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I swear a few months ago someone here was chatting about a jacket they'd seen which was impressively all-over reflective in car headlights. Somebody else identified what jacket it actually was for them so they could get it. However, despite loads of searching, I can't find the posts I'm thinking about.
I've been thinking I should replace my black flimsy waterproof with something a bit more reflective and it sounds perfect. Can anyone help?
Proviz 360 do one, as do Dare2b. Probably others too but those are probably the cheapest. Not sure how breathable the fabric is though, which is what puts me off them.
I complemented a jogger who was wearing one of these after dark on the canal towpath last winter. It was astoundingly reflective compared to any other clothing that I've seen. The jacket was completely (from my perspective at least) illuminated from ~50-100 metres away as a result of my front light (Niterider Mako 200 USB) in 'blinkered' mode (using my patent pending pudding pot attachment to limit overspill).
yet, unbelievably, from what I read @Ragingbike was considered to be wearing dark clothing with one. The prosecutor in that case was negligent there and should be stripped of duty.
you can also get them in halfords under the Boardman label, its converts into a gilet too.
the only issue i have with them, is when not lit up they are 'tarmac grey' and tend to blend in with grey skies/tarmac background etc.
but when commuting in/out in the dark its all good.
i have the sugoi ZAP one, in red, and its no where near as bright as the grey ones, also you need to keep it clean as the glass balls get dirty and dont reflect.
i also have a BIORACER one with pixel technology - this is a JERSEY and not a jacket and as such gets washed, i find this to be far batter than ZAP as there are more glass balls per inch and really glow up - although its not the whole jacket - arms & back pockets & i think a strip down the front.
Please remember that 'reflectives' only work when lit up by the headlights of the vehicle whose occupant is trying to observe you.
For example, they do not work when a car is pulling out of a T-junction and looking left and right for you. (Because the headlights are shining straight on, and not left or right).
I would not recommend having "only reflectives" or "only hi-viz" for night time use*. A combination of both reflectives and light-coloured clothing (or light-coloured hi-viz) is best.
*Let's ignore the debate on hi-viz efficacy for now.
Thanks for all the responses - I'll pop into Evans on the way home and see if they've got any of the Proviz ones and keep the others in mind. Interesting that they're not so visible during the day - not sure anything else I wear is either though so maybe this isn't too much of an issue!
My colleague has the proviz one and the material hasn't lasted long, losing both reflectivity and weatherproofing in only a few months I think.
@nedd1e_h: "Please remember that 'reflectives' only work when lit up by the headlights of the vehicle whose occupant is trying to observe you."
Spot on. AFAIK they use the same kind of retro-reflective technology that is in 3M Scotchlite tape and fabric. What it does is in the description: it reflects light back in the general direction that it came from, with very little scatter. That means that if the observer's eyes and the light source are not fairly close to being on the same axis vis a vis the object being observed then the bright retro-reflection will not be seen.
For this reason I'm a little skeptical about retro-reflective jackets as a conspicuity aid in town. They do next to nothing useful under street lights, and dipped headlights very likely won't illuminate a jacket directly (unless you're on a recumbent, I suppose), so the driver won't necessarily see any retro-reflection*. I'd suggest that retro-reflective trousers or shoes might be more effective in town, though I don't know if anyone makes such things.
In full beam headlights, though, a retro-reflective jacket works brilliantly, so I can see a much stronger case for wearing one on rural roads. There is, though, the potential downside that a driver will see an approaching cyclist in their full beam, dip their headlights out of courtesy and - pouf! - the cyclist 'disappears'...
FWIW I do have patches of scotchlite black and silver tape on my black and silver bike, on the forks and frame. They are nicely unobtrusive under daylight, but shine brightly when illuminated at night with the caveats noted above - hence I also wear a hi-viz jacket and helmet, and carry lights various.
* I suspect that this might be at the root of the evidence given in the careless driving case being discussed elsewhere at the moment, that the cyclist was wearing a 'black' jacket. Not that that in any way excuses the actions of the driver, of course - it was pure whataboutery and victim blaming by the defence, and the barstewards got away with it.
On rural roads, reflective slap bands or similar around the lower leg seem very effective - mostly because of the motion.
I went with the Scotchlite black tape on my black bike rather than the jacket in the end, but when I was looking, I also saw that Mountain Warehouse and Trespass had their own versions of these jackets for around £30-40.
I was talking about my Proviz360 the Overheard thread. People have commented on how I light up at night or in a tunnel. In the day time it look like a smart grey jacket.
It's waterproof for my short commute. I haven't tested it for all day touring in the rain. It does get a bit sweaty inside. I could also do with some side pockets, as I had in my old shocking pink Altura. However I am pretty happy with it for my non strenuous commute.
I believe in the careless driving thread the OP was wearing a black night vision jacket with reflective stripes, so not quite the same as an all over reflective. I agree that they do rely on a light shining on you from the direction of the observer, but if that isn’t the case they are no different to any other jacket. I ‘m not sure the point about light colours under street lights is correct. In my opinion a light colour gets bleached into the background & paradoxically black actually shows up quite well under a yellow street light (Might give the counsel for the defence an opportunity to wriggle out of a conviction, sadly)
@jdanielp: (using my patent pending pudding pot attachment to limit overspill)
I need pictures of this.
I have one of the Sugoi jackets (a present from Mrs Morningsider) which I wear in the darker months. Nice and comfy, fairly waterproof and no worse on the breathability front than most other cycling jackets.
I also have lights, reflectors and reflective strips on tyre sidewalls. Thing is, I don't really think any of them make much difference. There is a small, but dedicated, band of ninja cyclists - yet you never hear of them being wiped out en masse. I think drivers either see you, or they don't - and any amount of bright/reflective stuff won't really make a difference - just ask Ragingbike.
Both times I've been hit by drivers that just didn't see me despite looking through the space on the road I was occupying I had proper lights and yellow hi vis with reflectives on. Not a scientific measure, obviously...
These jackets light up brilliantly on full beam. Less so on dipped. You therefore still need lights to be seen. They are less breathable than many jackets in my opinion.
Though I am a big sweater.
As stated they are not visible in daylight. Well, you know, you can see them if you have eyes connected via the optic nerves to a brain. But if you are in a hurry whilst driving and are too busy to look. These jackets won't help. But then neither will anything else apart from my lurid orange fair isle tank top but drivers hate it so much they try to kill me.
@gembo me too
“Though I am a big sweater“
Is that like a big boy’s blouse?
(Just askin’)
No you have both parsed that wrongly
I am a big perspirer
Well me too too but I liked the image?
In the spirit of 'additional information' in regard to the above it's always worth remembering that retro-reflective material sends light back to the light source - not to the observer. Just because something is bright when seen in a bike light... where your eyes are close to the light... doesn't mean it'll work well for a bus driver whose eyes are quite bit further from the headlights. Obviously we're also talking angle here not physical distance - so the closer the observer gets the less reflected light they'll receive.
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