16 low-key products that make you more visible
28/11/2025
Translation: Megan Cornish
Dark clothing, daylight fading earlier, fog – in autumn and winter you’re significantly less visible outdoors. And that puts you in danger because drivers see you too late. Here are my tips to supercharge your safety.
The easiest to spot in the dark during the winter months? Small children and dogs. Because parents and owners make sure of it. Bright school bags, jackets with reflectors, light-up shoes, flashing collars – it’s all to ensure that children and four-legged friends aren’t accidentally hit by a car.
And what about adults? Colours often take a backseat. From down jackets to coats, the dominant colours are brown, black, and dark grey. Even ever-popular tracksuit trousers are frequently black. If you’re driving, you might notice how difficult it is to see a lot of pedestrians, even in villages or cities. Street lights don’t help much either. A study in Austria showed that over 70 per cent of pedestrians are dressed in too dark a colour.
Associations and organisations encourage us every year to wear bright clothing and make ourselves visible (article in German) to increase our own safety. The facts are clear: a driver can only see a person wearing dark clothing from a distance of 25 metres. Bright clothing – such as a white jacket – increases this to 40 metres. With reflective clothing, it’s 140 metres. That’s usually enough to stop you being run over.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
Speaking of cars, TCS (Touring Club Switzerland) has a website offering practical tips for improved visibility in the dark (in German). It also recommends specific products, such as acessories you can wear to enhance your visibility while walking or commuting, even when you’re wearing dark clothing.
Umbrellas
Umbrellas really don’t have to be black, grey, or dark blue, do they? Lighter colours are a welcome splash of colour on a rainy November day. Another bonus is that you’ll find a brightly-coloured umbrella much faster in the umbrella stand at a restaurant than if you’re searching for the hundredth black one.
Ideally, your umbrella should both be light-coloured and have reflective material in the fabric. This can be a single strip or cover the whole surface.
The umbrellas above are my suggestions. Unfortunately, you can’t currently filter for reflective models in our shop. I’m looking into it.
Reflective strips
Reflective bands on your arms or legs are one of the best gadgets around to increase your visibility. When you walk, your limbs move, and so do the reflectors attached to them. And anything in motion’s easier to see. Reflectors at ankle level are particularly effective because car headlights can easily pick them out.
There’s a vast selection of reflective bands out there – you can find a lot of them under running accessories. Some manufacturers even incorporate a battery-powered LED, which adds to your visibility. However, I find passively reflective bands more practical because they’re lighter and cheaper, and you don’t have to charge them.
Admittedly, they’re not always the most beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any good-looking examples in our shop. Feel free to share in the comments if you’ve had any luck. Otherwise, I advise doing as the bright people of Finland do. A shop in Winterthur (website in German) sells fashionable wristbands. (No, I don’t get commission – unfortunately.)
Hats
For runners, hats with reflective details are pretty much standard equipment. Other options are almost non-existent. But even if you’re not into sports, you can improve your visibility with the right head gear. Choose a hat that contains reflective yarn. By day, it’s just your averaged knitted hat; by night, it’s a superhero.
Jackets
Almost all of our best-selling winter jackets are black. Yes, black goes with everything, and it’s slimming. This non-colour has its advantages. But it also has one crucial drawback: you can’t see it at night. Handy for burglars or secret agents, but if you’re walking to the train station in the morning or evening, you’re better off being more visible. Why do so few manufacturers manage to cleverly integrate reflective elements into their designs? For example, some zips are reflective.
These are welcome exceptions to monotonous black down jackets.
Or I could ask my fellow editor Stefanie if she’d like to jazz up a jacket with some luminous appliqués (website in German).
For hands and ears
There are two other ways to incorporate reflective or luminous elements: on your hands and ears. Lots of gloves are available with reflective outer materials. Wearing them both improves your safety and keeps your hands warm – a win-win. Admittedly, many are highly functional and look the part. But there are exceptions that you can definitely wear day-to-day.
No, I haven’t forgotten about your ears. And no, I’m not talking about headbands or earmuffs. I’m currently testing a pair of headphones that not only deliver decent sound (review to follow), but also have a special feature: a matrix of 40 LEDs. The beam distance is limited, but perhaps they’ll be useful for those people who wander around in the dark in black clothing, listening to music and staring intently at their phones. If they can’t see, at least others can see them.
What are your tricks for being seen in the dark? Let me and the Community know in the comments.
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
Guide
Practical solutions for everyday problems with technology, household hacks and much more.
Show allThese articles might also interest you
18 comments
later