What are the Differences Between Class 2 & Class 3 ANSI Safety Vests?

In order to receive a rating of a class 2 or class 3 safety vest, a vest must achieve preset requirements set by the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI. These requirements include the amount of necessary reflect material on the safety vest, the amount of background material, and whether or not the garment has sleeves.

Safety vest classes were designed to help regulate the required vests needed by state workers. ANSI vests are necessary in areas of high speed traffic and if workers are near heavy machinery. If you are purchasing a safety vest for yourself personally, there is no law requiring you to wear a safety vest of a certain class. It is always a good idea, however, to consider purchasing a class 2 or class 3 safety vest, as it will provide more visibility than that of an economy vest.

Now let's break down the different classes of safety vests:

Class 2 Safety Vests - These reflective safety vests are required for workers who are near heavy machinery or near traffic between the speeds of 25 - 50 mph. ANSI designates that all class 2 safety vests must have 201 square inches of retro-reflective material, with 1.375 inch reflective striping. They must also have 775 square inches of background material and are sleeveless.

Class 3 Safety Vests - These safety vests give the user higher visibility than a class 2 vest. They have sleeves, 310 square inches of reflective material with 2 inch striping, and 1240 square inches of background material. Class 3 vests are required for workers near traffic in excess of 50 mph.

ANSI 207-2006 Vests - These special purpose vests are rated for service workers, such as police officers, EMS workers, fire departments, and other types of emergency response teams.

Economy Class Vests - This terminology can be somewhat tricky. Some websites use the term economy to denote a safety vest as cheap or inexpensive, while some others use the term to describe a safety vest that does not meet the ANSI requirements of a class 2 or 3 vest. It is important to check the description for clarification.

Need to Place a Bulk Safety Vest Order? Consider Adjustable Safety Vests

Adjustable safety vests could be the option you've been looking for. These vests are great for large, bulk orders because of their ability to increase or decrease in size. This means one adjustable safety vest could potentially fit several different sized people, instead of only one size.

Along with being great for bulk orders adjustable safety vests are the perfect option for cold winter months. These safety vests can be adjusted to fit over bulky clothing such as jackets and sweaters, so you can stay warm and visible in the cold.

To learn more about adjustable safety vests consider reading this article: http://goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=3541025

Learn Everything You Need To Know About Safety Vests

Welcome to our safety vests blog! We created this blog with the hope that the information you gain from here can be utilized in your next safety vest purchase. This blog will provide the knowledge needed to make informed choices and eliminate unnecessary time and frustration when shopping.

Safety vests are worn in a large number of job settings. Any job that requires a person to be highly visible should be wearing a safety vest of some kind. However, any old safety vest doesn't work for just any job. Similar to hard hats, Safety vests are assigned to a certain class, such as class 2 or class 3, based on the amount of background and reflective material on the safety vest. Whether the vest is orange or yellow does not affect its class rating. We'll delve deeper into safety vest classes in a later post. It's important to be aware of what class safety vest your line of work requires before making a purchase.

Besides having different classes, safety vests come in a variety of styles. One style of vest could work better than another for a specific job, so be sure to select the right style for your needs. Because there are so many different styles, we'll spend more time in future posts explaining each one and its personal benefits. Some of these styles include adjustable safety vests, breakaway safety vests, safety jackets, and economy safety vests. Be sure to read up on safety vests and make sure the safety vest you have selected is the right fit for you.