blinking safety vest

[shootingstar]

My word, I received a safety vest that is battery-operated with blinking lights.

Now my honey is a dedicated cyclist. But wow....

I also work at a construction site where I must walk to and from worksite through lots of machinery, cranes...would like them to see me.

So not just cycling. But if i could be visible without shouting my presence.

[KathiCville]

Coooooooool! Can you supply a brand and model??? Maybe a link?

[SadieKate]

Both TE and Google are your friends . . .

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=27706
http://www.ledtronics.com/markets/sa...ndex.htm#row-2

Last year I bought a lighted vest that had a bar all the way across my shoulder blades. I thought it was a Nathan that I bought from TE, but I can't find it in the moving box chaos.

[SadieKate]

Ah, here we go.

http://www.branfordbike.com/reflect/reflect1.html

[DeniseGoldberg]

If you're going with the blinking vest - please make sure that the lights are on the vest in a spot where they will be seen if you are riding on the drops - if you ride in the drops, that is! (As in, I believe the lights should extend close to the bottom of the vest.) Some of the examples that SadieKate posted look OK, but at least one looks to me like the lights don't extend far enough. (It's just a picture though, I could be totally off base here!)

I was out walking just after sunset one day when I saw a cyclist who was wearing a blinky on his vest. Unfortunately he had the light clipped close to the top of his vest and he was riding on the drops. From the back he was pretty much invisible.

If the lights are properly placed, these vests look like a great idea.

I don't ride after dark, but I do walk. I've been using Firefly Supernova lights from Road ID, and I've had people stop me in the street to tell me that they thought I was a police car. Hmm... I guess my lights are visible! (And yes, I did say lights - I wear 2 red blinkies facing to the rear, and 3 blue blinkies facing forward, and I am walking facing traffic).

--- Denise

[SadieKate]

Absolutely agree. That's why I like lights positioned across the shoulder blades. But if you're just running this isn't quite as critical.

[jobob]

Ooh, these LED bands look nifty

http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/led-band/default.asp

[Pedal Wench]

I bought vests from a woman in the UK who sells them for equestrians. I think they're made by Kitt, and mine are hot pink. The LEDs run the length of the vest, and are quite visible from all sides.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FLUORESCENT-TA...QQcmdZViewItem

[Geonz]

I saw athe blinking vest in the LBS last Saturday. The owner said he's sold a few but they haven't been flyin' off the shelves... the geek factor's pretty high!

I got these LED bands from planet bike for my surrogate nephews.

[Technotart]

Don't count on anything above the waist in terms of reflective material - the headlights just don't hit it up there. All the reflective stuff should be below the waist - on the pants, shoes, frame, cranks, wheels etc. Movement catches people's eyes, so if you can put reflective material on the moving parts of your bike and body you will be seen and noticed.

LED's above the waist are fine - but honestly most of those little LED's in these vests are not really bright enough to be seen from a distance in the dark - I have a lighted vest like this but I don't wear it. There are a number of reasonably priced headlights and tail lights out there that will serve better. I found at the local hardware store, a 6 LED headlamp which I can wear on my helmet, on the bike or use as a red rear light that is so bright it casts actual beams of light, even in the red mode - I bought three of them - they were less than 20.00 each.
-

[SadieKate]

Technotart - are you riding with streetlights or without? I think that makes a huge difference. Our Nathan vests with the entire LED strip can be seen a long distance off. It's nice to have a riding partner because you can critique each other's light/reflective efficacy.

We were riding in and out of lit areas -- reflective material for lit areas and LEDs for dark areas. We met others with similar vests and it made a huge difference in dark areas. The more of everything the better and who cares about the geek factor.

[KathiCville]

Denise.....Thanks for the tip on the Firefly Supernovas!.....I just ordered a blue one on a wristband and a simple red clip-on to put on the lower back of my jacket or undersaddle bag to supplement my flashing tail-light.

[Technotart]

Technotart - are you riding with streetlights or without? I think that makes a huge difference. Our Nathan vests with the entire LED strip can be seen a long distance off. It's nice to have a riding partner because you can critique each other's light/reflective efficacy.

We were riding in and out of lit areas -- reflective material for lit areas and LEDs for dark areas. We met others with similar vests and it made a huge difference in dark areas. The more of everything the better and who cares about the geek factor.

Oh absolutely the more the better! Just don't expect an LED vest to be the only thing you need to be visible is all I don't care about looking like a geek - I have a pair of short tri bars on my bike just for hanging gadgets and lights on! LOL.

Here is a video of some night light products - we are planning on shooting something similar in the next few weeks:
http://jasonagar.blogspot.com/2007/1...lectivity.html

.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Here is a video of some night light products - we are planning on shotting something similar in the next few weeks:
http://jasonagar.blogspot.com/2007/1...lectivity.html

Thanks for posting the link to this video. I found the footage to be quite frightening from a standpoint of how poorly most of the cyclists were lit. Maybe in person the lights were more visible, but watching the video tells me that people are not using enough lights - let alone bright enough lights.

I know they exist; I've see a couple of cyclists here (at night) who were lighting up the night, but I've seen many more who were pretty close to invisible.

--- Denise

[Technotart]

When I first saw that video, I too was surprised by how invisible most of them were. I think most of us probably are less visible than we think we are, no matter how good a job we do of lighting up. I did notice that reflective tape on the rims seemed to be more visible than anything else - just have to be careful to keep it off the braking surface.

I was thinking about trying out some tires with reflective side walls.