Oakley RadarLock - Elegant Solution to Interchangeable Lenses
Oakley's iconic Radar sport glasses have been redesigned with an elegant hinge-lock mechanism that releases its interchangeable lens in seconds. RadarLock is the new name and it was developed to ensure a secure fit, which is necessary to maximize impact resistance, without introducing any flex to the lens to eliminate possible image distortion. RadarLock sunglasses are sold in two styles: Pitch with a slightly larger lens and reduced ventilation and the Path (shown here). Both feature an assortment of frame colors, mix-and-match 'O' icons and of course, Oakley's High Definition optics in 12 color treatments including polarized and photo-reactive options. RadarLock pricing ranges from $220 to $300 USD depending upon lens selection.
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Those who want performance eye-wear that is nearly imperceptible on the face and head usually choose Oakley's Radar design. Much of the success of the Radar is due to its three-point contact - two hydrophylic earpieces grip the top of the ear and caress the curvature of the skull rather than hook around the ear lobes. The third point of contact is a simple nose-piece which is set flush with the lens to provide a maximum field-of-view. The well-vented lens hovers close to the face without touching, and wraps around the rider's entire field of view. The simplicity of the original Radar design was its selling point, however it required customers who paid top dollar for Radars to bend the frame well beyond their comfort levels to release or install a lens. While Oakley designed the frame to be flexed well beyond the degree needed to install a lens option (I watched as Oakley's Steve Blick twisted a Radar frame 360-degrees to prove that it would spring back to shape), it became obvious that a better solution was in order. Enter Switchlock technology.
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Switchlock allows the wearer to flip a lever, swing the temple piece open and release the lens without flexing or pulling on the frames. In the case of the RadarLock, the release lever is flush-mounted near the left-side temple hinge. To replace the lens, slide the lens interface into the frame opposite the Switchlock temple, slip it into the groove in the upper frame, and then swing the Switchlock temple closed. A pin in the latching mech' secures the lens laterally, while the groove in the frame keeps the lens in optical alignment without putting stress on it.
![photo]()
Oakley casts its 'High Definition' lenses in a carefully engineered shape and then, depending upon the intended use, machines the final shape from the curved blank to eliminate distortion across the user's field of view. The man reason for Switchlock design is to maintain the engineered shape of the lens while holding it more securely in the frame. The second goal is to boost the impact resistance of the glasses. Oakley says that, the more secure the fit, the more energy is shared by the Radarlock's individual components, and impact resistance is dramatically improved.
![photo]()
Oakley released RadarLock quietly into the marketplace early this Spring - first with its athletes - and more recently, at a number of specialty retailers. Those interested in sporting the new RadarLocks can browse Oakley's on-line store if there is no place locally where you can see a pair in person.
Get your game face on with Oakley's RadarLock sport glasses. When light conditions are variable, use the Switchlock function to quickly change out the lens to maximize visibility.
Those who want performance eye-wear that is nearly imperceptible on the face and head usually choose Oakley's Radar design. Much of the success of the Radar is due to its three-point contact - two hydrophylic earpieces grip the top of the ear and caress the curvature of the skull rather than hook around the ear lobes. The third point of contact is a simple nose-piece which is set flush with the lens to provide a maximum field-of-view. The well-vented lens hovers close to the face without touching, and wraps around the rider's entire field of view. The simplicity of the original Radar design was its selling point, however it required customers who paid top dollar for Radars to bend the frame well beyond their comfort levels to release or install a lens. While Oakley designed the frame to be flexed well beyond the degree needed to install a lens option (I watched as Oakley's Steve Blick twisted a Radar frame 360-degrees to prove that it would spring back to shape), it became obvious that a better solution was in order. Enter Switchlock technology.
Pop open a latch on the back of the hinge and the entire RadarLock temple swings forward, instantly releasing the lens.
Switchlock allows the wearer to flip a lever, swing the temple piece open and release the lens without flexing or pulling on the frames. In the case of the RadarLock, the release lever is flush-mounted near the left-side temple hinge. To replace the lens, slide the lens interface into the frame opposite the Switchlock temple, slip it into the groove in the upper frame, and then swing the Switchlock temple closed. A pin in the latching mech' secures the lens laterally, while the groove in the frame keeps the lens in optical alignment without putting stress on it.
