Vest decisions

[coyote]

Hi,
With it getting darker and colder in the morning, I'm thinking about getting a vest. I can't decide if I should get a safety vest and use other clothing to stay warm or get a bike vest that will help me stay warm and be visible. These are what I'm looking at:
Sugoi Blur Bike vest (http://www.rei.com/product/770376?cm_mmc=cse_pronto-_-datafeed-_-product-_-na&mr:referralID=098e124d-ab69-11dd-8132-000423c27407)
Pearl Izumi Womens Whisper Vest (http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?ID=55252)
Nashbar High Vis Safety Vest (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=22743&PID=1204522)
AlertShirt Vest (http://alertshirt.com/ligclas2ves.html)

Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with any of these (or a better idea?)

[7rider]

Well, your bottom two seem to be more focused on reflectivity, whereas the top two are more "transitional weather" vests with reflective piping as an added feature.
Which is more important to you is up to you.
That said...I have an older version of the PI vest, and one big stink I have with it is that it has/had no pocket. I see this version does, and that's nice to see. Otherwise, I like my PI vest fine and find a vest handy for those in-between sort of days.

[coyote]

hmmm, I guess I'm looking for a vest that is highly visible night and day. And I'm looking for a vest that is wind proof and will hold a little of my body heat to keep me warm.

Maybe I really need 2 - one for cool weather and one to be highly visible.

[Triskeliongirl]

For visibility go with screaming yellow, which is great in traffic. If you've ever gotten behind someone riding in screaming yellow you'll know what I mean.

If you just want windproofness, then the PI whisper vest is fine (and can be layered over heavier stuff for warmth). I have the older version without the rear pocket, and noticed the newer version runs a bit tight in the bust.

If you want warmth, try the PI gavia vest. I have the jacket, and liked it so much I bought my husband the vest.

I mostly ride with the PI vagabound II jacket in screaming yellow, which has zip off sleaves. Great for this time of year since I use the sleeves in the am but not riding home. BUT, I'll warn you the vest works with short sleeve shirts but with sleeveless the zipper hits my armpit and bothers me.

All of these have rear pockets so can be layered over stuff without pockets.

[bikerHen]

I have three vests. One that's a wind blocker, one that's a thermal wind blocker and one that's a safety vest. My wind vest I wear alot. It's one of my favorite pieces of clothing. The thermal one is my standard winter vest. I wore it today for the first time this season. My safety vest is the typical dork style vest and lives in my backpack. It comes out anytime I ride in the dark. The wind vest is yellow, the thermal is mostly white and of course the safety vest is yellow with lots of reflective stuff. I don't think there is just one vest that would work for everything. bikerHen

[SadieKate]

If you need visibility you probably need a separate safety vest. I'm a firm believer that lights, not just reflective strips, need to be ON you.

We have LED vests similar to this:
http://www.joessports.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2292839

[coyote]

I think you all are right about one vest not being enough. I'm going to order one stay warm with and one to be seen with. Its better to error on the side of visiblity then not.

Thanks for all your help. Those LED vests are pretty cool.

[kfergos]

I'll chip in and say I have the new PI whisper vest. It's excellent wind blocker, water resistant (although the back is all venting, so pouring straight down it doesn't help much), and I figure that if the neon yellow is good enough for construction workers out in traffic all the time, it's good enough for me. Car headlights will catch that and I personally feel pretty darn safe wearing it, even though it only has reflective piping as an afterthought.

But then I don't count on my clothing for visibility; I use lots of bright, blinky lights on my bike as a first cut, and then add reflectivity where I can. That said, if I could change one thing, I'd add more reflective stuff to the vest. Can't hurt.

Anyway, it's a really great vest for most weather. I wear it quite often and it's been well worth its price.

ETA: This is my only vest. I have never felt like I needed another one to be more visible or something.

[Triskeliongirl]

I am not sure that one vest isn't enough, although I do own several.

If I were gonna have just one, it would be a screaming yellow wind vest like the PI whisper or vagabound II jacket (in vest mode), and just put warmer layers under it as needed.

In fact, the PI vagabound II jacket is my one piece I use the most, either in vest or jacket mode. If its very cold, I move to a warm jacket like the PI gavia or shebeest windpro jackets. Again, the PI gavia is available in screaming yellow, so if you want 2 pieces, I'd suggest getting both the PI vagabound II and PI gavia, both in screaming yellow, and you'll be covered for a very wide range of temps. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be sure your bike is well lit, etc., but screaming yellow really works.

I have an older PI whisper vest that is a size too big, so I can also layer that over the shebeest windpro jacket if I need more visibility. So, it also depends on whatever other pieces you already own and of course the temp range you ride in. I picked up my gavia and windpro jackets on sale, so didn't get them in screaming yellow. But if I were to do it over I'd buy fewer pieces even if not on sale, but in screaming yellow.

[mayanorange]

This is an interesting thread- now that daylight savings time kicked in, I've been paying attn to the bicyclists I can and can't see well to see how much stuff they have. Large reflective stripes catch my eye as well as a red taillight, tho some of those were half obstructed. During the day, I'm just always watching for them, so I'm not sure hi-vis helps me see them, but for those drivers who don't ride...

I'm curious if you ride with a backpack, do you have reflective ones? Might just get out the stapler and some reflective tape to add to mine- it's got thin piping in some of the seams that's reflective, but probably not enough. Or I could hook an extra taillight on there.

[farrellcollie]

I have one of the alert shirt fleece lined ANSI vests. I wear it on my bicycle and my scooter when commuting after dark. If is very reflective and, although it may look dorky, people do notice me (enough to tell me I look dorky).

[Eden]

I think you all are right about one vest not being enough. I'm going to order one stay warm with and one to be seen with. Its better to error on the side of visiblity then not.

Thanks for all your help. Those LED vests are pretty cool.

I saw a guy wearing one of those yesterday - it may not have been that particular brand, but I'd save my money... it was not very impressive. Get a good, bright clip on flasher.

[F8th637]

I got the Pearl Izumi Whisper Vest and the PI Vagabond jacket (http://www.rei.com/product/772147). I ended up having to return the Whisper even though the price on it was awesome. It was tight in the armholes despite being a Large. The Vagabond I absolutely love because the sleeves can be removed almost like a bolero and you can have just a vest. You could probably just wear the sleeves over a jersey too I would think. The nice thing is that there is a pocket in the vest part that you can put the sleeves in when you are not using them. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend but I figure I get more than 1 piece of clothing out of it and it's in Screaming Yellow just like I wanted.

[coyote]

I purchased the PI Whisper vest. I like the Vagabond jacket as well but I found the vest at such a good price.


I have one of the alert shirt fleece lined ANSI vests. I wear it on my bicycle and my scooter when commuting after dark. If is very reflective and, although it may look dorky, people do notice me (enough to tell me I look dorky).

I saw those yesterday and I was wonder if they are really warm or just a bit warm. The temps here are so mild that really warm is overkill. My first winter riding I was a ball of sweat by the time I reached work.