I find the video on this link http://mi.oakley.com/video/innovation/optical_superiority/hydrophobic/marker_test.mov?1175195182 rather misleading. Ofcourse, it is obvious to see the difference between a hydrophobic lens and a normal lens. But when the lens is cleaned, it's pretty easy to see that only the left side of the lense is being wiped. So no wonder the left side cleans up properly whereas the right side remains smudged.

Am I being paranoid or do other people agree?

I agree that only the left side is being cleaned but to me that is the point. They are showing that even a Sharpie marker wipes right off. I don't think you'd be able to clean Sharpie completely off the other side.

So why don't they show it? If you want to show a comparison, then do so and do not show half. That only makes people wonder why.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe that it might work (I never tried writing on my lenses :o). But this somewhat looks like a bit of a commercial/marketing kind of show.

yep its marketing.
but i also thought that as is seen, the marker ink on the left side closest to the center is wiped clean, thus for it to be that close and perfect line, it mustve touched the immediate right side of the lens as well from the center.
to be skillfully and wipe a straight line down the middle is kinda hard i think thus i deduct it wouldve been the same if it was on the right lens.
nehow thats what i thought. still. i did try that hydrophobic coating on my first radar. heheh

Of course it's marketing gimmick. After all, hydrophobic coating has been around and used on most ophthalmic lenses and many sunglasses (ie MJ) for years. BUT you gotta give Oakley credit for their marketing skills, as they make it seem like they invented the concept and I've never seen this and other lens characteristics (ie polarization & impact resistance) presented better anywhere else.

All marketing stuff is biased as you can see from this video (sure to get your blood boiling):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2mbDokgXmFA

I'll admit that's pretty bad, but from experience it does wipe off much better than the standard. The problem I have is that they always say "the other guy" as if you wouldn't have that problem with any Oakley sunnies without a hydrophobic coating. When in reality if you don't have the hydrophobic coating it will have the same effect as any pair of shades on the market whether they're Oakley or any other. Any way sometimes the "hype" that is generated for a certain feature can get to ridiculous proportions. Why on earth would you ever use a marker on sunglasses is beyond me. The real benifit is much hard to "demo" which is they wipe clean from grease very easily.

All marketing stuff is biased as you can see from this video (sure to get your blood boiling):

In both cases you'd have a terrible headache anyhow!

I've actually tried this with Fire Flak Jacket lenses and it works. I haven't got a pair of crap lenses on-hand to try and screw up, but this demonstration is real.

this is real. go to your local o store and ask if they have the hydro demo lens for them to show you.

I find something really cute about someone saying "Oh noes, the marketing was misleading!"

Honesty has no place in marketing.

We have been using the permanent marker with our hydro lens puck (one half is hydrophobic and the other is not) for demos ever since we released the flak and Radar, but we make sure to wipe both sides and the hydro side ALWAYS comes off, we have to clean the other half with water.

go to your local o store and ask if they have the hydro demo lens for them to show you

Indeed.

Okay, thank you all for your answers. As I was interested in buying the Hydrophobic kit the video was interesting, up to the point of rubbing. I, for one, would be much more impressed if they wiped both sides after which the left side would be cleaner than the right side. Ofcourse both sides can be cleaned one way or the other but as this video is, you just can't see the difference cleaning wise.

The also uploaded demo with the waterdrops (much more like something that will happen in real life anyway) shows a big difference. Rain-X on my car's windshield does the same, however. So it's not a revolution, it's just nice ;-)

Yeah, but rain-X needs to be reapplied constantly to be effective. Hydrophobic coating does not.

AFAIK, the "hydrophobic kit" is not the same and should not be confused with the new hydrophobic lenses. The stuff that came with the Water Jacket is very similar in use to RainX, rather than the "baked on" coating on the new lenses.

I applied the kit to an M Frame Hybrid lens two weeks ago for use here in Qatar. I can say that I have been blown away by how well it works. It really does repel dust surprisingly well and my lens is definitely a lot cleaner at the end of the day. Cleaning is also a lot easier too. I simply rinse them off and gently blow off the excess water. Any spots just wipe right off with the cleaning cloth.

Its been two weeks since my initial application with no re-applying of the spray and I've yet to see any performance degradation. If anyone is considering getting the kit I highly recommend it! I was skeptical too but it proved me wrong and in the Oakley world $30 is really nothing for the benefits you get from it.