10 Jul 07/10/2021
The Most Helpful Hi Vis Vest Features
Hi-vis work vests are available in all kinds of designs to meet a worker's specific needs. Each comes equipped with features specific to a particular purpose or application. For example, a surveyor needs a vest to hold up against brush and outdoor environments, which means a mesh vest will not work. However, someone working in the hot sun is concerned more about heat and breathability, which means mesh is ideal. As you can imagine, at MCR Safety, we supply numerous safety vest styles and options with features designed to keep people protected.
When the hot weather arrives, a mesh vest is ideal for staying cool and comfortable.
As we highlight in our Sharing Insight into Hi-Vis Safety Vests article, MCR Safety supplies over 100 different types of safety vests. In that article, we also cover each of the core categories of safety vests, from Class 2 to flame-resistant safety vests. Across each of these types, we offer different colors, configurations, and features. Now it's time to examine some of the unique features that make MCR Safety's hi-vis vests the top-choice for workers across multiple industries.
This article is designed to help you understand what makes each of MCR Safety's hi-vis vests stand out as unique. Some vests are designed for comfort, others focus on durability, and others offer tons of additional functionality, such as increased pockets. After reading, you'll understand the essential qualities to look for in safety vests to keep you best protected.
Let's dive into the specific features of safety vests so you can make an educated, knowledge-based decision in choosing the equipment you require.
ARC Rated
Electrical workers need vests that are flame-resistant and meet NFPA 70E requirements for ARC flash. You can quickly select styles that meet this flammability standard on our online vest catalog.
Breakaway
Breakaway safety vests help prevent workers from becoming entangled in machines or moving vehicles by quickly breaking apart when needed. They are designed with a 4-point or 5-point tearaway system across the shoulders, sides, and front closure areas.If you have any concerns about being trapped or entangled in moving machinery or moving vehicles, make sure you select a vest with this feature.
Black Two-Tone Bottom
Black shading on the bottom of hi-vis products has grown in popularity over the past decade. The main reason for this is because it hides dirt, grime, and stains.
Check out our top-selling safety vests now offered with black shading!
In addition to hiding dirt, the black color adds an extra stylish quality to all hi-vis gear. It also provides some additional contrast to help better distinguish workers on job sites.
Color Indications
Safety vests come in a variety of different colors. And, while we usually think of safety vests in bright colors to contrast with backgrounds and provide high visibility, the colors are not purely aesthetic choices. Different colors mean different things, and understanding the purpose or intention of each color can offer certain advantages.
- Blue safety vests are commonly used to distinguish between the types or levels of employees and workers. Identifying personnel type by the color of their vest provides a quick and easy means of doing so. For example, a supervisor or manager may wear one color while workers wear another.
- Red safety vests can help quickly identify a particular type of worker and are often associated with emergency services workers. Red vests can also help distinguish worker types if other workers wear green, blue, or another vest color.
- Orange safety vests are typically used in open areas by traffic signalers, construction workers, and other workers during the daytime. The orange color is easily contrasted with a green environment, gray urban backgrounds and roadways, the blue sky, and yellow sunlight.
- Yellow safety vests are yellow because it's simply the most noticeable color! Construction workers and other workers in hazardous environments wear yellow to remain easily visible. The fluorescent quality of these vests also makes them practical for nighttime use.
For differentiation among workers, select from a variety of colors. If visibility in a hazardous environment is vital, be sure to select a fluorescent color that attains the highest level of worker contrast.
Contrasting Stripes
One of the most popular safety vests we've ever introduced is the WCCL2L. Why is it one of our top-sellers? It's because the vest features 4.5" reflective tape with contrasting orange trim around the tape, increasing visibility and delivering on safety.
WCCL2L is now only one of numerous vests we offer that feature contrasting trim. You can filter by either orange or lime reflective tape trim as you search our online catalog for the right vest for you.
Custom-Printed Vest with Logo
Adding your company's name, logo, or initials to your safety vest is easy! We can customize a logo or additional personalization through traditional silk screen printing, pad printing, reflective and full-color heat transfers, embroidery, and embroidered patches. It's the perfect way to complement any hi-vis garment worn.
Logos do more than just advertise; they can help people identify a company's employees quickly and easily. Explore more by visiting our customized PPE page.
