Apidura Packable Visibility Vest review - maximum visibility in a minimal package

Outstanding visibility for a variety of activities

Female cyclist wearing the Apidura Packable Visibility Vest
(Image credit: Emma Silversides)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Packable Visibility Vest's design might seem quite simple, but Apidura has executed it flawlessly, producing a piece of kit that should be on every avid long-distance cyclists' and adventurer's Christmas list. While it's marketed for cycling, it shouldn't be pigeon-holed - if you simply like to make the most of the outdoors (particularly as the days shorten) it's a brilliant addition to your accessory drawer. It packs down so small that no one will even notice you've added to your stash of essential cycling accessories... just don't be surprised if they do, and it has magically disappeared when you want to use it!

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Exceptionally striking reflectivity

  • +

    Packable

  • +

    Lightweight

  • +

    Certified for major long distance events

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    None to note

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Reflective detailing on cycling jerseys tends be a tick-box feature for some manufacturers; a token half centimetre of reflective tape (that fades after a few washes) is never excessively striking. If you’re embarking on a multi-day event, long Audax, winter commute or after-work training ride, Apidura’s Visibility Vest is probably the most effective piece of kit you can wear (in addition to your bike lights) to help make you more visible to other road users.

Apidura Packable Visibility Vest: construction

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Emma’s first encounters with a bike were in between swimming and running. Soon after competing for GB in the World Age Group Triathlon Championships in Edmonton in 2001 she saw the light and decided to focus on cycling. 

With a couple of half decent UK road seasons under her belt, she went out to Belgium to sample the racing there, spending two years with Lotto-Belisol Ladies team, racing alongside the likes of Sara Carrigan, Grace Verbeke, Rochelle Gilmore and Lizzie Deignan. Emma moved from Lotto-Belisol to Dutch team Redsun, working primarily as a domestique for Emma Johansson. When Redsun folded, Emma was offered the opportunity to ride with a newly formed Belgian team and home to the first year senior and budding rider Anna Van Der Breggen.

After retiring, Emma returned to teaching, setting up her own tutoring business. When not coercing kids to do maths, she is invariably out on two wheels. While the road bike remains her true passion, she has also developed an addiction to touring, with destinations including Iceland, Georgia and Albania, to mention just a few. There have also been sightings of Emma off-road, on mountain and gravel bikes… As if all of this isn't enough, she's been working as a freelancer since 2005, testing and reviewing the latest kit and sharing her insight into the sport.