According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 80 percent of pedestrian traffic fatalities occur at night or in low-light conditions. That doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t go out at night: Whether you want to avoid the daytime heat, short winter days are cutting into your schedule, or you simply prefer it, sometimes night time is the right time. It is in your best interest to take any step you can to increase your visibility, though, so you should always wear reflective running gear when you run in twilight or after dark.
Happily for my fellow night-time running enthusiasts and I, there is a growing range of athletic apparel with high-visibility elements to make sure drivers, bikers, and other pedestrians see you. Clothing in fluorescent colors helps, but reflective panels, which light up in the face of car headlights, make your presence well-known and keep you safe on a night run. I’ve picked out the best reflective running gear, including hats, pants, shirts and more.
Never Run Unprepared: Best Running Shoes • Best Running Rain Jackets • Best Headlamps When planning an evening run outfit, you should think about how much reflective coverage you need. Some types of clothing provide more visibility than others, so you may want to mix and match. If you don’t want to buy dedicated night running gear, you can also buy a reflective accessory that you wear on top of your outfit, like a running vest.
Once you know what kind of reflective clothing you want, there are a few details you should look at closely. There are multiple types of athletic apparel that are designed to make you more visible while running, but not all of it will help you at night. Many companies make “high-visibility” running clothes with bright colors and patterns, which can help grab a driver’s attention.
Some high-visibility clothing will feature fluorescent colors, which may be more visible in twilight, but will not make you more visible at night. Reflective running gear, by contrast, features a fabric that adds retro reflectivity, which reflects light back at its source. These panels, especially when placed on parts of your body that move while you run, ensure that anyone using a light will see you.
Ideally, you should wear clothing with both high-visibility and reflective elements at night. Reflective panels will help illuminate you in the dark, while high-visibility clothing will help drivers register you clearly as a person, rather than a fuzzy “object” in their path. Having reflective panels on your clothing is always helpful, but there is an art to placing them on a garment to maximize your visibility.
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