A visibility question for the collective.

Seen the Proviz ultra reflective clobber on a few cycle commuters and the visibility is fantastic. I’ll be cycling into work once or twice a week in the winter, 50kms each way.

Quite interested in their ‘performance’ stuff, which seems looks like a better cut for long distance commuting rather than short city hops. They sell others in a more relaxed cut.

Sauce: https://www.provizsports.com/en-gb/pixelite-performance-mens-cycling-gilet.html

2 questions – anyone got one who cares to comment?

Or, are there any other alternatives I’ve missed that are equally as reflective? £80 for gilet is Rapha territory…

Ta!

I cant recommend an alternative but I would stay well away from Proviz. My wife bought me a jacket for Christmas and it was the worst fitting/shape piece of clothing I have ever seen. I could of fit 4 arms in each sleeve and the body was taught at the chest and baggy at the bottom (have a look at some pics online and a lot of people found the same). Worst of all was their customer service trying to get a refund. My wife did everything correct to their returns policy and finally received a refund in late march after complaining on facebook. Lastly I would of probably of sent it back regardless of the fit. It was like wearing a bin bag and you would get wetter from sweat that the rain.

Sugoi zap is probably the next best.
Added bonus that it is breathable too

There’s a dare2b version as well. I’ve stayed clear as I don’t think they’d be breathable enough, but at least with a gilet it’d be well vented

I have bright green and a bright yellow versions of the rapha brevet gilet which I use for commuting at the moment – i really like their visibility and reflectivity, plus they’re actually nice, good quality gilets

I just use an Altura Night Vision gilet, i did have a Proviz jacket and i felt like a jacket potato wrapped in foil unless it was really cold, so commuting combo now is the Night Vision gilet with Proviz rucksack cover.

I’ve got the Pixelite one. It’s a much better fit than the ProViz stuff and a different fabric altogether.

The Pixelite gilet is kind of like a softshell and really pretty warm. I found it useful on night rides last winter.

If you want reflective and warm, I’d recommend it.

That’s useful feedback, thanks guys. It seems to be a common complaint that the ‘standard’ cut Proviz stuff is both boil in the bag and poorly fitting, hence I thought Pixelite might be worth a look.

Spicypedro – do they come up small compared to other brands? I.e. Italian sizing?

I’ve been considering the performance or reflect360 version of the gilet in a colour to get better daytime visibility too, but at £80 for something that might only last a winter, it’s a bit punchy.

@rs89 – I’m 6’4″ and quite broad/athletic and I wear an L. It’s nice and stretchy. There’s room to wear it over a heavier jersey in Winter but I wouldn’t want to size down.

For reference, it fits like a Castelli Gabba in L.

I wear a L in Castelli and Rapha too if that helps you place the sizing.

It’s a good piece of kit, especially for riding on the road. Only downsides I’ve found:

– Sometimes it can be too warm (but this might be down to my layering
– The armholes are a bit small (but stretchy)
– Don’t wear it for activities off the bike (running, etc). It has a high collar with the reflective material on which is fine when your head’s fairly static, but if you’re running and moving your head constantly, it chafes the jaw.

This jacket might be worth a punt at £30 ?

Those mountain warehouse jackets are fine if you’re skinny and have skinny arms.
They’re a runners fit rather than cycling.

I’ve got a Sportful reflex one which was cheap, bright and packs up small

I have this in fluoro yellow with reflective (=pixel) back. It is superb.

http://nopinz.uk/product/nopinz-gilet-all-versions/

I’m 95cm chest and wear the large, which is snug so like Castelli sizing I’d say.