nikefreak's Full Review: Oakley Romeo 2.0 Sunglasses
Everyone knows Oakley provides three things to consumers: superior optics, a plethora of choices, and ridiculously expensive prices. Of course, as most Oakley fans would say, the expensive prices they are more than willing to pay, considering the incredible designs and technology that no sunglass company can even touch with a 10-foot pole. I actually got these shades as a graduation gift from one of my friends; he said, pick out any Oakley you want and I'll get it for you. I naturally, picked the most expensive ones that Oakley makes currently! (Don't be so hard on me, his dad owns a bike shop that gets Oakleys for a supreme discount) These Romeo 2.0's are nothing like their predecessors, the original Romeos, but I think they are a good improvement.
The frame is made of a combination of metals that Oakley calls X-Metal, a proprietary blend of five metal compounds combined together at 3000 degrees to form a 3-D hypoallergenic sculpted alloy frame. It's mostly made of titanium, which makes the frame exceptionally light, considering how large it looks. From Oakley's site directly it says, "Comfort is maximized by ultra-lightweight titanium alloys, liquefied with half a million watts of plasma lightning then sculptured by five-axis Computer Numeric Control with 0.0005” precision." That definitely sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo, but in reality, they are talking about the mechanical process it takes to sculpt this frame together and then have it be absolutely precise to the nth degree. I have heard stories of the engineers not accepting a frame because it was off by a tenth of a degree; they are not messing around here when it comes to perfection.
The arms have earsocks made of Oakley's material called Unobtanium, which is a hydrophilic rubber that increases grip when it comes into contact with sweat. This is a really great feeling, as my head began to sweat, I never felt any slippage on the sides, neither on my nose or temples, as this material is utilized in the temples and the nosebombs. (Yes, Oakley calls them nosebombs!) It's also just very comfortable when not wet, sticking to the sides of your head and nose when running or in any motion.
The lenses are made of a Plutonite material that provides 100% UV filtering and incredible impact protection; this combined with their High Definition Optics, or HDO, makes for an incredible viewing treat for the eyes. HDO keeps the lines in your sight straight and clear, sharp and distinct. You don't have to worry about annoyingly bad visuals because the engineers again have made these lenses with precision to ensure your eyes have no distortion in front of them. The impact protection is measured by the ANSI, the third-party establishment that measures sunglass protection and these glasses more than surpass those tests, such as taking a metal spike from four feet away, getting hit with a baseball bat, and leaving the lenses intact.
XYZ Optics is the technology that makes the lenses corrected on a 3-point axis to create perfect optics with no distortion; this enables the wearer not to be distracted by any unnecessary blemishes in the lenses.
The lenses themselves are made of a open-edge construction, as to unlock your downward field of view and reducing the overall weight of the shades by 20%. I do like this construction, the only caveat is that the bottom edges do get marred much easily because they are in contact with your skin. But this is remedied by a quick rub with the provided microfiber bag. The lens tint is called titanium iridium, and its definitely one of my favorite tints. It looks light brown, but when looked at head-on, it looks very shiny, mirror-like. It's made for extremely bright light, sharpens visual acuity, and improves depth perception. The iridium coating is actually built into the lens, so it will never rub off and helps to reduce glare and balance transmission. It's not as good as having polarization, but it is definitely better than just a regular lens. I enjoyed this lens for its versatility because in bright sun, it warded off the rays, but it improved my eye's ability to see in cloudy weather as well, a good sign of a versatile lens. It only lets in 10% light transmission to your eyes, a very low amount. A cool lil' extra is that the left lens is laser-engraved with the word "titanium" to let people know what lens you are wearing. The overall look is definitely not for everyone, they are a flashy sunglass, especially with the polished frame, but I do think they are a little more subtle then it's X-Metal cousin, the ubiquitous and Oakley's best-seller, the Juliet. Everyone has seen those, Ichiro is popular for wearing them and Cyclops wears a modified version of them in the X-Men movies.
It comes in a polarized version, X-Metal frame and black iridium lenses, which is $435, and then the regular versions, carbon frame with black iridium lenses and plasma frame with gold iridium lenses, and of course, the ones I have described here. There is also a carbon frame with fire iridium lenses combo that is a Gary Scelzi limited edition, who is an American dragster racer. This is not sold anymore, but can be found on eBay for a high cost. Overall, these Romeo 2.0's are ridiculously comfortable, an incredible design, and utilize superior optics. You can debate the merit of the high cost, but for my money, there is nothing in the world that comes close to Oakley shades in style and technology. Yes, that includes Nike shades!!
The only thing I can see that would be potentially bad is that they are a bit more heavy than your standard sunglass, but I like that because it shows me the build quality. And please, if I am gonna shell out $385 on a pair of shades, you think that I can get a damn hard case???? It only comes with the aforementioned microfiber cleaning bag to secure these in and you'd crush them if you sat on the shades in that flimsy lil' bag. I had to go and spend $35 on a hard case; granted, $35 is nothing for an almost $400 investment, but still! Anyways, why am I complaining, I got these for free!! :)
These shades do come with the cleaning bag, a X-Metal coin, and an extra set of nosebombs and temple shocks; they are of varying thicknesses, to match your head size. Pick these bad boys up, guarantee you'll be suckered in the world of Oakley for good!!
Unlocking your downward field of vision, the open-edge architecture of the Oakley Romeo II Sunglasses - Carbon / Black Iridium reduces the weight ...More at Sports Unlimited
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