Black Light, UV and Clothing

[ssssnake529]

I've been reading about how optical brighteners reflect UV and make you easier for a deer or elk to spot.

In states where orange is mandated, I typically don't wear camo on top. I just wear bright orange clothing (most of it Patagonia brand stuff) on my torso.

The whole UV thing got me wondering about whether my orange clothing was full of optical brighteners and if I was making myself into a bright, neon warning sign for deer and elk.

So, I bought one of those big UV lights, and took it into the closet where I store all my hunting clothing. What I found, really surprised me. I have three bright orange vests, one mesh (bought at Wal Mart) , one plain (Sportsman's Warehouse,) and one camo (Cabelas.) They lit up like Las Vegas. So did my bright orange Buff neckgaiter thingie.

All the rest of my clothing was pretty neutral to the UV light. Some of the baffle thread in the Patagonia puffy jacket glowed faintly.


So, I was pleasantly surprised that the gear that I actually use (other than the Buff) is all pretty UV neutral. I was unpleasantly surprised that the Cabelas and Sportsmans Warehouse hunting vests were so bright. It confirms my decision to wear orange clothing rather than camo clothing with an orange vest.

 

[ezmorningrebel]

if you're interested, atsko makes a blaze orange vest that apparently looks camo under UV light.

 

[fngTony]

So your Patagonia orange didn’t glow but the other brands did? Just making sure I understood properly

 

[ssssnake529]

So your Patagonia orange didn’t glow but the other brands did? Just making sure I understood properly

The only stuff that glowed were the three vests and the Buff.

Other than the Patagonia clothing, the rest of my gear is Sitka, Kuiu, Voormi, and Firstlite. None of that glowed either.
I didn't expect Sitka, Kuiu Voormi, and Firstlite to glow, because I figured they are designed for hunting and would therefore not use UV brighteners.

The fact that the Patagonia stuff didn't glow was a surprise. I was pretty sure it would be very bright in the UV testing. Apparently, they don't use much optical brightening (probably for environmental reasons.)

 

[FlyGuy]

I wonder how the Sitka orange vest would fair in this test?

Sent from my SM-G610F using Tapatalk

 

[skaldugwas]

I know orange is damn near invisible to dogs. I have some flo orange bumpers that I throw for my labs occasionally and they will run right over them if they aren’t using their nose.
If deer see orange the same way, a full flo orange body suit would make you invisible like Predator.