Whether you’re buying hi-vis to keep you safe while you work, or to make you more visible when running, horse-riding or even hiking, there’s one question that even the most regular wearers of high visibility aren’t quite sure on. And that’s ‘what colour hi-vis should I wear?‘

As experts in safety wear, we’ve been asked this question on more than a few occasions. But unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple as one colour fits all. The reasons you’re wearing hi viz in the first place can really make all the difference to what colour you should choose. The answer will really be different for every wearer, so let’s take a look at how you can work out what colour hi vis you should be wearing.

Why are you wearing hi-vis?

First of all, it’s important to identify exactly why you’re wearing hi-viz. This may seem a bit of an obvious question, but sometimes the answer isn’t actually as simple as just ‘to be seen’. Sometimes hi-vis is purchased just to make a person easily identifiable or even to differentiate teams in sports or workplace settings. So first, you’ll need to decide the reason behind why you’re buying high visibility clothing.

If you’re considering hi-visibility clothing purely to differentiate members of a team, rather than for any safety benefit, then you can choose whichever colour you wish! It could be worth setting up a colour code so that it’s clear exactly which colour refers to a certain team or group.

However, if you’re looking to buy hi-visibility clothing for safety reasons, to make yourself more visible, then carry on reading!

Where will you be wearing your hi-vis?

Most importantly of all, you’ll need to consider where exactly you’ll be wearing this clothing. Will you be in an industrial setting such as a mechanics garage or a warehouse, where you’ll be working against a pretty dull/grey background? Maybe you’ll be working outside in the dark at night on a busy motorway? Or perhaps you’re working on a busy building site surrounded by green fields, but with lots of busy machinery and vehicles? To be noticed as easily as possible, you’ll want to create as big of a contrast between yourself/your employees and your background as possible.

What colour hi-vis should I wear?

Choose orange hi-vis if: you work in the rail industry, up against dull, grey surroundings including warehouses, building sites, or you work in nature.

Choose yellow hi-vis if: you work in the dark, on busy roads, or against dull, grey surroundings such as warehouses and building sites.

Choose green hi-vis if: you work indoors such as in warehouses or offices.

There are plenty of other colours available such as pink, and even black -which is better suited for those working in security professions. However, orange, yellow and green tend to be the most popular choices for hi-visibility clothing, due to the incredible amount of contrast they create. If you’re going to be wearing your hi-vis mainly at nighttime or in dark settings, then colour isn’t as important. Instead, you’ll want to make sure that you purchase items with plenty of reflective straps which will reflect light off any oncoming vehicles and make yourself instantly visible. If you’re interested in learning more about this, we’ve covered some of the science in our blog post here.

We hope we’ve helped you answer that all-important question – what colour hi vis should I wear? But remember not to stress too much about your decision, after all, any hi-viz is better than none! These simple pieces of clothing can genuinely save lives, so it’s better to invest in something than nothing at all. If you’re ready to purchase, then why not check out our great selection of high visibility clothing right here.