High Visibility Sportswear: What Are Its Essential Components
While the use of high visibility sportswear by both runners and cyclists has been on the rise for quite some time, it is high time that we should know what were the components used to create this incredible outfit which could serve as warning signs to the drivers on the road. Let us examine each material and what is its role on the performance of the outfit’s function.
High viz running gear, together with other high visibility clothing, has been made out of materials mixed together to have an effect wherein there is contrast on the person wearing it against its background light, also depending on its use.
Under daylight conditions, colored fluorescent high-visibility light are used to produce contrasting light effect that can be clearly visible even under extreme sunlight conditions. Common colors include fluorescent yellow, red and orange-red. Majority of the light being reflected on to the surface of the gear will be reflected back to the light source.
In the production of clothing for workplaces, governments do require that retro-reflective tapes be placed inside the vest, which is then suited on the torso and limbs, which they consider as the primary parts of the body. The intention of this design is for the body of the person to be visible in different angles. In sportswear or non-hazardous use of retro-reflective surface, tapes or patterns can used in a free-form style.
Products fitted for high visibility must be tested for retro-reflectivity, to ensure that the execution and the final output are at their expected results.
Bead technology is the most commonly used type of retro-reflectivity material the market. In this method, there are beads that split the light coming from the source, and reflect it back on different arrays. Their performance is based on their size, quantity, among others.
Another type of material being used is the micro-prismatic structure. In this method, the surface is shaped like that of a cube, which is embossed in the surface. They may be arranged in different ways to reflect on different angles and positions. Since it is geometrical in nature, it can reflect the light in at least three different ways for each angle.