Get ready to glow. A to-be-released line from New Balance uses a light-absorbing technology to add built-in visibility for runners at night.
No joke. To “activate” the fabric, the company instructs, you must leave a jacket under “strong lights” for 10 minutes. Light is absorbed. Then you head into the night to run, a fluorescent glow seeping from the fabric as you pace through the dark.
Called the Beacon Jacket, the product comes out this summer. Men’s and women’s models will cost $175.
In the dark, the jackets take on a greenish hue. Patterns down the sleeves and on the chest glow to add visibility. Additional hits of reflective material down the zipper and seams double your chances of being seen.
In all the Beacon Jacket has three types of visibility, including the glowing fluorescent for low light; a silver reflective on trim and taping for flashes in pitch dark; and a specially-developed fabric ink the brand says is a “brilliant yellow day color” for visibility even when the sun is out.
Beyond jackets, New Balance will offer glowing shoes, tights and capris with similar vis tech. If you’re a runner searching for a way to been seen, consider this piece for an added glow factor when the sun goes down.
—Amy Oberbroeckling is an assistant editor
