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As you know, there is more than one way to enhance your safety while on the road. Apart from wearing a helmet, you can add a few other gear pieces to make riding more secure.
While you should always wear a helmet, protective gloves, and riding boots, you might also want to consider wearing a reflective vest.
It’s among the most useful clothing pieces you can have at hand when touring, especially if you’re visiting Europe.
Take a few minutes to discover the top motorcycle reflective vests, how to choose one, and why you should wear it.
5 Highest Rated Motorcycle Reflective Vest Reviews
| PRODUCT | FEATURES | |
|---|---|---|
Black  | Black Features: Easy to put on and take off, highly visible panels Size: S - 8XL | Check Price |
ZOJO  | ZOJO Features: Elastic and easy to put on, meets two safety standards Size: Universal | Check Price |
IDOU  | IDOU Features: 360° visibility, easy to adjust Size: L, XL | Check Price |
PRASACCO  | PRASACCO Features: Breathable and lightweight Size: XXL | Check Price |
A.B Crew  | A.B Crew Features: Several sizes available, it has multiple pockets Size: M - XXL | Check Price |
Black – Adjustable Fit
This Black vest is meant to be worn over your jacket. It’s intended to enhance your visibility more than to protect you from the wind or cold.
It comes in several sizes to choose from based on your size and how thick your riding jacket is. However, keep in mind that the fit is adjustable, which means you can fix it if you find yourself between sizes.
It has a full-length front zip that makes it easy to put it on and take it off. This also helps if you decide to leave the vest on your jacket so that you can take both off at the same time.
This one features large reflective panels on front and back, enhancing your visibility during low-light and night conditions. It also has a rear pocket for small items.
PROS
- Easy to put on and take off
- Twin Velcro adjusters
- Highly visible panels
CONS
- The sizes run big
ZOJO – Lightweight
ZOJO is one of the best options if you’re looking for a lightweight vest that’s easy to carry around. This one is made from elastic band fabric, featuring 0.6’’ wide reflective strips on front and back.
The reflective strips are visible from 1000’ by day and night. It’s a complaint with ANSI-SEA 107-2015 Standard and EN ISO 20471:2013 safety standards.
It’s easy to put on and take off, which makes it ideal for touring. It’s also suitable for cycling, hiking, skating, jogging, and other adventures.
The company offers several colors to choose from, but there’s only one size. It’s a universal size that should fit most people because it’s stretchy and easy to put on.
It’s pretty comfortable, so you won’t even feel it on. Plus, it folds into a small shape and is simple to carry around.
PROS
- Elastic and easy to put on
- Meets two safety standards
- Easy to carry
CONS
- One size only
IDOU – Multi-purpose
IDOU is a multi-purpose reflective vest with 360° high-intensity reflection. It meets the EN471 standard, increasing your visibility without taking away from comfort.
The reflective area is increased, which means everybody will notice you on the road. It has hi-viz panels on the front and back.
This one is made from a comfortable, mesh fabric that’s breathable and takes little to dry. It’s an ideal choice for summer because it helps to keep you cool.
It features nylon magic stickers so that you can adjust the waist size. It goes over thick jackets and thin shirts, depending on what you like to ride in.
On top of that, IDOU has a large zippered pocket for small items like your phone and earphones. It’s easy to fold and carry when you don’t want to wear it.
PROS
- 360° visibility
- Easy to adjust
- Breathable mesh material
CONS
- It gets dirty easily
PRASACCO – Budget-friendly
Prasacco is possibly the best choice if you’re looking for a versatile but budget-friendly option. It’s ideal for riding, as well as hiking, cycling, and climbing. Many people use it in subways, railways, and schools as well.
This one offers 360° visibility because it’s bright yellow and has reflective strips. It works in day and night conditions and all-weather, enhancing your visibility and safety on the road.
One thing you should keep in mind is that there’s only one size available. It’s made from a lightweight 100% polyester fabric that’s breathable and comfortable.
It’s easy to wash and dry because it’s thin and lightweight. On top of that, you can easily fold and pack it if you don’t want to wear it all the time.
PROS
- Double-layer horizontal reflective strips
- Breathable and lightweight
- Easy to wash
CONS
- One size only
A.B Crew – With Pockets
This A.B Crew vest is suitable for people who don’t really like wearing bright yellow. It’s made from Oxford cloth combined with reflective materials that help to enhance your visibility.
It also has mesh parts that enhance its overall comfort and breathability so that you can wear it during hot weather. It comes in several sizes to choose from depending on how you want to wear it.
It has big cut-outs at arms, allowing you to wear it on top of your jacket. Also, the strips are silver-gray during the day, but highly reflective during low-light and night conditions.
This one features buckle adjusters so that you can find the best fit, especially if you find yourself between sizes. It also has four pockets and a plastic ID pouch.
PROS
- Comfortable and breathable
- Several sizes available
- It has multiple pockets
CONS
- The sizes run small
Reflective Motorcycle Vest Buying Guide
Size and Fitting
Both size and fitting are always important when buying safety garments for motorcycle riding. The two factors affect your comfort and with that your safety as well.
It’s a critical part, which is why you should pay special attention to it. Measure yourself so that you can find the best size, but make sure that the vest has several adjusting points.
