Proviz Review: Grey By Day, a Beacon After Dark

Proviz's whole reason for existing is one genuinely clever idea: fabric woven through with thousands of tiny reflective beads, so a jacket reads as plain, unremarkable grey in daylight and then lights up like a beacon the second a car's headlights hit it after dark. It's a London brand, founded in 2008, and everything they make is built around that single insight rather than chasing racing cred or hi-vis fashion. The truth about night riding is simple: most close calls happen because a driver simply didn't see you until it was too late, and ordinary hi-vis only really works face-on. Proviz's approach covers the whole garment — front, back, sleeves — so you're just as visible cycling away from traffic as towards it. Here's what's actually worth buying, and who each piece suits.

City — the jacket that made them famous

Formerly called the REFLECT360, now simply City, this is the jacket that put Proviz on the map, and it's still the clearest expression of the idea: the entire outer shell is reflective, not just trim or piping, so under a car's headlights the whole jacket glows rather than a couple of stripes. Under normal daylight and streetlight it just looks like a smart grey commuter jacket — nothing shouty, nothing that screams "hi-vis". It's waterproof with taped seams and built to breathe, so it holds up on a proper wet commute rather than just a dry-weather ride into the office. The cut is commuter-shaped rather than racing-shaped — room to layer a jumper underneath in winter, not cut tight for a hunched-over riding position — and it comes in men's and women's fits, so it's worth trying both if you're between sizes rather than assuming the men's cut suits everyone. If you only buy one Proviz piece, this is the one that does the most work: it's the difference between a driver noticing you fifty metres out and noticing you as they're already alongside you. Men's City · Women's City · Shop →

NightRider — the everyday all-rounder

The NightRider is the more relaxed, everyday option — think of it as a normal waterproof commuter jacket that happens to have serious reflective detailing rather than a fully reflective shell. You don't get the full head-to-toe glow of the City, but you get proper waterproofing, breathable fabric, and reflective panels placed where they count — across the back, on the sleeves, round the cuffs — which is still a big step up from a standard rain jacket with a strip of piping. It's also the more affordable route into the range, and comes in six colourways, including a hi-vis yellow if you want visibility that works in daylight too, not just after dark. It suits riders who want something that looks and feels like a normal jacket off the bike — meeting, pub, dropping the kids off — but still gives real added visibility on the ride there and back. If the City feels like overkill for your commute, or you want a jacket you'd happily wear walking around as well as riding, this is the one to look at first. See the range · Shop →

The backpack and the gloves

The REFLECT360 backpack applies the same idea to 30 litres of everyday carrying space, which matters more than it sounds: your back is the single largest surface a driver sees when they're behind you, so a bag that reflects across its entire surface does a lot of the visibility work for you, on top of whatever jacket you're wearing. It's sized for a laptop, a change of clothes and the usual commuting clutter, so it works as your one bag rather than an occasional extra. The reflective waterproof gloves are a smaller, cheaper way into the same idea — proper wet-weather gloves with the same reflective treatment, useful if you're not ready to commit to a full jacket but still want your hand signals actually seen when you put an arm out at a junction. Neither is essential on its own, but paired with the City or NightRider they close the gap that a jacket alone leaves. Backpack · Gloves

The verdict

Buy the City if you ride mostly after dark and want the maximum visibility a jacket can give you — it's the one piece here that genuinely changes how far away a driver clocks you. Buy the NightRider if you want something closer to a normal commuter jacket that still gives you a real boost over standard hi-vis, or if the fully-reflective look isn't for you day-to-day. Add the backpack or the gloves either way — they're cheap, they work with anything you already wear, and they cover the bits a jacket alone doesn't. We've got the full Proviz collection if you want to see everything side by side before you decide.

Shop the full Proviz range

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