NoxGear Tracer360 Vest Review & Giveaway {CLOSED}

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Whoever said safety has to be boring?

I usually run in the evenings.  Starting out it might still be light, but around dusk and once the sun is down, things can get a bit dicey on the roads in terms of visibility.  We do wear jackets and vests with reflective strips, but I've long hoped for something better.

Enter Noxgear.  Nox means 'night' in latin. This company came about in an interesting way.  Two aerospace engineers, Simon and Tom, were in a night-time ultimate Frisbee league, and they were frustrated with existing options for visibility.  Necessity being the mother of invention - they teamed up and created a unique fiber optic vest.  One of the creators is a runner, and he saw how useful this would be to other runners and cyclists.   Recently we got the chance to try out their  best-selling Tracer360 vest. 

I've got nothing but great things to say about Noxgear's Tracer 360 vest.  We've both worn it locally for training runs and it has always performed beautifully. 

Check out DisneyGroom from side, back, and front views.

Drivers, cyclists, and other runners see you from a long ways away and can adjust their path accordingly.  While this vest would be great just for your neighborhoods runs (and bike rides), I think where it really shines (literally) is at an organized race.  

If you were at the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend last month, you might have seen me. 

Blinking like a multi-colored firefly... or a pixie.  Take your pick.

We sent a tweet and photo of me wearing the #Tracer360 vest the morning of the Royal Family 5K.

I ran two of the weekend's three events and spectated one race, wearing the vest all three race mornings. Since all the races at Princess Half Marathon weekend have early morning starts, everyone runs in the dark for the first part of every race.  Several runners spotted me on the course and asked me about the vest.  (My apologies for the blurry action pic.)

The vest itself has multiple light modes - solid colors, slow color changes, and fast blinking.  You can check out a video of the vest in action here.




Tracer360 - Innovative reflective high visibility illuminated fiber optic safety vest for runners and cyclists from Noxgear on Vimeo.
If you cannot see video above, check it out via this link: https://vimeo.com/82397698

I really enjoyed playing with all of the various settings.  RunDisney races are so much fun already, with entertainment, music, and characters, plus thousands of happy runners in costume.  The Tracer 360 vest was the perfect glowing, blinking accessory for this type of race.  I think it was especially appropriate for my Tinker Bell costume.

I found tremendous value in the Tracer 360 vest - not just to be visible to vehicular traffic, but during a large race like these among thousands of runners.  Disney races are notoriously crowded. I've completed over a dozen runDisney events and this Princess weekend was the first time I was not shoved or jostled on the course.  Other runners saw me coming, and they either politely ran around me or allowed me to pass. 

Any else besides me thinks the Tracer360 vest would be THE PERFECT THING for the runDisney nighttime races like Tower of Terror Ten Miler, Expedition Everest Challenge, and the Wine and Dine Half Marathon.  DisneyGroom wants to wear all black under the vest for a TRON: Legacy costume.  I'm thinking it would be cool to be a one person "Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights"  or grab a couple of your friends for a group costume - and be the "Main Street Electrical Parade".  So many costume possibilities!

For the event I spectated, the vest also turned out to be a big winner. My friends and husband were running that morning and had no trouble spotting me among the cheering crowds.  For summer concerts and evening festivals - just think, you could always find your significant other or child in the crowd.  

The Tracer360 will definitely become an integral part of my future race days - particularly with early morning starts and night races.

Some more awesome things about this vest:

• Super lightweight (6.5 oz with batteries)  Once you have it on you forget it is there.
• All Seasons friendly.  Rainproof.  Yep you can bet I tried it in the rain.  No issues.  I checked the batteries later and they were still dry inside their casing.
• Adjustable to fit ANYONE.  Unlike your typical running vests, these truly do fit everyone.  They do come in sizes, but don't let that overly concern you.  The belt has generous straps that adjust to fit the petite through the larger runner.  To put it into perspective -  we both wear XL in most clothing - but there was plenty of room to adjust the XL belt further.
• True 360° illumination and 3M reflectivity. Why is this important?  Unlike a reflective armband or a little wrist strap, the fiber optic lights and the reflective belt means you will be seen from all angles: above, behind, underneath, etc. 
• Battery Status Notification - When turning ON and OFF the vest will blink green, yellow or red to indicate the current battery level. No second guessing when to replace your batteries.  No expensive special batteries either - just three standard AAA batteries. They will give you about 40 hours of use.  That's a pretty long time before you need to replace them. 
• All Tracer360s are sewn, assembled and ship from Ohio.  Not a big multinational corporation.  Not Made in China.  Noxgear is a respected small business that gives back to their community.  They have excellent and personal customer service.  A company like this is precisely why we love small businesses over here at Running Happily Ever After.

Of course you should also check out Noxgear's page and social media links to learn more.

https://noxgear.com/
https://twitter.com/noxgear
https://www.facebook.com/noxgear
http://www.youtube.com/user/noxgearLLC
http://www.pinterest.com/noxgear/

Now, I bet you are as excited about this super cool vest as we are.  You want to know how can you get one of your very own, don't you?

Noxgear has very generously allowed us to give a Tracer 360 vest away to one of our lucky readers.  Check out our giveaway terms below and enter to win a vest of your very own. 

If you just can't wait for the sweepstakes to end, then you can order one from noxgear.com. Note the 15% off code:  RUNSAFE15.  The code is valid through 12/31/14.

Thanks for checking out our gear review and giveaway!

Run Happy!
~DisneyBride

Terms of the Giveaway:

1) No Purchase Necessary.

2) Giveaway begins Monday March 10, 2014 and ends Monday March 17, 2014 at midnight. Winner will be announced on this blog, and notified on Tuesday, March 18, 2014.

3) Must be 18 years or older to enter. Must be a U.S. resident. 

4) Sign in through Rafflecopter below to enter. With your first entry, the app will only capture your e-mail or facebook name. This is so we can reach you if you win, in accordance with sweepstakes terms. Your contact info will ONLY be used to contact you if you win.

5) There are additional opportunities for multiple entries.

6) One (1) winner will be selected. the winner will receive one (1) Noxgear Tracer360 vest.  Retail value: $59.99

7) The winner will be chosen at random using the rafflecopter app below. Odds of winning are determined by the number of eligible entries received.

8) In the event winner does not respond to contact attempts via e-mail or facebook name provided within a one week period, another winner will be selected at random.

9) Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure of Material Connection: No financial compensation was received. We received one Tracer360 Vest from Noxgear in exchange for this review and promotional giveaway. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we believe will be good for our readers. All opinions stated on this blog are our own. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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