Absolutely livid at how my Holbrooks are holding up.

[ShortChangeHero]

To be honest I still love the style of the Holbrooks and I’ll own another pair but I’ll buy the polished black this time. There’s still plenty of life in the ones I have but it’s disappointing to see the finish wearing off.

You ever try the metal Holbrook’s. Hinges are never suppose to get loose.

 

[Premise]

You ever try the metal Holbrook’s. Hinges are never suppose to get loose.

I’ve tried them on but as of yet I don’t love the feel. After trying 20-30+ frames they’re 3rd place to Randolph Aviators, then standard Holbrooks and then the metals I definitely see owning a pair eventually. My next pair of Oakleys for current models will be the polished black Holbrooks with deep water prism polarized lenses with blue icons. Between the Ray Ban offerings and Maui Jim’s nothing really stood out for me. I want to love these classic brands but the only styles I loved were the Holbrooks and square aviators. The Ray Ban Caravans look perfect but the arms are way too thin. You’d think I’d love all aviators but the tear drop lenses drive me nuts.

 

[Oaklimus Prime]

I’ve tried them on but as of yet I don’t love the feel. After trying 20-30+ frames they’re 3rd place to Randolph Aviators, then standard Holbrooks and then the metals I definitely see owning a pair eventually. My next pair of Oakleys for current models will be the polished black Holbrooks with deep water prism polarized lenses with blue icons. Between the Ray Ban offerings and Maui Jim’s nothing really stood out for me. I want to love these classic brands but the only styles I loved were the Holbrooks and square aviators. The Ray Ban Caravans look perfect but the arms are way too thin. You’d think I’d love all aviators but the tear drop lenses drive me nuts.

Have you tried the Jupiter Squared? It has unobtainium on the stems so they hold up a bit better. The selection has gone way down since it’s been disco’d off the custom page so there are some SI colorways but that’s it.

You had me at F150

 

[zwc0442]

Even the gloss frames have a clear on em I've noticed. Skin oils and such are pretty hard on any paint for the most part in the long run. More so how thin the original clear is on oakley frames. But they have to keep it thin to reduce the chance of the paint chipping when changing lenses. The paint probably rubbed thin on the stem tips and then sweat and skin oils were able to get under it and start peeling. I know it probably doesn't seem like it but taking them off and on wears down on the stem tips more than you'd imagine. X metal finish which is basically bare titanium will wear down on the stem tips even and become shiny over time.

 

[htrap2294]

They really are some awesome frames.

Only bad thing, it’s hard to get just one....

View attachment 655602

Is that you?

 

[TheDukeOfIce]

Is that you?

No sir, not me. I believe a gentleman from O-Review.

 

[Blondie]

No sir, not me. I believe a gentleman from O-Review.

Cool pic!!

 

[Litos]

Dude, you bought plastic glasses

What did you expect ??

 

[Premise]

Dude, you bought plastic glasses

What did you expect ??

Oakleys used to hold up better than this. For now on I’ll stick to metal.

 

[Oakley G]

Oakleys used to hold up better than this.

Maybe. If you look through the history of Oakley they had huge quality control issues all over the place. They are known for good quality polycarbonate lenses and impact resistance but high level daily durability was not something most would associate with Oakley, especially with their easy-to-scratch lenses. Similar to your story, Oakley has had issues with coatings all throughout its history. They still couldn’t get consistency on their FMJ coatings even after a couple decades which is why you do not see them around these days. Coatings on the X-metals took years and a couple generations to fix. The coatings on the Mag stuff was atrocious. That is not even including all the other issues including problems with spring hinges, O Matter getting brittle from the pre-1999 formula, spider cracks on some frames like the Riddle and Romeo, etc.