Review: Orange Aglow Safety Panel

With Bozeman’s booming population, there are more cars, and idiot drivers, than ever. Which makes cycling around town, or to and from a trailhead in the Bridgers, increasingly daunting. One way to ride safer is to strap on a blaze-orange Safety Panel from Bozeman’s own Orange Aglow. The company makes orange hunting vests, and this panel was designed to be strapped to a vest-concealing backpack while afield. But I started strapping it to my bike-pack and noticed an immediate difference—cars gave me a much wider berth. I suspect it’s mostly an instinctive reaction, as people are trained to slow for orange-clad construction workers; but motive doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I feel safer and worry less while riding my bike, which is well worth a few extra bucks. $8; orangeaglow.com.