12 Items to Keep You Safe on the Roads
Be seen and light up your path with these low-light tools for runners.
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With the shortest days of the year upon us, you’re likely logging most of your miles in the dark—unless you run at lunch like the Runner’s World staff. Here are essentials to keep you safe when the sun sets.
Nathan Sports Neutron Fire
Rechargeable headlamps are great if you want to save the environment, but useless if you find yours drained when setting out for an early morning run. The Neutron Fire cranks out 115 lumens using two AAA batteries and has sidelights that can be illuminated red, green, or blue for extra visibility on high-traffic roads. $35, amazon.com
RoadNoise Long Haul Vest
Equal parts reflective vest, hydration pack, and block party, this vest has speakers integrated into the shoulder straps so you can rock out without blocking sounds from the world around you. The new version has a USB-rechargeable volume controller that connects to your phone via Bluetooth, so you can easily adjust your tunes. Also, 360-degree reflectivity ensures you’re visible to cars passing from any direction, and a back pocket is large enough to support a 1-liter bladder. $90, amazon.com
Knuckle Lights
These USB rechargeable lights slip over your fingers to light up the path in front of you. Because they are positioned at a lower angle than a headlamp, they can make trip hazards easier to identify. They also catch the attention of car drivers better because of the bouncing white beam of light when you swing your arms. A full charge can last up to four hours on high power or eight hours on low. $60, amazon.com
Ultraspire Lumen 170
This waist mounted light is great for trail running at night because the light remains stable on your core and its lower position casts shadows that make it easier to pick out rocks and holes on the ground. The belt expands from 26 inches to 42 inches, and the light runs off three AAA batteries. $100, amazon.com
Petzl Reactik+
A 300-lumen highbeam can chew through a battery in a hurry, but the Reactik+ pairs with a smartphone app to let you check in on your level of juice and help you adjust both the beam’s strength and pattern to extend run time. You can also save those settings to quickly select between different lighting configurations. For example, we like a wider flood for predawn trail runs but opt for a brighter spotlight when running on roads with cars. $110, amazon.com
Aftershokz Trekz Titanium
These Bluetooth-enabled headphones use bone conduction to send sound waves through bones at your temples, leaving your ears completely uncovered when out on a run or working out in the gym. This means you can hear cars and other potential hazards around you when running on open roads. The lightweight titanium construction is comfortable to wear and stays put when bouncing down the road. $130, amazon.com
Nike Hypershield Flash Jacket
This winter-weight jacket is designed to keep you dry in the nastiest conditions. But those same conditions make it nearly impossible for a car’s driver to see you on the side of the road. With colorful reflective rectangles that line this jackets arms, shoulders, and hood, you’ll illuminate under headlights and easily be seen from a safe distance. $330, amazon.com (men); $290, store.nike.com (women)
Night Runner 270
Headlights for your shoes. Seriously. These lightweight LED lights have a support bracket that loops under your shoelaces to illuminate the road ahead of you. While opinions were mixed among testers about the usefulness of the light for actually seeing where you’re going, all loved that the movement of the beams with every stride made you extremely visible to car drivers and other users of the road. $60, amazon.com
Strava Beacon
A feature of Strava’s premium membership, Beacon lets up to three emergency contacts see your real-time location on a map while you’re using the Strava app on your phone—they don’t have to be Strava users. Plus, your contacts will see your distance, elapsed time, and, helpfully, your battery’s charge status. $59 per year, strava.com
Road ID app
From the makers of the popular ID wristbands, this app for both iOS and Android allows your friends and family to see a breadcrumb trail of where you ran and can send them an alert if you stop moving for more than five minutes. We also like the Lock Screen Creator feature that lets first responders see your emergency contact info even if your phone is locked. Free, iTunes/Google Play
Nathan Sports LightSpur RX
Clipped to the heel of a shoe, the LightSpur can’t be missed. A USB-rechargeable battery powers red, green, or blue LEDs. $30, amazon.com
Brilliant Reflective
Have a favorite jacket that you want to wear, but it doesn’t have any reflectivity? These safety strips of 3M Scotchlite Reflective Material can be added to soft goods like clothing (choose the iron-on version) or equipment like bikes and helmets (stick-on strips). $10, brilliantreflective.com
Jeff is Runner-in-Chief for Runner’s World and the director of product testing. He has tested and reviewed running shoes, GPS watches, headphones, apparel, and more for nearly two decades. He regularly tests more than 100 pairs of shoes each year, and once had a 257-day streak running in different models. Jeff can usually be found on the roads, racing anything from the mile to a marathon, but he also enjoys racing up mountains and on snowshoes. When he’s not running, you’ll probably find him hanging from a ladder making repairs and renovations to his house (he’s also director of product testing for Popular Mechanics).
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