Hi Viz Opinions

[Newton]

I have been considering the aerostich one piece roadcrafter for a long time, thinking of pulling the trigger on one. The thought of going hi viz recently occured to me as I was traveling thru St Louis (270) in rush hour traffic in the rain on my Raven 08 and all black gear on. The mantra that kept going thru my brain was, I don't give a crap what I look like I am going with the electric banana look as soon as I get home.

Any Hi Viz wearers out there ? My theory is since I ride in all conditions any advantage I can get to increase my chances of survival is an advantage I want to have.

 

[Ignacio]

I joined the Stich cult with a yellow Darien a few months ago. Besides it being an incredible piece of engineering....I see more drivers do double-takes as I'm riding. I just feel like I'm being noticed more.

...however the flip side of that is one may not be as stealthy if you're trying to navigating traffic at plus-speeds and attract the PoPo.

I've also seen many other LD riders with the yellow and to be honest it does get a certain..ummm...patina to it. The kind of patina that goes best with 10 days of beard growth, face grime, and bloodshot eyes.

If you're looking for something that looks cleaner over time the gray and black tend to fare a bit better than the yellows, blues, and reds IMO.

 

[kaitsdad]

Newton, I've had my one piece Hi-Viz for alittle over two years now - and as Iggy says, they do take on a patina rather quickly. However, they do wash, ya know.

Quite frankly, I don't feel like I'm wearing anything unless I've got my stitch on.

3:30 AM local time, Delta City, Utah.

I've been asked if I'm on my way to work - or told that I look like a hazmat worker..and I have a good friend that calls me BananaMan.

All that aside - I feel that I get noticed sooner when wearing the suit. It's all about being visible.

IMHO - don't make a decision based upon what other people think. It's not their ass in the suit.

If you'll peruse this post from Feb of 2006, you'll see that I went through the same process - and there are some excellent comments in this post. Hope it helps.

Roadcrafter Post

 

[rushes]

I wear the bright blue. I wear it off road too. My friends have said they can spot me a long way off even through thick brush.

To me it's bright but not TOO bright.

My 2 cents.

 

[gregorytx]

I wear the nuclear yellow Olympia vest over my other riding gear. Works great. I just leave it on my bike and throw it on whenever I am gonna be in traffic. I usually don't wear it when I am out in the boonies and no cagers around.

 

[David C]

The High Viz works very well. We used to wear the High Viz Yellow Roadcrafter for our police suits. The down size....Once they get dirty from road grime (they are extremely hard to keep clean). We wore ours regularly because of the rain up here in Washington State. We ended switching to the black Roadcrafter suits after a year and a half. Alot of the road "grime" and dirt would not come out of the fibers on the yellow Roadcrafters.

David

 

[Wild72]

I recently did the switch after being caught in a thunderstorm with two of my riding buddies. Both were wearing the Hi-Viz jackets, and I was amazed at how much they stood out, particularly in the heavy rain, but also in the sunshine.

Since I got a thorough soaking with my old gear, I opted to replace it with some new stuff, and chose the Fieldsheer Quattro Jacket in yellow. Workmates, friends and neighbors have all commented that Ill be hard to miss, or that they see the glow even before hearing the bike coming. Just what I wanted.

 

[GunMD]

Hi Viz Olympia AST here. I get TONS of comments on how bright it is. I'm sold on it.

 

[ngarider]

Not a 'stitch owner, but go hi-viz. I'm a motoport guy, and didn't do hiviz. Wish I had.

 

[stormrider]

Newton, I've had my one piece Hi-Viz for alittle over two years now - and as Iggy says, they do take on a patina rather quickly. However, they do wash, ya know.
Quite frankly, I don't feel like I'm wearing anything unless I've got my stitch on.

3:30 AM local time, Delta City, Utah.

I've been asked if I'm on my way to work - or told that I look like a hazmat worker..and I have a good friend that calls me BananaMan.

All that aside - I feel that I get noticed sooner when wearing the suit. It's all about being visible.

IMHO - don't make a decision based upon what other people think. It's not their ass in the suit.

If you'll peruse this post from Feb of 2006, you'll see that I went through the same process - and there are some excellent comments in this post. Hope it helps.

Roadcrafter Post

i have the opposite configuration as Kaitsdad grey with Hi Vis accents

 

[Newton]

Thanks for all the great input. I have already decided that I have to have a one piece Stich, so thats a done deal in my mind. I travel on the FJR for work, ride 500 - 600 miles to a job site, wear a shirt and tie for the week, and ride home. The Stich one piece just makes sense (zip in, zip out). Lucky for me I live in MN so I am going to ride over to Duluth and try a few on. I was fortunate enough to score some of the last British Belstaff gear, so I'm good in the all black gear dept.

 

[McDee]

If you do get over there, see if you can find out what's going on with the Hi viz. I ordered one yesterday morning and they say that they're on backorder for six weeks.

 

[dean]

i've owned a hi-viz one-piece 'stich for about 5 years. hit the deck on my first one, rashed it up enough that riderwearhouse "totalled" it, and gave me 10% off a new one. i've outgrown the replacement, so my next one will be on order soon, hi-viz.

the dirt and grime that shows on the hi-viz is negated by the visibility factor. it won't always be that obnoxiously bright yellow, but it's still a color that catches one's attention. i hope. ( :

dean

cincinnati

 

[Jetmaker737]

I wear the nuclear yellow Olympia vest over my other riding gear. Works great. I just leave it on my bike and throw it on whenever I am gonna be in traffic. I usually don't wear it when I am out in the boonies and no cagers around.

That's a great idea. Put on the dweeby yellow color when you really need it and look cool the rest of the time. B)

 

[Barabus]

I own the hi-viz two piece. It works and people remember me at the bike hang outs. I get some nasty comments from the Harley crowd, but that never bothered me. There is a reason that the road construction crowd and firefighters wear this color. On a bright day with nothing but attentive drivers you do not need it. Other times you need it. You make the call on those two percentages.

 

[GunMD]

HIJACK:

Newton, that's a funny-ass avatar!

 

[noob]

Hey

I gotta tell ya, while it was cool to look a certain way once... it ain't cool to be on the ground, smashed, wrecked, broken, etc etc (or worse).

so screw that crap! do what ever you can to be seen!!! live to ride another day!!!

regards,

 

[oldthirtythree]

I also recently went through a decision on High-Viz as i renewed my gear after buying an '08 Raven Bike. I love the black - but felt I wanted something more visible on myself.

I opted for the Olympia Motosports GT Air in Neon Yellow / Pewter.

Olympia GT Air

It has a nice combination of gray and black as well as very visible highlights in the Neon Yellow. I feel it gives me plenty of visibility, without some of the downsides of a full Yellow jacket.

 

[Stacey]

I also made my decision to go with the high-viz option during a heavy thunderstorm while playing hide and seek with a bunch of 18 wheelers on 1-40 in North AR. I went with the Olympia Phantom 1 piece suit and have really loved it. I talked with several owners and also looked at all of the reviews comparing it with the Roadcrafter. The summary of what I found was that the Phantom was more water proof and cost less, the Roadcrafter was slightly easier to get into and out of.

Note: Regardless if you go with the Phantom or the Roadcrafter, go buy 3 cans of spray on Scotchguard and seal the jacket to keep the colors bright before you take it on your first long trip.