Night time winter wear?

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Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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  • December 28, 2010 at 6:12 pm #924269
    Joe Chapline
    Participant

    They make pullover safety vests that are very thin and light, no problem to carry one with you until you need it. You might want to check the bike store first, to make sure the vest is big enough to go over your coat and compact enough to carry. Hard to tell those things online, but here’s one of many that are offered.

    December 29, 2010 at 12:52 am #924273
    7rider
    Participant

    I’ve gotten this one from STP. Yeah, it’s heavy on the “road construction” look – but it’s effective, if watching the movement of cars away from me is any indication. They sure can see it. It fits easily over my winter jacket(s).

    December 29, 2010 at 2:17 pm #924276
    PrintError
    Participant

    Are you cycling in your thick winter coat? I would actually recommend multiple thin layers to any one thick layer.

    With the teen- and twenty-degree mornings we’ve had lately, my torso armor has been:
    Jersey, arm warmers, light cycling windbreaker, hi-vis waterproof cycling jacket w/reflective strips, and my W&OD Trail Patrol vest over that because it has HUGE reflective strips on it.

    If you insist on the big jacket though, go to Home Depot and grab a simple safety vest for a few bucks. Same kind construction and DOT workers wear. Yeah, it looks goofy, but I’d rather look goofy and be very, very visible than be another all-black Trail Ninja waiting to get plowed over (encountered another three this morning!)

    December 29, 2010 at 10:34 pm #924280
    Riley Casey
    Participant

    That last suggestion was fantastic. I stopped by my favorite bike shop ( which shall remain nameless ) and a mesh vest which was barely yellow at all over a dark jacket was $25. A quick look at the Home Depot website showed a solid yellow nylon vest for $10. I’m going there tomorrow. Thanks

    December 29, 2010 at 11:02 pm #924281
    Mark Blacknell
    Participant

    Riley, I’m not certain, but I suspect you’ll find a difference between the two – namely, that the bike shop vest has reflective components, whereas the HD doesn’t. Would be worth $15 to me. Let us know how it works out, yes?

    December 30, 2010 at 12:25 am #924282
    Joe Chapline
    Participant

    I see the Home Depot one, it does have reflective material. Also is an actual vest, with an open front, so would be easier to put on than a pullover. Let us know how it works out. In any case, it’s clear that this does not have to be a high-dollar item. The vest I have was cheap (I don’t remember exactly how much), and has lasted for many years. Like rain gear and warm clothes, this seems like an item that could come in handy for people that ever venture outside.

    December 30, 2010 at 5:44 am #924283
    CCrew
    Participant

    Good place for cheap hi-Vis clothing is here:

    http://www.alertshirt.com/

    No affiliation, just a happy customer. They’re geared toward the industrial/contractor market so you’re not paying the cycling premium that the bike shops seem to demand.

    December 30, 2010 at 3:02 pm #924288
    PrintError
    Participant

    Another option is to join the W&OD Trail Patrol. Not only are you doing a good public service, but they give you a nice little vest with huge reflective strips on it. I wear mine when I commute a) because it promotes the Trail Patrol even when I’m not on it and b) because it’s VERY visible.

    HD does indeed sell reflective vests though.

    BTW: While we’re on the topic, I was rolling along this morning at about 20mph and never saw the ninja jogger until the moment of impact. By sheer luck, I was about 3″ too far to the left for there to actually BE an impact, so in this case the ninja really, REALLY lucked out. I had my dual-halogen headlight on full blast and never even remotely saw the person. When will they learn?

    January 5, 2011 at 8:25 pm #924342
    Riley Casey
    Participant

    It turns out that the vest I mentioned in my earlier post that was solid yellow nylon with reflective strips http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh7/R-202080177/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 is only available on the Home Depot website. The vest in the store is $19 and is a mesh material much like the vest I was looking at at the nameless bike shop. Combined with the other short comings of Home Depot on this last shopping trip out to deepest, darkest suburbia I am loath to spend any money with them but the vest on the website looks to be the thing that is mostly likely to help me survive the winter so I will bite my tongue an pony up the whooping $10. Thanks for all the suggestions folks.

    January 10, 2011 at 6:23 pm #924463
    Riley Casey
    Participant

    Well it took trips to two different Home Depots to find the vest but for $10 it really can’t be beat. It is slightly larger than the bike shop model and thus fits better over my winter wear, it it solid yellow fabric rather than the mesh material that turned very dark when worn over dark clothing and best of all it has substantially more reflective material than the bike shop version. I would still prefer that my arms where covered in bright yellow as well as they are when I wear my bike shop windbreaker but even that has ‘stylish’ black panels on the back that are not contributing to my visibility quotient. One minor downside is that the closure in the front is a single tab of velcro so it might come open easily but I have yet to really put any stress on it. Short of buying the rain coat version of this road workers vest that I have seen in use now that I am more cognizant of such things I think this vest will be a good investment for riding poorly lit side streets.

    @Mark Blacknell 1617 wrote:

    Riley, I’m not certain, but I suspect you’ll find a difference between the two – namely, that the bike shop vest has reflective components, whereas the HD doesn’t. Would be worth $15 to me. Let us know how it works out, yes?

    January 10, 2011 at 6:32 pm #924464
    Joe Chapline
    Participant

    Thank you for reporting back.

    January 19, 2011 at 12:15 pm #924606
    PrintError
    Participant

    @Riley Casey 1828 wrote:

    One minor downside is that the closure in the front is a single tab of velcro so it might come open easily but I have yet to really put any stress on it.

    My trail patrol vest has a 1″ velcro strip. Tiny.
    It’s never popped open on its own, and it’s small enough that I can pop it with a tug to get to my jacket zippers.

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