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Old 09-12-08, 12:03 AM
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mechBgon
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Iron-on reflective tape pictures :)

I recently got a neon-lime riding jacket, and decided to add reflective tape to it. I chose the iron-on 3M reflective tape instead of the sew-on stuff, since I'm probably even worse at sewing than I am at ironing The ironing didn't go as well as I'd like but the reflectivity is pretty good, so I thought I'd post some photos.

I particularly wanted the reflective treatment on the arms, so that motorists have an easier time seeing my arm signals in the dark. It also adds quite a lot of reflective surface when viewed from the front and sides. Now if we could just get the motorists to all turn their headlights on when they ought to...

I had some tape left over, so I also striped the back of a pair of full-fingered gloves, and put a stripe down each leg of a pair of cheap athletic pants I'll probably use for commuting as temperatures begin to get lower.


Side view. There are two 2-inch stripes on the tail of the jacket, which comes further down than my reflective vest does (see picture #3). I also have a stripe down the side of the torso. This photo shows the tape more realistically than the next two photos, I think.


Front view. The backs of my gloves are reflecting well here, too. That's 3M Scotchlite adhesive tape on my helmet, and Jog-A-Light reflective legbands.


Rear view (in this photo, I'm also wearing my ANSI Class II neon-lime vest over the jacket).

Photos shot using a Fenix L2D next to the camera as the illumination source, on lowest power, at a range of about 10 meters. The first photo is more representative of the reflectivity than the last two, which show the tape a bit too bright.

Disclaimer: as most of you already know, reflective material only looks bright if the viewer (1) has lights, (2) the lights are actually turned on, and (3) the lights are aimed at you, and (4) the viewer's lights are close to their line of sight, so that some of the reflected light comes back to the viewer's eyes. Without illumination from my flashlight, I'd barely show up at all in these pictures unless I had my own lights turned on. Reflective material will never substitute for actual lights on your bike.

Last edited by mechBgon; 09-13-08 at 01:30 AM.
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