just don't feel that today. The company is huge, yes the lens technology is still there (and switchlock is neat) but the passion, the little details, the things that I felt made the difference just don't seem to be there anymore. A big model line with a number of (in my opinion) box-ticking pairs, it feels like another huge company trying to hold on to its (Mad Science) roots whilst at the same time being forced to meet the demands of a remote, purely financially driven, corporate office.

All that said, I still find myself doing a double-take if I see someone wearing an unusual/uncommon pair in the street or catching a glimpse of the Icon being used in a film or TV ad and I don't think that will ever go away. Ever since getting that first pair of eye jackets I have never purchased any other brand of sunglasses (to date) but these days there is no buying a pair just because it's a new Oakley release.

Over the last few years I've chipped away at my glasses collection from 80 or so pairs down to about 50, the ones that remain are things I can't bear to part with (those first EJ's or my 0.2p for example) or things that aren't worth a jot (banged up e-wires) and I'm sure that over time some will come and some will go but at a leisurely rate and without sitting on ebay for 8 straight hours, through the night just to catch things being listed in the US...

When it's all said and done, I had fun and I met some great people along the way and I wouldn't change it for a thing.

Link above seems to be a bit strange, try this; http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2009/08/the-spoke-word-oakleys-4000-sunglasses.html

I thought this deserved it's own thread...

From this website: http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2009/08/the-spoke-word-oakleys-4000-sungl

I was looking for some reviews on tents and sleeping bags and instead found this!

http://outside-blog.away.com/.a/6a00d83453140969e20120a5181b58970b-800wi

Comments from Colin Baden

Baden acknowledges the potential perception problems with releasing a $4,000 pair of sunglasses in today’s economy (or any economy?). But he says the C Six project has been in the works for a few years and was more about discovering what was possible in Oakley’s design studios and factories, rather than its retail outlets. “I wondered about it. I did,” says Baden. “But Oakley is a quirky company, unpredictable, so this was in keeping with that spirit.”

Damn Superman and his Pearl/Emerald Mag Switches. Damn him to hell!!

Awesome video. 96 man hours, I wonder what the hourly pay of that man is...?

Very interesting indeed, great to see those sketches in there! Nice to see a minisite with some cool new content.

This looks awesome Paul. I'll be following the project with interest!
Will you be planning to sleeve the screw holes with a metal/nylon insert of some sort?

Best of luck!

Sir Oogie, your collection pleases me in a very special way, if you were a lady I'll fly right over and kiss your face.

Thankfully, you're not. So I'll just say, very nice work.

They look great Dann, and a very nice way to finish the collection, with a mint pair and matching box!

it looks like a Radar XL in there with Anti Freeze/Jade (and also a normal Radar in the same colourway)

Look at all those o shoe's/shoe 1's! Gah! If I'd known they were that easy to find I would have had far fewer late nights scouring ebay when I was trying get them all! Still, that's half the fun isn't it!

Anyone seen the jawbone minisite yet?

http://oakley.com/jawbone

Great animation and 3d view

Adam: Thanks, what a nice find, loving those Radar editions with the mathching microbag.

No problem Eric, I've been scouring the internet like a madman lately, just hoping to find out any little tidbits regarding the upcoming carbon fibre Elite (as hinted on O.com) this happened to be a nice by-product!

They really seem to have upped the game with the whole microbag thing lately. I recall that it wasn't too long ago that the bag material went from a luxurious 1/8inch thick(ok, maybe a slight exaggeration) to being virtually see-though!

Found some info on country edition Radar Pitches, I'm afraid I can't read the text as my language skills fall somewhat short:

http://centroopticoalpedrete.com/blog/oakley/oakley-radar-pitch-personalizada-espana/


And Dann, for the database:

Oakley Radar Pitch España (24-138) Spain
Oakley Radar Pitch Alemania (24-137) Germany
Oakley Radar Pitch Italia (24-098) Italy
Oakley Radar Pitch Suecia (24-138) Sweden
Oakley Radar Pitch Francia (24-135) France
Oakley Radar Pitch Noruega (24-135) Norway
Oakley Radar Pitch (24-139) Holland

edit: priced between 235-245 euros http://www.centroopticoalpedrete.com/oakley_Radar-Pitch.html

edit2: Darren those PB's look awesome. I think they look much better than the initial pictures showed! How heavy are they?

Next stop, Space. (Hint, check out the boots) Now, I'm not suggesting in any way, shape or form that they'll be used in real life (that's just silly) however, funny to see.
http://www.orbitaloutfitters.com/SpaceSuits.html

Cheers mate, I'm looking forward to next halloween and the possibility of Pigeon Review...

New Section on the website 'Bloody Eye'
http://oakley.com/community/news/bloody_eye

Excellent effort Derron, thanks for taking the time to find and post those pics. Much appreciated! And yes, you gotta love TDF time!

Defender's correct but unfortunately none of the Red footage made it into the final, finished film

Lovely job dann!I'd forgotten all about this thread, brilliant!

Has anybody else seen this Oakley microsite and played the game?

http://oakley.com/citizensofpowder

No idea about any sig line I'm afraid but his Wikipedia page has a picture of him sporting some slightly obscured (by a hat) M frames

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RH1.jpg

Andrew, Paul,

Re the 45 cal jacket, I have one of these too and I agree, it's great but the only thing I had a problem with was the magnets on the sleeve stopping my watch! I've taken them out and pinned the wrist closure shut on the left sleeve and now I can wear the jacket happily without worries of stopping time ;)

Wow, they look great Dann, nice work and props to Dr Chop as always!

Wow, some really nice stuff there Josh, it's fair to say that I am in absolute love with that Racing Division T shirt! Can I ask where you got it from?