Custom Vests
Have we missed the boat when it comes to the safety style you require? In the past, choices for custom safety vests and the availability of quick turn-around times were minimal and came at a high retail price point. With MCR Safety's custom garment program, you can design and customize your safety vests or T-shirts for a reasonable cost with quick turn-around times. Customization is now an economic reality because of our low minimums and low prices.
All additional customization is performed in the United States at our primary production facility outside Memphis, TN. So anytime you want additional customization, you're helping increase jobs for American workers!
D-Ring Safety Harness
A D-ring pass-thru allows a worker to attach to their safety harness without having to remove their vest. Many safety vests come with a D-ring included.
Heavy-Duty Vest for Surveyors
There are over 48,000 U.S. surveyors who require high-quality safety vests. Surveyors' vests are designed to keep workers safe when low-visibility conditions such as may be found around roads and railways.
Surveyors and other workers need high-quality, durable vests that can be worn day in and day out and can withstand brushing up against various objects and materials that may be encountered during the workday. In addition to durability, the distinguishing characteristic of a high-quality surveyor's vest is its increased storage. If there was ever a worker who needed increased storage, it's a surveyor. They need multiple pockets to carry tools, flagging tape, pencils, and all kinds of other equipment.
With reflective ForceFlex® tape, a shaded torso, and eight total pockets, including surveyor tape dispenser slots, the SURVCL2LS exceeds expectations. In addition, it provides the highest quality of all safety vests found in our product lineup, due to the tape's superior flexibility.
Mesh
Mesh safety vests are cool, lightweight, flexible, and breathable, especially when compared to solid model vests. Since they allow for maximum airflow, they're best suited for warm weather and the summer. And, let's face it, when you're dealing with hot weather, you need a mesh vest to stay cool during the summer months.
Aside from being more comfortable to wear when it's hot out, mesh vests can help prevent heatstroke due to allowing body heat to escape easier.
We do offer solid vest options for those not looking for a mesh design. Solid vests also stand up to rough terrain and work environments. If you like elements of both solid and mesh designs, consider some of our options that provide a solid fabric on the front, with mesh on the back. This design allows the front of the vest to be covered with a more resilient material, and the back allows air to flow inside the vest, providing users with the best of both options.
Mic Tab
This feature allows someone, such as law enforcement or public safety officers, to hold their microphone close to their face without the need to use their hands.
Premium High Quality
Not everyone wants to wear a value-priced hi-vis safety vest with only limited features that they throw on occasionally. Users who spend a lot of their time working in industrial environments and wear their safety vests as part of their daily PPE want stylish, well-designed safety vests. This means selecting styles where all the components are made from premium materials.
For those who spend all day working in their hi-vis vest and want to be comfortable, we've developed our new PSURVCL2LS premium safety vest. With the features found in this style, some might say it's the Cadillac of safety vests.
Premium vests hold up great in the washer and retain their quality well! As many learn the hard way, if you go cheap when buying personal protective equipment, you'll get cheap results that could endanger your safety.
Reflective Trim
Reflective edge trim is a feature that provides a full-body silhouette, ensuring greater visibility in low-light conditions. The comparison image below gives you an idea of how much additional reflection is gained by incorporating reflective trim. This keeps you better seen and, ultimately, keeps you safer.
What makes the SURVCL2L hi-vis Class 2 vest different from all the other safety vests we offer? It features reflective trim sewn into the vest's binding and piping edging. Combine that with its three-inch orange/silver reflective stripes, and this vest ensures you're seen in a variety of complex backgrounds.
Our Smallest Sizing
We cover background material in-depth in our safety vest category article. For safety vests to meet specific Class 2 standards, a set amount of background material is required. For that reason, size medium is the small class rated vest we offer.
Hi-vis safety vests help keep workers safe in low light or busy environments like roadsides or areas with high traffic volume. To meet specific Class 2 standards, a set amount of high visibility material is required to be used in the vest. For that reason, size medium is the smallest class-rated vest we offer.
You can filter our vests by size, ranging from medium to X5, on our online garment catalog.
With Pockets
Pockets free up your hands, adding convenience to anyone needing to keep their gear nearby. As a result, pockets are one of the most practical features users seek in hi-vis gear. Safety vests can come with no pockets or feature as many as nine total pockets. Oftentimes, vests that come loaded with extra pockets are made from premium materials, meaning your pockets will have excellent closure points.