A few RadarLock options to get you thinking about the possibilities.
Oakley casts its 'High Definition' lenses in a carefully engineered shape and then, depending upon the intended use, machines the final shape from the curved blank to eliminate distortion across the user's field of view. The man reason for Switchlock design is to maintain the engineered shape of the lens while holding it more securely in the frame. The second goal is to boost the impact resistance of the glasses. Oakley says that, the more secure the fit, the more energy is shared by the Radarlock's individual components, and impact resistance is dramatically improved.
Oakley includes a protective case, a cleaning-cloth pouch and a second lens option with RadarLock so your glasses will always be at the ready.
Oakley released RadarLock quietly into the marketplace early this Spring - first with its athletes - and more recently, at a number of specialty retailers. Those interested in sporting the new RadarLocks can browse Oakley's on-line store if there is no place locally where you can see a pair in person.
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Aha, please don't mention "facts" about better optical clarity of Oakleys, since the tests were made in Oakley HQs.
The quality is there, the performance is there, but yes the price is there too...
Goggles?! I bought O-Frames after scratching completely my cheapest Scotts and you know what? When O-Frames go to crap, I am buying cheapest Scotts M83 again because:
1.same quality for way lower price
2.wider range of veiw
3.More comfy
4.better ventilation
And I am not all for cheap, I consider myself as a conneseur, I'am into Danish furniture, retro cameras, Italian design.
Due to its price vs quality, added unnecessary gadgetry, Oakley is a one big douchery.
I hadsoem Fives back in the late 90's and they were great but after a couple of years of UV exposurem, the frames degraded, became brittle and broke.
Oakley gave me a credit to apply against a new pair.
I bought some polarised half jackets and was amazed by the clarity of vision and the fit. There were great, until my mates dog ate them.
Called Oakley, told them that they had been eated by a dog.. they gave me 50% off a new pair!! Amazing!
Replaced liek with like.. this time my dog got hold of them and put her teeth into the lens rendering them useless - and chewed the rubber off the arms
Do I want to explain 'my dog ate my homework' again, spend another $200 to replace them? Not really. As careful as you try to be with expensive eyewear, something i salways going to go wrong and f**k them up.
What do I wear now? Anything that I get given for free that fits my face.. wear them till they are no good then wear the next cheap/free set.
Ryders, Scott, Tifosi, whatever.. Quality isn't close to Oakley, but whatever.. they are sunglasses that are in style for a year at best!
On the other side of Oakley, their Rx (prescription glasses) stuff is absolute and utter crap.
Are oyu seriously saying that any pair of glasses out there have the same quality lens as the oakleys? Go on Youtube, type Oakley lens strengths test and press play... Its not bullshit, its true.
Am not an Oakley fan boy at all, but i HAVE worked in a oakley O-Store and have been witness of the quality of it. Not everything they make is amazing, but their eyewear is unbeatable.
you might want to take a look at this before you go talking shit about other brands... www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlo7lGtBQh0
Quality is there for sure, made in USA glasses. Oh and their ballistic military line will always be there to protect my eyes when I get deployed. Customer for life! (as long as production stays in the USA)
As far as I'm aware, NO other company has nearly as comprehensive impact testing or optical protection... Worth every penny.
After going through something like $600 worth of eyewear in one year, I go cheap now. I wear clear safety glasses that my LBS stock at $15 a pair. They are approved to Australian Standard 1337.0 (and yeah I do know that off the top of my head - every nerd knows that number) for impact resistance. When they get scratched, I buy a new pair.
You may study materials, polymers, composites, watch youtube, who knows - you might find the end of internet - but don't forget to read some book about basics of Product Marketing at some point in your life. At the same time, some are more than happy to get screwed - what can I say? - Why screwed? because there are lots of way cheaper options with next to the same properties.
To me, the way Oakleys HQ looks like, says enough - nobody goes to such extent to make such a show off if there's some true value for money standing behind what they do. It's a pair of bloody glasses, just as TREK Session 9.9 is a bloody frame, you know, in Russia they make golden bathtubs and jacuzzis - and I bet there's lots of tech behind it - you know how hard must it be to cover it with gold?
An online shop called Deal Extreme sells Oakley fakes, like Jaw Bones for 20$ - try them! If fake is almost as good as original then bullshit is involved - you can't fake hiper technology and hiper quality so easily.
