You are reading a single comment by @skinny and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
My opinion was based on out riding in dark/rain and being able to see hi-viz wankers a lot easier than cool ninjas. But yes, the facts are true.
@noiser that is a thought. But I don't want to wear a gilet over a rain jacket, will kill any breathability. I think that bontrager will do. If it fits. If not I'll have a different idea.
skinny
High viz/fluro utilises an additional optical brightener dyestuff. This works by reflecting back ultraviolet light (invisible to the human eye) in the visible light spectrum, and 'amplifying' the base colour. It's used in lots of other things, to boost the brightness of white paper, and clothing detergents - this is how you can get 'whites whiter than white'.
After dark, there's very little ultraviolet light or artificial street/vehicle light, so the benefits for high-viz are during daylight hours, especially dawn and dusk, and in poor visibility weather.
...before this descends into chaos, I'm not saying it's a useless safety measure - it absolutely is - just an interesting point, and highlighting the need to utilise alongside retroreflective materials/good lights, and not be depended upon.
Another interesting effect is the Purkinje effect in which red looses vividness first (from brights) in low light.