Preparing for vacation and packing for running, almost everyone will reach for a running vest of some sort. Some vests are more reflective than others. In fact, for some lightweight vests, the only purpose of the vest is to reflect light. But even the lightweight running vests sometimes need a little more reflectivity to be safe, especially on vacation or when we travel.
Although I usually run in my OrangeMud vests, I do occasionally still run with my lightweight Nathan vest. For lengthy travel, the Nathan is a easier to pack because it is flat, collapsible, and doesn’t have the drink holders on the back. Let’s check it for reflectivity and see if it passes muster or not, checking it for safety.
Two horizontal lines of reflectivity on the front so we’ll add two vertical ones for variety and to diversify the reflectivity a little. And a square of reflectivity on the back. So we’ll add an inverted V. Let’s add 4 Brilliant Reflective strips: two narrow ones on the front and two wider ones on the back.
What about location? Let’s aim for the shoulder region as the reflective strips are closer to the chest. Maybe the strips can cover a little of the front and back to overlap both sides.
As far as the inverted V, I decided that the motorist or pedestrian would have their eyes drawn upward to a single point in the back might be a little bit safer than the V. But you could make arguments for both of these application shapes and depending on the height of the runner, it could go either way. Or parallel lines.
As you can see, my Nathan running vest is ready, willing, and safer for vacation/travel. Now we have 4 reflective strips on the front counting the two new ones and three on the back counting the two new ones. Also, we successfully bridged the gap with the shoulder area allowing the Brilliant reflectivity to be visible from the front and back (as well as from above).
It’s important to run safely while on vacation, run in daylight if at all possible, wear bright reflective gear, and bring a light source, a headlamp if needed. I could run with my safety yellow Nathan vest but it has no pockets. I like that this one has 3 pockets. (Just have to carry my own hydration handheld bottle though.)
Even though the purple Brilliant Reflective strips appear too dark to reflect before snapping them with a flash camera, they reflect rather brightly. Brilliantly even.
Take a moment while you pack for vacation and travel and check your running gear for safety. If it can be improved, take those steps before you leave on vacation.
Have an enjoyable summer everyone and I hope you get to spend some of it traveling and/or on vacation! And Happy Fourth of July week! Be safe!
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