Radians SV55 Class 2 Two Tone Engineer Vest

Radians SV55-2ZOD Class 2 Heavy Woven Two Tone Engineer High Visibility Vest (Large),
Even though I’m giving it 5 stars there are only two small cons to note;
First, this vest is extremely comfortable, with pockets accessible from every direction. Padded collar is a blessing because it does what it says it does, adding comfortably when vest is weighted down. I do carry a lot of different materials and paperwork every night and I am able to distribute the weight evenly. The right/left side “water bottle pockets” work great for a large field radio on one side and off set weight with a 12oz water bottle on the other. The large interior pockets are perfect for storing paperwork in the Velcro pockets or to keep dry in the Zipper ones. The cell pocket holds a Samsung Galaxy 6 snugly. The Large rear “side-to-side” back zipper pocket allows me to carry a folded up “Full-Size Orange Reflective “Crossing Guard” type trench-rain coat. Front pockets I carry a tape measure, and various seals, pens and notebook in the upper left pocket. Zippers are heavy-duty and function great. I have a key ring slipped through the upper right grommet hole to hold my utility gloves on the glove clip I have and I’m able to carry a light set of key (3 to 4) on the left side. Radio mike holders function perfect as well.
The 3M® 8712 Silver 2″ Glass Bead Reflective Tape is very, very bright as I’ve been told I can be seen when I’m working in the yard at night.
Now the only two Cons: #1 is Convenience wise, a large grommet hole positioned at the bottom of the padded neckline in the back or a heavy-duty loop would have been nice so a to hang on a door hook.
#2, this is a big one if you work in a safety conscience atmosphere, Due to the heavy construction of this well-made vest I doubt that it could have been made as a VELCRO “Break-Away” vest as my original Radians 5 point break-away vest was.
So PLEASE note for SAFETY reasons, IF you work in a semi-hazard/hazard area with potential catch points such as hoses, wiring, chains, piping, rigging, this is NOT a vest for you. IT DOES NOT BREAK AWAY IF YOU GET CAUGHT ON OR TANGLED UP IN “catch/pinch points”
But all in all a perfect vest, I will be buying more.

Really nice vest has many pockets of different sizes very comfortable and convenient. Great job nice quality product🙏

Good combination of pockets, pretty versatile. Well made, has some quality to it.

The vest is fairly well-made (and fairly expensive … nearly one-half the cost of my Carhartt work coat) and, although it might prove a tad warm in the Texas Summer, it more than makes up for that on cool Fall and colder Winter days. There are pockets a-plenty. The ‘Old Inspector’ can be seen from across the job sites and the erectors know when I am heading their way. During the Summer, the XL hangs on me like clothes on a scarecrow but, during the cooler months, I have room for my work coat without feeling like I am wearing a reflective, fluorescent straight-jacket.

There are two minor issues to consider.

No. 1 is the size of the high exterior pockets. The pocket is just not large enough to securely hold my iPhone 14 Plus. A deeper pocket or a longer flap would fix that issue for me.

No. 2 is a tendency for the zipper slider to separate from the jacket and become lost. This has happened on both of my previous vests but I rationalize this by saying that I got a lot of use from them and the reflective material was beginning to lose some of its shine … but, still. When the zipper breaks, wind becomes an issue.

i bought this vests as a cosplay iteam then i startded to use it at work it was a nice vest but the ziper came off it was a nice vest when it lasted 10/10

First off this feels like a good quality vest and I hope the stitching last for minimum a year. We will see in time. Feels thick and I like the fill in the neck/ collar part. Not just a flat embroidered but foam or something in it. The Velcro seems to be strong and quality. Time will also tell how long it will last. All in all I like the vest and I feel more visible with this one. I chose the yellow one because orange is widely used in my field and I want to stand out so I don’t get run over by a 100k LBS machine. The vest is very versatile and I love that I finally have a vest with the back pocket/ plan pocket.

Dislikes- they run big on the sizes. I usually get a large but I read “they run big” in a few previous reviews and I’ve lost weight since I last bought a vest for me, so I went medium. While fits around the chest and neck, I feel like I’m wearing a blouse cause it’s got that parachute effect a little at the bottom. The waist needs to be cut better so it doesn’t tapper out and should be a more straight cut through and through. The pen/ pencil holder/shafts aren’t apparent at first and I think could of been designed a little better because if you use the pocket connected to the pencil part, you end up pulling pens/pencils when you go get your phone/ or smokes/ or whatever is in that back pocket of the pens. As mentioned above, this is a nice thick, quality vest so I can see it being hotter than the cheap ones in the summer heat if you work outside. However it does come with the breathable jersey type hole material on the back so maybe it will breath better than I think, assuming It last to our next summer season. But for now the thickness helps with heat retention for these cold pre winter mornings.

To sum this up , I think it’s worth the $40+ usd I paid. Yes there are cheap vest under $20 on here but I feel confident this one is going to outlast and perform better in the years to come. Putting this vest on makes me feel like I’m someone with some pull on the job site. As coy as that sounds