Helmet and jacket colors

Message

wapam · #1 Unread post by **wapam** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:07 am

What are the most visable colors for helmets and jackets? Shoud they match each other or contrast each other?

Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:12 am

Matching colours looks cool, but more importantly is getting what fits right.

Any bright colour is more visible than black. Yellow for example. White is also good. If you want visibility, a reflective safety vest over your jacket works well.

For night, a halo would work.

Take a look at the picture. The author of an article from which I got that picture is wearing an orange helmet. It sure does stand out.

Other articles I read also stated that a solid colour helmet is more visible than a helmet with graphics.

Flting Duck · Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:53 am

IMO, white is the most visible helmet color. I think a lot of people associate that with cops so they take a second look. That's my pet theory anyhow.

Safety vests are probably the best way to make your body visible.

Even with all that, you're still invisible to some drivers.

nate1714 · #4 Unread post by **nate1714** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:20 am

i would vary colors from helmet to body so that u can stand out for those color blind drivers....and if u dont stand out at least they will be like WHAT IS THAT RAINBOW DOING DRIVING..then realize its a person on a bike...it happens more then u know...

celt · #5 Unread post by **celt** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:23 am

nate1714 wrote:i would vary colors from helmet to body so that u can stand out for those color blind drivers....and if u dont stand out at least they will be like WHAT IS THAT RAINBOW DOING DRIVING..then realize its a person on a bike...it happens more then u know...

NightNurse · Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:48 am

I currently wear a black helmet. But I am buying a new one next week! Black with hot pink flames, that should be visible

. Plus it will match my black jacket, that has a pink stripe. Im a girly girl, so dressing in all this stuff is hard for me, glad they make a lot of chocies!!

#7 Unread post by **dr_bar** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 3:54 pm

I have a line on a new helmet for moi... Bright yellow....

avoidalliteration · Thu Apr 26, 2007 4:08 am

I hate to admit my vanity, but I wear black gear because it looks good. I am acutely aware of the visibility issue, but my opinion is that anticipating and avoiding hazardous situations is more dependable than hoping someone else sees you. I try to be extra careful about my surroundings as a result. So that's my personal threshold for risk. Fortunately, my bike is a bright lime green, so that offsets my "ninja" outfit somewhat.

I do have a mesh jacket that is mostly bright white, but that didn't stop a COP from cutting me off. Saw him in the right lane, backed off out of his blind spot, made sure my hi-beams were on (this was during the day too) and accepted the slim chance that he would suddenly move over, though the whole time I'm thinking "no way a cop would be that oblivious/inconsiderate of bikers"... Next thing I know, he swerves into my lane with no signal and I jam on the brakes. Yeesh, if you can't trust cops to be considerate drivers, who can you trust? NOBODY.

jonnythan · #9 Unread post by **jonnythan** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 4:26 am

I wear a black helmet and black gear, but I put a few strips of super-reflective Scotchlite tape around the bottom edge of my helmet and along some of the matte gray aluminum parts of the bike.

I also put some patches of super-reflective red tape on the backs of the saddlebags.. and I'm thinking about adding some running lights to the front of the bike as well.

I'm definitely going to outfit a super-loud horn.

Nibblet99 · Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:42 am

an interesting study I saw suggested solid colours are better than the usual tribal zigzag patterns you find on everything, as zig zags break up your outline, much like camouflage patterns