Oilies: safe yellow or sexy black?

[kingfisher]

I'm looking to buy a new sailing jacket, after my Henri Lloyd Ocean jacket served me well for over 12 years. It's getting a bit tattered, and is frankly a bit too heavy and cumbersome for the sailing I now do (family holidays afloat rather than wild adventure).

I fancy the Musto Offshore jacket, which is offered in four colours. The black/charcoal one certainly looks cool. But looking for a black speck in the water seems to me a bit more difficult than finding a yellow one? Or is the colour of the jacket irrelevant, given the fact that your body will be under water and a dayglo-yellow inflated lifejacket will draw most of the attention?

 

[bbg]

Unless you are a strong enough swimmer to hold your chest out of the water (pretty much physically impossible), I suspect a day-glo hood will be enough. And I think they all have day-glo hoods.

 

[samwise]

My 20 year old son has recently started a commercial yacht skipper course and needed a new set of oilies. For the fashion and pontoon cred conscious there was no contest -- black ( or charcoal) it had to be!

Incidentally I ( Yes, I had to pay) got the best deal on new oilies ( Musto) from Marine Superstore. They were by far the cheapest ( £160 less than our big local chandlery).

 

[Sans Bateau]

Theres no way you can buy a yellow one! That is just soooooooo last year, how can you possibly hold your head up walking around the marina in last years fashion?

(PS, get yellow, black will be far to hot on a day when you need to stay dry, say from spray or showers, but the sun is shinning)

 

[Whiskey Bravo]

Black's a definite no-no, you'll just end up looking like everybody else [fashion victim] and it's such a boring colour anyway.

Yellow will make you stand out, not only when in the water after falling overboard [unlikely] but a host of other situations [eg you'll be easy to spot returning to your boat in dinghy so kettle on by the time you arrive/in crowded pub]. If by some chance you ever need SAR helicopter you'd also be easier to spot.

ps I've got yellow!

 

[MoodySabre]

I raised this question with a seller at LIBS. Apparently a black object in the water can be seen as well, if not better, than a yellow one.

Get cool

 

[Malish]

I raised this question with a seller at LIBS. Apparently a black object in the water can be seen as well, if not better, than a yellow one.

Get cool

Were they, by chance, trying to justify why they sell a black waterproof?
Red or yellow for me

 

[Skysail]

"Apparently a black object in the water can be seen as well, if not better, than a yellow one."

Black lobster pots definitely show better at night. But the reflective strips will be the major factor in a torch beam.

 

[activesail]

Charcoal..

Charcoal is defiantly the fashion.

The colour of the jacket is irrelevant as it will be submerged in the water and as already said, most jackets are provided with a high visibility hood.

Much better to rely on your life jacket fitted with a hood, for making your self visible in the water.

 

[jamesjermain]

'Apparently a black object in the water can be seen as well, if not better, than a yellow one.'

Yes, both in daylight and at night surprisingly enough. However, at night, its the reflective tape that really shows up.

 

[peterb]

We use a bucket and fender for MOB exercises. The fender can be white or dark blue. Contrary to what might be expected, the white fender is very difficult to find in any sort of sea (just waves, not white horses). The dark blue, almost black, stands out well.

 

[bbg]

However, at night, its the reflective tape that really shows up.

Yes, which is why it is nice to have a little reflective piping or strips somewhere on the jacket and trousers, too. Not for when someone falls in the water, just to make it easier to pick them out at night e.g. working on deck.

 

[DaiB]

Blacks not so cool if your walking down the road on your way back from the pub!!

 

[Ubergeekian]

Charcoal is defiantly the fashion..

A lot of the waterproof makers seem to be pushing white or near-white this year. Looks unbelievably chavvy to me

 

[Amulet]

If you are retiring 12 year old oilies then you are probably too far into your geezerhood to try to look sexy under any circumstances, never mind when wearing oilies.

Come to the East Coast, where creek-cred requires that you dress like a bargeman - boiler suit and flat cap will do nicely.

 

[BruceDanforth]

My yellow Gill Coastal Oilies are about 10 years old now and have been across the Pacific. I've washed them twice now and they are getting pleasingly mildewed. They could benefit from a few random smears of sikaflex to make them look a bit more disreputable.

 

[nct1]

I raised this question with a seller at LIBS. Apparently a black object in the water can be seen as well, if not better, than a yellow one.

Get cool

Why do SBS / commandos black up, wear black and go in their little black rubber boats ?

Have they been doing it wrong all this time, and should have been using yellow !

 

[Woodlouse]

They found out in the second world war that black is not the best colour for camouflage at night. After all, when you spot something at sea at night, what you see is a black thing right? Pale blue, mixed with grey is apparently most effective if you don't want to be seen.

As for oilies, my jacket is red, the trousers were blue, but I've replaced them with a yellow pair now, and the boots are blue. When you are amongst true sailors, tatty, mismatched oilskins are the only way to look cool.

 

[Tidewaiter2]

See a Grey Goose at a Mile!

They found out in the second world war that black is not the best colour for camouflage at night. After all, when you spot something at sea at night, what you see is a black thing right? Pale blue, mixed with grey is apparently most effective if you don't want to be seen.

As for oilies, my jacket is red, the trousers were blue, but I've replaced them with a yellow pair now, and the boots are blue. When you are amongst true sailors, tatty, mismatched oilskins are the only way to look cool.

Para 1; dead right-Peter Scott was i/c the first Steam Gun Boat Flotilla of WWII Coastal Forces and had them camo'd that way based on his knowledge of how birds, esp geese colourings helped them blend into sea & sky.

Para 2; dead right again-Peyton did that 'marina cred' cartoon. It's supposed to show you're always out there wearing it out at different rates and replacing it at next port of call.
Or, like me, you can't resist a 50% 'bargain rail' buy in last years colours and XXL(so you grow into it!

 

[Nico]

Whatever you buy ...

It'll be out of date before you wear it out. Everybody in the high street is wearing black these days and it's a bit dull. I predict a backlash soon. White (or "platinum") gets grubby in about 10 minutes. Avoid.