Halvarssons H-Vis vest

What seems to have replaced hi-vis motorcycle jackets these days is the hi-vis vest. And for us these make a lot of sense. You don't have to wear one all the time. But if the circumstances demand it you can whip it out of your top box, and throw it on over your jacket; be it a textile or even a leather one. Job done!

For some years we have offered Rukka's hi-vis vest; and we like it. In truth, it's probably the best. It does meet the required CE standard for visibility, obviously. It is super stretchy so very comfortable. But significantly it is totally perforated throughout; and that is a massively important because if you're wearing a waterproof jacket with a membrane, you can render its breathability useless if you wear a vest over it that is not breathable. 

The good news is that the new Halvarssons Hi-vis vest is also breathable; although it's probably not as breathable as the Rukka one. The vest's fabric is also not as stretchy as the Rukka's. But to compensate for this it has large panels of stretchy concertina banding up the flanks. In truth, you probably get more Scotchlite-style reflective banding on the Halvarssons vest than you do on the Rukka one.

But in a move that will be seen as the clincher for some, the Halvarssons vest comes in at £64.99. The Rukka one is about double that.

An so if value for money is your yardstick then it has to be conceded that the Halvarssons vest comes out on top. And if you were the man from Bennett's you would undoubtedly have to give it more points or stars.

But the Rukka one, in our view, is still nicer. It's a bit more stylish. It's more compact and foldable. In extremis it's probably more comfortable. And it's almost certainly more breathable.

But whether those potential benefits justify a cost that's twice that of the Halvarssons is another matter. A lot of people will think it's a bit of a no-brainer. Yet a lot of our customers, we know, will still go for the Rukka one. These things are never linear. And sometimes you have to pay a lot to get what might be termed a marginal gain.

And of course there's nothing new in that!