The deer hunter comments started coming the first time I put the jacket on. Indeed, the obscene-orange ViZi-PRO Collection — a line of apparel from Saucony to be released this month — is made with “the brightest, most reflective fabric on the market,” the company touts.
Jogging in the woods, a hunter might see you from a mile away in these neon-orange fluorescent duds. Running on the road or crossing streets on a jog, the gloves, hats, tops and jackets in the line are made to keep you “outrageously visible at all times of day.”
The ViZi-PRO color is so bright it almost hurts to look at. Saucony dug into color science during development of the line. The collection is inspired by national safety standards established to protect law enforcement and utility workers, Saucony says.
Saucony chose the “high chroma-fluorescent orange-red” color over the more common fluorescent yellow-green because the orange offers even higher visibility, its research states.
If you want to get wonky, Saucony delves into a light-wave discussion when pushing this product. According to the company, light at shorter wavelengths is absorbed by objects and emitted at longer wavelengths, making a viewer see a brighter, fluorescent-type color. The ViZi-PRO orange, Saucony says, is one of the brightest colors during both day and night due to the longer wavelengths emitted by the color.
Further visibility touches include reflective fabric in swaths and seams that ignites in a car headlight beam. Plus, Saucony added “LED holsters” on the sleeve of the ViZi-PRO jacket and on the line’s gloves. Flick a switch on an included battery-power LED unit to make it blink and draw maximum attention to your body running through the night.
Saucony mentions the proliferation of drivers who may be “juggling GPS, text messages, phone calls, dogs in the front seat, babies in a car seat” and more. For anyone concerned with being seen in our increasingly distracted society, the ViZi-PRO Collection offers one of the most vibrant apparel options ever invented.
The Saucony ViZi-PRO Collection, including the HD SonicLite Jacket ($90), Conversion Glove ($35), and Slim Beanie ($15), will be available in stores and on www.saucony.com later this month.
—Stephen Regenold writes about outdoors gear at www.gearjunkie.com.
