We’ve had some questions from customers about our recent change of the wrap-around style frames which I’d like to address.
As some of you are aware, we’ve been dealing with long lead times on getting wrap frames from our supplier. Some of it was due to the severe weather that occurred during late winter on the east coast, but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that our supplier had started up an in-house sports Rx lab and was siphoning off frames that should have gone first to suppliers.
We’ve also been having some issues with lenses popping out, notably on the Biker and Off-Road frames, as well as glue issues on the nose pads on the MX-30 and Torque frames. The manufacturer has refused to issue credit or replace the frame on any glue issue, claiming the frames were abused, which caused the glue to fail. The lens popping is caused by us having to back bevel the lenses so they fit in the extra thick eyewires.
Early this month, I decided enough was enough and changed to a different frame supplied by a different supplier. The new frame looks similar to the original Biker frame, but the temple design is different. This is because this new frame is a Z87 safety frame, a much higher standard than the original Biker frame. We believe the new frame is better than the Biker for several reasons: the new frame stands up to abuse far better than the Biker even though the temples have a thinner cross-section, the frame material is actually stronger and the thinner cross-section allows for some flex and give when worn. In testing the new frame, we were not able to cause a lens to pop. This was due, again, to the thinner cross-section of the eye wire. The lens fits much easier into the groove, which also eliminates the need to back bevel the lenses in order to fit them properly into the frame.
Change is always difficult, but I hope that you will come to like this new frame as much as we do. The feedback we have gotten so far is very positive, so we believe this is a good move for us.
On another note, we are currently in a back-order situation on the IR filter material we use on the AGW-300 and AGW-325. Currently we are looking at lead times of approximately 3 to 4 weeks before we get any material. We are working with our supplier to find alternate equivalent material and hope to have this solved very soon.
Thank you for your time and thank you for being a past and present customer!