Buckles and Velcro straps help to adjust the fit a bit depending on what you’re wearing under the vest. This can also help if the size you have is a bit bigger than what you need.
Color
As you probably noticed, most models are bright yellow, orange, or green. These are the most fluorescent colors that stand out in traffic.
However, other options exist, as well. Black is a common choice, too, because many people don’t like wearing fluorescent colors.
The color can help to enhance your visibility during daylight conditions. Most safety standards specify both the reflective strips and background color, in which case your vest should be bright yellow, green, red, or orange.
This means that black vests are unlikely to meet any safety standards, although they have reflective strips and are visible at night.
Design
The design is quite essential for your comfort as well as safety. Your vest should have a few horizontal and vertical reflective strips to comply with the CSA Standard. It should also have symmetric “X” on the back and some reflective strips on the shoulders.
As you probably noticed, vests come in various shapes, some of which are more comfortable than others. Some don’t even look like vests but have straps that resemble suspenders we see on jeans.
Choosing the design is up to you and what you find the most comfortable to wear.
Brightness
Bright colors are the most visible during daylight. Fluorescent colors are more suitable for low-light conditions than bright colors.
However, retroreflective materials are typically the best for dark conditions. These are more suitable than bright colors for riding during nighttime.
Sadly, bright colors have no effect at night. However, they’re usually combined with reflective strips so that a vest can be worn during night and day.
Going for an all-black vest with reflective points is only useful if you’re going to wear it at night. You need something brighter to wear during daylight.
Ease of Cleaning
You should always go for a vest that’s easy to clean and dry. It must be clean at all times so that you can unpack and wear it whenever you need it.
For this reason, make sure that your vest of choice is made of materials that are easy to maintain. It’s an important thing to focus on because dirty retroreflective materials might lower your visibility.
In most cases, you can clean your vest by hand. It takes only a bit of soapy water to remove most stains. However, this largely depends on how dirty the garment is.
Pricing
Motorcycle reflective vests are pretty cheap to buy. The market offers many different models that range in price depending on their effectiveness and ease of use.
Make sure to have a pre-set budget so that you don’t waste any time looking at models that don’t fit within that range.
However, the price shouldn’t be your priority. Consider other factors such as the quality, ease of maintenance, visibility, and reflectiveness before the price tag.
Also, remember that a higher price doesn’t always result in a better quality product. Although quality vests are typically more expensive than others, you can find pretty good cheap ones as well.
Why High Visibility Matters for Motorcycle Riders
Motorcycles are smaller than cars, which means they’re also less visible when on the road. This is especially the case during low-light and nighttime conditions.
For this reason, motorcycle riders look for various ways to enhance their visibility. Wearing a reflective vest is one of the easiest and best ways to do so.
Thousands of motorcycle accidents occur every year because car drivers didn’t notice a motorcycle on the road. Studies show that bikers who wear high-visibility clothing are 37% less likely to end up in a crash.
Hi-Viz Motorcycle Clothing Facts
The Department of Transportation published The Hurt Report in 1981, claiming that approximately 75% of bike accidents occur because drivers fail to notice bikers on the road.
The report also named headlights and hi-viz clothing as some of the best methods of enhancing your visibility and reducing accidents.
Vests are the easiest way to make yourself more visible on the road. They’re easy to put on and take off and carry on the motorcycle when you don’t want to wear it.
The most common color used is neon yellow, although you might come across the green, orange, and red models.
Tips for Wearing a High-Visibility Motorcycle Safety Vest
The most common tip you’ll hear from other bikers is that you should always have a reflective vest with you. You might not have to wear it all the time, but it’s more than useful to have one at hand just in case.
Remember to think about the weather because you’ll need a bigger vest if you want to wear it on your riding jacket. This means you’ll maybe need another model to wear during summer.
Also, make sure to check how reflective the vest is. Don’t expect much from the color itself. Instead, make sure that it has sufficient hi-viz panels and strips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are leather motorcycle safety vests highly visible?
Leather motorcycle safety vests are only highly visible during nighttime. These are typically all black, featuring a few reflective strips and panels.
As we said, these panels and strips are only visible during nighttime. For daylight, you’d need something in bright yellow or orange.
What is the best motorcycle vest for summer?
The best model for summer is usually made from a mesh fabric. Mesh fabrics are breathable and comfortable to use during hot weather.
These are typically thin and won’t make you warmer than you already are. They’re so lightweight that you’ll probably forget you’re wearing one.
If you are looking for more summer gear, check out these articles:
Are there reflective motorcycle airbag vests?
Airbag vests are meant to be worn over your riding jacket. They’re usually thick but comfortable and easy to put on.
These come in all sizes and colors and look pretty much the same as regular motorcycle vests. However, they’re a bit more protective on top of being reflective.
Conclusion
At this point, you probably understand why reflective motorcycle vests are as important. Their primary purpose is to enhance your safety by increasing your visibility during different times of day and weather conditions.
It’s unlikely you’d go wrong with either one of the models we reviewed. These garments are pretty basic, which means all you have to do is find the right size and color.
However, take some time to think about the buying factors we discussed. The information we included can help you to pick the best model if you haven’t already.
