Bending Oakleys for larger heads

[dmbrill719]

I figured I'd share a successful bend of my Oakley Flak 2.0 sunglasses.  I'm convinced there isn't a better design or lens tech than the Prizm Golf XL lenses or a better sport design than the half or flak jacket frame.  My only problem with them is the fit is too tight.  I don't understand at all why they don't make one of these frames in an XL.  I don't have a huge head (7 5/8 fitted cap), but the Flak frames are so tight to the point they're uncomfortable to wear.

 

My first method was to put an arm in water after it was brought to a boil, let it sit for a minute or two, then try to bend.  The frame didn't hold the bend at all.  Next up, I stretched the arms (lenses and rubber arms removed for all steps) onto a kids basketball and had the frames resting off my countertop.  I used my heat gun on low heat and heated the arm for about 20 seconds.  You could see the point when the arm had enough heat that the arm straightened and the fit became much wider.  After trying on, I realized I needed to bend the back 1/3 of the arm in a bit so the arm curved around my head.  I did this by hand, heating the back 1/3rd of the arm for 20 seconds, then pulling the back tip in and holding for about 30 seconds til the arm cooled and the bend held.  All in all, it was pretty easy, I think the main thing is you don't want to add too much heat to the point you melt the arm.

 

I attached a few pics...one pick shows where they were bent to relative to my favorite pair of Costa XL sunglasses, another pic shows where they were bent relative to a pair of original flak jackets (I'm going to bend that pair now).

 

I know some people have given up on the Flak and Half's b/c of the tight fit, but hopefully this gives you something to think about.  Of course, maybe an optometrist can easily do this as well, I have no idea.

 

 

 

 

Oakley relative to XL Costa's

 

Bent Oakley's relative to original size Oakley Flak Jackets

Edited June 15, 2021 by dmbrill719