I love to cycle. But cycling at night and/or in the rain can be a dangerous thing. The Visijax challenges that. It’s a rain jacket and a cycle light in one. The Visijax features 23 LEDs scattered around the jacket in 7 clusters, each cluster containing up to 5 LEDs; white LEDs on the front and red on the back. What makes this jacket even more unique is something the company is calling iMASS. It stands for Integrated Motion Activated Signaling System. When a cyclist raises their arm to signal a turn, iMass kicks in and starts blinking on the side to which the cyclist is turning. iMass continues to blink for 5 seconds after the cyclist has lowered their arm so that they can complete their turn. On the back of the jacket the lights are placed along a strip near the bottom, which allows for one to wear a backpack and still remain visible. I think this shows that the company put a lot of thought into this product, making sure it is perfect for today’s cyclist commuter. The lights run on 3 AAA batteries, which should give you about 200 hours of light. And when/if you run out of light, the jacket has reflectors.
The Visijax is made out of high-quality fabric that keeps you dry from the outside elements, but also has ventilation to keep you comfortable. Furthermore, for those intense rides, the jacket’s fabric breathes, and for extra ventilation, there are ‘ventilation gaps’ placed strategically around the jacket. Currently the jacket is only available off Amazon in the UK for £129.00 (approx. $204 USD). What I’m wondering about is whether or not I will still need to use my small LED mounted light on the front of my bike in order to see the next few metres of road in front of me. On the Visijax website it says that this jacket can ‘replace stand-alone cycle lights.’ Does that mean that the lights are bright enough for nighttime cycling? I love the concept of this jacket, but if they brought it to North America, would people be willing to pay $204.00. I don’t know if I could justify buying it at this price. Could you? Let me know in the comments.
(via Engadget)
I would buy it. Bikers pay a lot for fancy gear, and most bike jackets cost around $200.