15 replies to this topic

[Tramposch]

I just bought a pair of Oakley James Stewart Conduct sunglasses. I haven't gotten them yet (I bought them online), but they look amazing and Oakley is a great brand, so I know I won't be disappointed.

[Tks]

I have used Oakley a while back and they were very good sunglasses. I never really heard the name of Wiley so Oakley were the only brand that was good enough but I didn't really go for all the high tech stuff but just ordered the normal sunglasses a couple of years back.
Too bad they got sat on and on of the glasses broke off. Now that they are not that into fashion, I never bothered to replace it. Either way it was a gift from a friend so wasn't realy that painfull for me that they broke since I was using it for years

EDIT: By the way Saint M, you were or are in the military? Which one? I would love to heard your experiences during your tenure if you have any if you have time. Even so you are commonly related to SPAM so I doubt that would be a problem for you

Edited by Tks, 11 January 2009 - 06:46 AM.

[iGuest]

Wiley X designs nothing and makes in TaiwanWiley X Or Oakley?

How does a company Wiley X copy other peoples stuff, make it in Taiwan and make millions off selling to soldiers?  I guess it is just pure luck or someone is being paid off.  Look at the quality of a pair of these high priced regrinded plastic glasses and tell me how good it is.  Has anyone ever tested Wiley X goggles to the ANSI test, or did they pay someone at Colts Labratory to say they passed.  I would be willing to be they have induced prism higher than the allowed.  I challenge someone to have these glasses tested and see who is scamming who. 

-reply by Sucker born every 11 seconds

[rayzoredge]

I don't know what Wiley-X has for ballistic protection, but I would imagine that they would suffice for what most people would request. I would like to see a demonstration of different brands, different models, and different styles tested vigorously for ballistic protection, but there's no all-encompassing one. I've seen a pair of Sawfly shades survive an almost-point-blank blast from a shotgun, with "competitors" simply blown away, which intrigues me, and I wonder if Oakley M Frames, or even styles like the Half Jacket, survive that sort of punishment.

The Wiley-X XL-1 goggles fog up like crazy on me, and even if they have better ballistic protection, there's no point if you can't see.

I have yet to have my Oakley Straight Jackets fog up badly, although I can say that after leaving them on top of my head after wetting my hair down, there's a slight layer of fog that disappears quite quickly after I put them on. I'll have to do something similar to bringing them out to the field for some real-world use, which has been limited.

A note about Oakley Asian Fit: Maybe I have a weird-shaped head, but one of the caveats of AF is to prevent the common issue of shades slipping downward on the bridge of your nose, and my pair still slip down a tad bit. Not enough to have to push them back up, but I do like my shades to conform to my face so I end up pushing them back up anyway. YMMV.

A note about Oakley lenses: they scratch like crazy, contrary to what I said before. You won't really notice them until you put them up to the light or look very closely, and the scratches don't really interfere much with the clarity of the lense, but it's enough to drive a person with OCD crazy. Or is it just me?

I'm still loving my pair of Straight Jackets though. I'm planning on purchasing two more pairs, although they will be for deployment and prescription. I just wish they weren't so damn expensive, being over $200 a pop for Rx Half Jackets with anti-reflective coated black iridium...

[rayzoredge]

For those that are curious...

I took my Oakley Straight Jackets to my U.S. Army Reserves Annual Training. This year, we had it at the beach-with-no-water: the Mojave Desert at Fort Irwin, California.

It did not exactly take a beating, but then again, maybe it did and I didn't know it. They didn't melt from the 110 degree weather, they didn't slip and fall off of my head, and they did not fog once, even during the frequent times that I was swimming in my own sweat. They kept me from going blind with the occasional sand fronts that would blow up and across the FOB (forward operating base), and not once did I have to worry about it performing under stress. The lenses surprisingly weren't scratched badly if at all with the blowing sand, but it's kind of hard to believe that when I got a few minor scratches with normal wear being a civilian with the occasional weekend-warrior drill.

Then again, I was only there for a little over three weeks. But hey, it's enough for me to most likely snag a couple more pairs for deployment.