Proviz Reflect 360 jacket

MB Lacey

I'm half thinking of buying one of these Proviz jackets for winter commuting - mainly so my hand signals for turning left / right will be visible.

Most of the online sites sell the jacket for £75 but I see it on Halfords site as €35.

Is it the same jacket does anyone know?
Anyone any experience with one?
Does the sheer brightness makes you feel self conscious?
I would like my hand signals to be really visible in darkness but think a fully glowing top half might be a bit too much.

Mortification worries aside, from reading the reviews a lot of commuters felt they were given a greater amount of space from cars when wearing one - which can only be a good thing.

tomasrojo

As is often the case with these things, they include a picture with it in the dark, but omit lights (legally required) as these would show up how you'd be better off buying some good lights.

If you want to empahsise hand signals in low light conditions, wrist lights are good, and don't take up much room in your bag. These are some home-made ones. They look a lot better with Moon Crescent lights, which are what I use now.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=81976804&postcount=40

check_six

I would expect sightings of you gliding past in the night to inspire some more stories for the "Has anything genuinely creepy or unnerving ever happened to you?" thread. Can't be a bad thing.

I suppose if you did wish to tone it down a bit, maybe attaching some kind of magnesium flare might do the trick?

The price just looks like a good deal. The price elsewhere is £70+.

Maybe consider gloves with reflective markings if you are self conscious about the glowy aura you may emit!

ted1

Hunterbiker

I have one. It's a nice jacket for the commute. It's heavy and you can get hot wearing it but the vents under the arms work okay.
bear in mind it's water resistant and not waterproof!
It's very reflective and it will catch the light really well.
For €35 its a bargain

Alanstrainor

I'd try one on if they had them in large somewhere close. Seems a good price.

Hunterbiker

Try a medium. They are cut very big. I was expecting to have to get an XL but ended up with a large.

tomasrojo

Among the Halfords customer reviews, it's mentioned that it doesn't suit a drop-bar position as well as it does a flat-bar position, and it's not all that breathable.

Hunterbiker

I have a drop bar and didn't find it a problem even with wearing a back pack at times too.
I would say I wouldn't look to use this jacket for anything other than a daily commute and wouldn't want to be going more than 20kms in it. Once at work I'd hang it inside out as the arms collect moisture.
There certainly are better breathable and waterproof jackets out there mind but not many that are as reflective.

Skrynesaver

Was on a spin one day with a lad in one of these, the sun was low in the sky and when he went out into the sun it was blinding, proper "arggh my eyes, I'm blinded" bright so they are.

MB Lacey

Thanks all, I like the idea of adding a flare.
Tom I have very good lights.
My concern was visible hand signals in darkness.
I tried reflective gloves, didn't feel the reflection was good.
I'm not too keen on wrist lights.
I haven't seen anyone on my commute wear one yet, though someone on bike radar or cycling weekly said half of commuters in London now wear them.
Maybe they got the €35 halfords deal.

Hunter, size small says the sleeves are 84cm long- that can't be right?
Are the sleeves on your large to the floor?

MB Lacey

Skrynesaver wrote: »

Was on a spin one day with a lad in one of these, the sun was low in the sky and when he went out into the sun it was blinding, proper "arggh my eyes, I'm blinded" bright so they are.

That's not really a good thing. Don't want to be blinding other cyclists.

cdaly_

MB Lacey wrote: »

I tried reflective gloves, didn't feel the reflection was good.

You won't see the reflection from where you're looking when you're wearing them. Try leaving them on the floor in a dark room and then see how they stand out in the light of a torch in your hand.

tomasrojo

MB Lacey wrote: »

I haven't seen anyone on my commute wear one yet, though someone on bike radar or cycling weekly said half of commuters in London now wear them.

My gut reaction is that is a fairly large exaggeration, but I haven't been to London in years. It is the hi-viz capital of Europe, so it's not completely implausible.

tomasrojo

The only caveat I'd have on the subject of your hand signals being seen with the Proviz jacket is that it's completely dependent on incident light. If you were approaching a car waiting to emerge from a side road on your left in a low-light (say, rural) environment, the Proviz wouldn't really show up very well (very little ambient light, and car headlights throw to the left, away from approaching traffic). But you already have good lights, so maybe you'd have everything you want with the jacket.

It's not that expensive a jacket, so you could buy it and give it a shot and see how you get on.