Gearing Up for Rowing – Focus on Hi-Viz
Bridget with hi-viz pink
High visibility clothing should be part of everyone’s rowing gear. It helps you stand out on the water to other rowers, boaters and people on shore year round. There are a lot of options when it comes to hi-viz clothing so what is the best for you? We asked a couple of our members to share their favorite pieces of hi-viz clothing and some recommendations.
Janice W. an FVRA alumnae and our “Hi-Viz Queen” loves her JL Racing Turtleshell Vest, “The only piece of rowing specific clothing that I own is the JL Racing Turtleshell Vest. As the weather starts to turn in the fall, you need to layer up. I like vests over jackets for range of motion and ventilation reasons. The turtleshell keeps you warm, it is conservative in the front and party in the back (like a mullet). The bright yellow rain repellant backside of the vest is priceless. It keeps you visible from great distances and comes down just far enough to allow the rain to run down your back and into the bottom of the boat. You stay reasonably dry even in the worst of weather.” She also recommends keeping all of your layers hi-viz that way you’re always visible no matter the temperature, “Start with a bright hat, pair it with a hi-viz shirt and maybe a hi-viz 3/4 zip to layer over it. These 3 items will get you through most of the rowing season.”
Another decision to make is what color? There’s classic safety yellow, orange and pink to name a few. With the fall colors coming in Bridget L. recommends standing out from the crowd in hi-viz pink. It’s good any season but especially in the fall, you can pick someone in pink out against the backdrop of yellow and orange fall leaves. Bridget can be seen regularly in her neon pink wardrobe which is visible from over 1k away on our body of water.
Janice modeling her hi-viz gear
Safety on the water is so important and adding a few items of hi-viz clothing to your wardrobe can really make a difference. “Motor boats traveling at high speed pose a dangerous problem for rowers, and you hope that your clothing choices will help them to avoid running you over. An equally big problem is other rowing boats. When rowing, you can’t REALLY see where you are going. A glance over your shoulder every few strokes usually keeps you safe. If you add one rower going upstream not expecting another rower coming downstream, especially in a narrow section of the river or under a bridge the hi-viz is EXTREMELY helpful. That bright flash of fabric that catches your eye as you glance over your shoulder allows you the few seconds to course correct or yell out a few words of warning that will help you avoid a collision.” (Janice W.)
So where is the best place to get yourself some hi-viz clothing? Janice has built her wardrobe by scavenging “sales racks of various different sporting goods stores or T.J. Maxx. Most people are not drawn to super bright colors, so you can often find hi-viz bargains.” Another recommendation is to check out clothing for other sports where you need to be seen like running and biking. While a lot of the multi sport items also include reflective elements the offer additional options and styles if you are looking to expand your wardrobe.
Check out some of the links below for options and ideas,
https://jlathletics.com/collections/high-visibility
