This vest should be a good idea. The white stripes are reflective, meaning that any lights from cars will bounce right back, illuminating your position to vehicles and idiots who point flashlights in random directions. But the party piece of this rig are the orange LED stripes. One for the front, one for the back, they are operated by a coin-style battery and can be set to either glow or flashing mode. And for the most part, it works. It's reasonably bright and people do seem to notice it.
However, I am sad to report that this particular vest may be a case of good idea, shoddy execution. First of all, the material that is not reflective is black, which I just think is bad design. But more alarmingly is that track record I have had with reliability. When I first got this, one of the straps snapped, and a friend of mine had to stitch it back on (thank you!). For the next few months, it was fine, but lately, I have been having problems with the LED strips turning on or off, or more specifically, NOT turning on or off. It would appear that the LED strips don't do great with rain, and the connection with the battery becomes suspect the more that connection is exposed to water. As I write this, the strip on the vest that is pictured is still glowing, and about the only way I know to shut it off is to remove the battery.
Admittedly, this only costs $15. But if you are interested in an LED vest of some kind, it might be worth looking into other brands and seeing if you can find something a bit better built, even if they are a bit more expensive. Now, if you will pardon me, I have to shut the darn thing off. I will be releasing one more gear review tomorrow, and then taking a break from reviews for a while.
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