If your job involves you working around moving vehicles, heavy machinery, or in low-light conditions, you most likely wear hi-vis safety gear every day. A vest, jacket, or shirt is usually sufficient to make you brighter than the sun and keep forklifts from smacking into you.
But winter makes your already dangerous job even more so. It comes with heavy cloud cover and plenty of ice fog that keeps visibility low. Winter is also freezing, which makes it tempting to throw a thick coat on over your usual high-vis gear—which will keep you warm, but also make you invisible to passing traffic.
So how in the world do you stay warm and visible during this season? While it's not easy, it's very much possible. Here's some essential winter wear for your job, as well as techniques you can use to stay toasty and totally seen.
Master the Art of Layering
You’ve probably heard this a thousand times, but layering really is the secret sauce to winter survival. When you just throw on one massive, bulky coat, you limit your mobility and trap sweat against your skin. Instead, start with a moisture-wicking base layer. This pulls sweat away from your body so you don't get that clammy, cold feeling halfway through your shift.
Add a middle insulating layer, like fleece or wool, to trap body heat. Finally, top it off with your high-visibility outer shell. This system traps warm air between the layers to keep you more comfortable than a single heavy garment ever could. Plus, if the sun decides to peek out, you can shed a layer without losing your safety compliance.
Invest In Insulated Hi-Vis Outerwear
Sometimes, your standard safety vest just isn't going to cut it when the temperature drops below freezing. Putting a mesh vest over a thick parka often leads to bunching and restricted movement, which is a safety hazard in itself. The solution is purpose-built, insulated high-visibility jackets or parkas.
These garments are designed to meet ANSI standards while providing the thermal protection of a ski jacket. Look for options with quilt lining or thermal insulation built right in. This way, your visibility isn't an afterthought—it is integrated directly into your warmth strategy. You stay compliant, visible, and comfortable without looking like a stuffed marshmallow.
Don't Forget Your Head and Neck
You lose a lot of heat through your head; to prevent this, all you have to do is keep it covered. But pulling a dark beanie over your head reduces your visible surface area. Swap out that old black toque for a high-visibility beanie with reflective stitching. It seems like a small detail, but every square inch of reflective material counts when a forklift is backing up in a dim warehouse.
For your neck, consider a hi-vis neck gaiter or balaclava. Scarves can be dangerous around rotating machinery, but a gaiter stays tucked in and secure. These accessories protect your sensitive skin from windburn and frostbite while adding another pop of bright color to your profile.
Keep Your Reflective Tape Clean
Winter is messy. Slush, mud, road salt, and grime seem to coat everything within minutes of starting a shift. While a dirty jacket might just look unprofessional in the summer, in the winter, it can be deadly. That grime covers the retro-reflective tape on your gear, rendering it useless when headlights hit it.
Make it a habit to wipe down your reflective strips before every shift and halfway through the day if you are working in particularly nasty conditions. A quick swipe with a damp rag can restore your visibility instantly. Treat your reflective gear like you would your safety glasses—if you can't see it (or it can't be seen), it's not working.
Upgrade to Thermal Hi-Vis Gloves
Frozen fingers are clumsy fingers. When you lose dexterity, you’re more likely to drop tools, struggle with controls, or make mistakes that could lead to an accident. Standard work gloves offer little protection against the biting cold, but bulky ski gloves don't offer the grip or tactile feel you need.
Look for thermal work gloves specifically designed for industrial use. Many brands now offer high-visibility options with reflective piping on the knuckles. These serve a dual purpose: they keep your hands functional and warm, and they make your hand signals much easier for crane operators and drivers to see in low-light conditions.
Light Yourself Up
Sometimes, passive visibility (retro-reflection) isn't enough, especially in absolute darkness where there are no headlights to reflect off your gear. You need active lighting, too. Active lighting refers to lights powered by a source, like LEDs or battery-operated lights, that illuminate your surroundings and make you visible even without external light sources.
Being your own light source means you don't have to rely on someone else's headlights to define your position. It puts control back in your hands and makes you visible from all angles, regardless of the ambient light.
Protect Your Feet With Insulated Boots
Cold feet can make your entire body feel freezing. Once your toes go numb, your misery index skyrockets, and your focus on safety plummets. Standard steel-toe boots act like a refrigerator for your feet because the metal toe cap conducts cold right to your toes.
Switch to composite toe boots for winter work if your safety regulations allow it, as they don't conduct cold as aggressively. Pair them with insulated, moisture-wicking socks. Avoid cotton socks at all costs—once they get wet from sweat, they stay wet, and wet feet in winter are a recipe for frostbite.
Take Warm-Up Breaks
No amount of gear can protect you indefinitely from extreme cold. Pushing through the shivering isn't tough; it's dangerous. Shivering is your body's last-ditch effort to create heat, and it creates erratic movements that can lead to accidents.
Schedule short, frequent breaks in a heated shelter or vehicle to bring your core temperature back up. Use this time to check your gear, wipe down your reflective tape, and dry out any damp items. It’s better to take ten minutes to warm up than to suffer a cold-stress injury that puts you out of work for weeks. Listen to your body—it knows when it’s had enough.
Stay Safe Out There
This guide to staying warm and visible this winter will help you get through this unforgiving season. While the low-visibility and cold temperatures it brings make everything more dangerous for you, you can combat it with comfortable, compliant hi-vis clothing and smart techniques like layering.
At Forcefield Protective Clothing, we have just what you need for your winter wardrobe! Our hi-vis plaid shirts come in bright, neon colors that are hard to miss, even in a blizzard, are lightweight, and feature an insulated polyester and quilt lining to keep you nice and warm. We also have gloves, balaclavas, and other cold-weather accessories to pair them with. Shop now—because frostbite and camouflage are so last season!