Okay well I looked around a bit and didnt find this topic yet, suprised me but maybe I missed it. What is everyones favorite turnout gear colors here? Personally I myself prefer tan for the higher visablity then black. For some reason my companys torn between black and tan most of the older guys prefer the black and most of the younger guys like myself perfer tan what does everyone else think and why?
Ours is Yellow with contrasting orange/silver reflective stripes...Personally never understood the rationale for Black Turn-outs...I like the visability factor...even though sometimes the color doesn't matter much......Paul
Permalink Reply by mike on December 22, 2008 at 5:22pm
i prefer the tan. for the visibility and personally i think the black gets hotter especially when your working a fire during the day in the middle of the summer.. but thats just my opinion.
Currently I'm wearing a black jacket over yellow pants, soon should receive my new PPE which will be 'slime green'.
For me a benefit of a darker colour is that even when cleaned our gear never looks really clean - a darker colour can hide those stains to a degree. My current yellow pants, even though washed fairly frequently, always look grubby. The new green ones will be the same. A benefit I see for the paler green I'm getting is that it should be more visible at daytime MVA's - at night the colour is less relevant as the reflective striping gives the visibility. As does the hi-vis reflective vest we should be wearing...
That was opinion. For preference, I like the navy blue that's been popular in parts of the UK and Europe over the years. But that wasn't an option for me.
I like the tan gear. It seems cooler in the summer and has better visibility in my opinion. Tan gear with black elbow and knee pads are pretty sweet looking though.
We have black gear but i have no issues with colour as long as it protects me that's the number 1 priority. If I had an option I think I would stick with black.
Before my department was awarded an AFG, our trustee's bought two sets of yellow turnout gear. We had an Assistant Chief that preferred the yellow turnout gear due to the greater visibility over tan or black. With the AFG we purchased 16 sets of turnout gear in the Tan with the lime green / silver / lime green reflective trim with the grant. The dirt doesn't show up as much with the Tan vs the yellow.