The VSURVMLB Class 2 safety vest is loaded with features! It's specifically designed for individuals seeking premium protection at an affordable cost! Nine total pockets, sturdy binding, and reinforced snaps are just some of the additions incorporated into this high-quality vest.
Our online hi-vis vest catalog allows you to select the exact number of pockets you're searching for. In addition, you can search for specific types of pockets, including a pencil pocket, tool pocket, chest pocket, or sleeve pocket.
Back Pocket
You can't have too many pockets, right? A safety vest with a back pocket adds one more. A spacious back pocket can be helpful for all sorts of supplies, clipboards, plans, and other critical items.
MCR Safety's SURVCL2PL vest includes a back pocket as just one of its many features. The PSURVCL2LS also has an oversized plan pocket on its back.
iPad Pocket
If you're carrying around an iPad and need to make sure your vest has a specially designed pocket for it, we've got you covered. Our VSURVMLB is outfitted with a hook and loop strap to secure an iPad or other electronic device.
Winter Insulated Vest
Are you looking for warmth and visibility during the cold winter months? When temperatures begin dropping outside, workers look to safety gear that keeps them warm. Our insulated safety vests are designed with those requirements in mind. The BWCCS2SBO and BWCS2L styles are ideal safety vests for anyone working in cold outdoor environments. However, both vests are currently only available for the Canadian market, as these are requested explicitly by numerous companies operating in the extreme cold.
If you live in the United States, don't forget you can throw a safety vest over a winter jacket or hoodie to stay warm. We also stock hi-vis bombers and hi-vis hoodies, which are top sellers for those needing visibility during the winter months.
X Pattern
X marks the spot with dual-compliant mesh safety vests, serving both Canadian and U.S. standards. Incorporating an X pattern layout onto the back of safety vests has been a new development in recent years. Check out some of the most popular options we've introduced.
The extra reflective tape helps you stand out in various complex backgrounds.
360° Enhanced Reflection
What's better than one reflective stripe going around the torso area? You guessed right, two stripes! Hi-vis vests like our CL2ML2 feature dual stripes on the torso area, ensuring 360° reflections from the back and front of a person. When you need to stand out at night with very bright material and reflectivity, this is the feature you need!
Zip-Up Styles and Front Closures
Safety gear is essential, but putting it on should be a breeze. A front zipper is a fundamental vest component, allowing an induvial to quickly put on and take off a vest. And, while you're working, a durable zipper closure keeps the vest securely in place, preventing it from flapping in the wind or becoming unhinged, as can sometimes happen with Velcro. In addition, front zippers allow you to close your clothes quickly and save your dressing time.
If you are working around electricity, you'll need a non-conductive zipper. Select the non-conductive zipper attribute in the filter of our online catalog for styles that work best around live electricity.
Not all safety vests have zippered closures. Other closures you may find on safety vests include snaps or hook and loop. If you are considering a snap closure, be sure to pay attention to the snap quality. You can filter on our website by medium-duty snaps or heavy-duty snaps.
Common Questions
Do European rental cars have safety vests?
- This link provides a detailed look at each European country's requirements for safety equipment found in cars.
Can you wash safety vests?
- Yes, you can wash safety vests. However, you should never use bleach or fabric softeners. Also, never iron or dry clean your safety vest. You can read up more on laundering vests by reading our Laundering Guide.
MCR Safety Vest Categories
This article has highlighted the specific features and qualities found in safety vests. To better understand the different industries that require vests, the different class rating categories, and the ANSI requirements, you'll want to check out our article titled Sharing Insight into Hi-Vis Safety Vests.
Features Designed for Maximum Visibility
Yes, you can simply throw on a fluorescent orange reflective vest or lime vest to be seen on the job site. However, it's the features that make a product stand out from one to the next. We hope the above has helped you better understand the features that make each safety vest unique.
We welcome any comments, feedback, or suggestions for how we can best protect people at work.
For over 45 years, MCR Safety has proven to be a world leader in gloves, glasses, and garments. Whether it's on the shop floor, an oil rig, a construction site, or shooting outdoors, we are there to provide solutions to workplace (and recreational) hazards. It's all part of our commitment to protect people.
No matter your industry, we have the personal protective equipment you need.
Learn more about MCR Safety by checking out our most recent video. For more information, browse our website, request a catalog, find a distributor, or give us a call at 800-955-6887.
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