Now if your argument would be "I buy them because they produce stuff in US, give jobs and pay taxes" - that would make them worth the money, but "technology" of those pieces of plastic alone isn't
No. It's not.
Now without any intention of getting into a pissing match, because I have no investment in either 'side', I will say this: Your point is solely an opinion and has as much factual evidence supporting it as the people you are attempting to lambast. Here's a fact: Various armys have tested protective eyeware and all who do converge to using Oakley. Hey! That's a fact! Here's another: Oakley hires actual engineers to develop stuff, and believe it or not, they pay them! There is no point in reiterating what you perceive is a ‘rip-off’ because you have absolutely zero experience either working at Oakley, in a test lab, or as an engineer designing sun glasses. So your point is entirely moot and simply an attack on people. Take a step back, realize that marketing is part of everything you buy (even those $20 sunglasses that have zero engineering effort, distort light waves, are a rip off of someones intelectual property, and cost approx .25c to make via slave labor). Before you go out on a diatribe, consider this: There are numerous items you’ve bought over the years that are not worth what you paid. The difference is nobody is going to come down to your house and rant about it, so neither should you.
Unless you have actual proof. Which you haven’t shown, just drop reiterating your *opinion*.
Which brings me to my next point. All products, whether they are glasses, or bike frames, or whatever, are more than the sum of their raw materials. If you took a pair of Oakleys, melted them down into a ball, they would still be the same raw materials, but are they the same as the glasses? Of course not. What about considering things like fit, ease of use (i.e. changing lenses), finish, ergonomics, tints of lenses, and last but certainly not least, style? Believe it or not, these things require designers and engineers too. Otherwise, your quick-dry wick-away jersey is just polyester... just like your dad's disco shirt from the 70's.
@ Nobble, that video is just one of the tests that Oakley requires. The more impressive one is the 500 gram spike dropping from 4 feet. Plus, there's a ton of other features that have nothing to do with safety or performance but still make Oakley superior... their three point contact system is awesome, their hydrophilic rubber compound that sticks to your head better as you get more sweaty, the ease of interchangability on every part, their hydrophobic lens coatings, their prescription offerings, etc... I'm not saying that Smith or anyone else sucks but Oakley will definitely continue to get my money.
IMO, it's preference, Oakley sells their glasses at the price of what the customer is willing to pay for. that's it.
But I'm sure everyone would trust other brands. And yea, the avg biker won't see a 12g shotgun shot at them, but, they might land face first in a rock garden, thus the glasses saving their sight. Take it for what you want... there is a reason militaries around the world use Oaks... and I'm sure it's not for the glamour. In fact, the additional cost would make it a def no go if they didn't perform better than almost all others in terms of safety. IE why would a government by glamour items when it could buy much cheaper.
funnily enough the military dosent always use the best. if they did, they would have retired the humvee long ago.
Wow this got way off topic! Oakley FTW!
You don't like Oakley, cool... that's fine. That doesn't change the fact that the US (as well as several other) government went through a competitive evaluation and found their optics to be superior in terms of performance and durability and that myself and MANY others have literally had our vision saved by teh same qualities that sold the US government on them. You don't like them.. don't buy them. For me personally, thesuperior degree to which they block out light in the blue wavelength alone is worthy... adding in their durability and protection is just a bonus.
And if you buy such car without needing to go offroad with a couple of people in it (as is it's purpose) - you're so fkn stupid... if you want safety and max comfort, especially on long trips, you buy a car like BMW 7 or Audi A8 for the same money as such SUVs. Thanks to being low, their suspension can be way softer - no monster size seat will compensate that in SUV
*plus S/H
But I only wear black glasses, these are too gay for me.
Or $300 for a set of sun glasses that do the exact same thing. Whoop Tee Doo I can change colors on the lenses and little O's. My friends bought 3 in the time I have had mine because he keeps breaking his.
Lets say I had a budget of $360. I can buy 1 pair of Oakley's and actually only afford to ride once. Or I could spend $30 on a set of sun glasses, drive to where ever I want to ride and be able to ride for a few days...
Pretty sure money is better spent on enjoying the sport, not saying what you can wear during the sport.
Does anybody else have some decent logic out there?