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The days may be shorter, but that doesn’t mean your runs have to be.

When we turned back the clocks on November 7 (cue: major eye roll), sunrise was at 6:34 a.m. in New York City, and sunset was at 4:52 p.m. And the days are only going to get shorter until the winter solstice on December 21.

That means, whether you’re a morning runner or an evening runner, it’s a must for you to have the right reflective gear.

The goal, when running in the dark safely, is to be seen. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 80 percent of pedestrian traffic deaths—so, getting hit by a car—happen when it’s dark. When using normal headlights, a driver’s visibility is just 250 feet, doubling to 500 feet when the high-beam headlights are on, according to the National Safety Council.

But thanks to ever-improving technology, there is no shortage of apparel and gear that can make you visible.

You’ll see clothing billed as high-visibility or reflective. While they’ll both help drivers see you when you’re running in the dark, they’re two different things. Clothing that is considered “high visibility” uses colors and contrast “to provide increased visual recognition,” Mike Orton, an apparel product line manager for Brooks Running, tells Runner’s World.

Orton goes on to explain that’s why it’s extra important that high-visibility gear not only make a runner visible but that the runner is recognizable as human. (More on Brooks’ Run Visible line and how it helps drivers see runners as human forms, later.)

“Research revealed that the brain is easily confused in poor lighting,” Orton says. “When we catch a glimpse of something in the dark, our eyes struggle to make sense of what they’re seeing.”

Then there’s reflective material, or retro reflectivity, which reflects rays of light back to where it came—so a driver with his headlights on, for example, Orton says.

While reflective material might be better in the pitch dark, it only works when a light source hits the fabric, and in many cases if reflective pieces aren’t strategically placed it can be hard for a driver to make out what he or she is looking at.

At the end of the day (or at the very start of it!) you just want traffic to be able to see you when you are running in the dark. The more you can make yourself seen, the better. That might mean wearing high-vis and reflective gear, and carrying a light or wearing a headlamp. You can make that decision depending on how dark it is, and whether there are sidewalks or street lights.

While any light will make you more visible to cars, a blinking light can be more attention-grabbing. Placing a light or reflective gear on moving parts—arms, feet, ankles—will also alert drivers that you’re a moving object.

Boots on the ground is the best way to determine if a product is up to snuff, especially when it comes to safety. We took this gear (or talked to fellow runners who tried it) out on the roads before the sun was up or after it went down, in areas that had no or very little lighting. (But no, we didn’t run straight into traffic to test it.)

And while a piece of reflective or high-vis clothing or gear is great if it makes you visible, it doesn’t do much if it bounces around or isn’t comfortable, so we factored that in as well.

Normally I’d only don a cap when the sun or rain is beating down. But this cap boasts 360 degrees of reflective material, making you hard to miss on the roads. The side panels have perforations for ventilations to keep your noggin cool.

The downside is, while the cap is adjustable, the strap takes some expert fingers to maneuver to get the right fit.

You’ll want to pair this cap with another piece of reflective or high-vis material, or a light on your chest or back, for added visibility.

For the dark winter runs, bundle up and be seen with the Tough Headwear reflective skull cap. It’s lightweight but toasty, making it a huge hit with runners and cyclists. There are nearly 8,000 reviews and a 4.5-star rating on Amazon, and Runner’s World deems it a top winter hat.

However, the reflective strip is small so you still might want an extra light or piece of reflective or high-vis gear. (When purchasing, be sure to choose the black/reflective color; that’s the only option that has the reflective strip.)

If you prefer a headband, the Nathan Reflective Headband uses midweight fleece material to keep your hair in place and your ears warm. The reflective detail adds some visibility in low-light conditions.

One tester said the reflective strips on the headband were too narrow to provide much benefit, although “it was better than nothing.” She also pointed out that the headband would do better if it were adjustable or stretchier for a more comfortable fit.

Stick one of these lights on your chest and your back so you’ll stand out from both directions. The lights, which come in a two-pack, are small and lightweight that securely clip to your shirt or vest. Slide the clip back onto the hem of your shirt, neck collar, vest opening, or on your running belt.

The lights come in two settings: steady (57 hours of battery life) and strobe (110 hours). and Also, they’re weather-resistant so they’ll keep working despite sweat, rain, and snow. One tester said just an on-and-off switch would do the trick, that she didn’t need multiple modes. The batteries aren’t rechargeable, which means you’ll have to keep CR2032 coin batteries on hand for when it runs out.

Running with a headlamp may seem extreme to folks not familiar with the trails, but it’s the best way to see and be seen. Even if you run in areas with street lights, cars are most likely to see you if you are wearing a giant headlight on your head.

The biggest complaint about wearing a headlamp is the bounce! Not with the 3D slim fit construction by BioLite, which is designed to keep the band in place even while you’re sweating. There are various models of the BioLite depending on how bright you want to be. The 330 provides, well, 330 lumens of light, four light modes, including strobe and a dimmage red flood, as well as a rechargeable battery. (On low mode, the battery lasts 40 hours and on high, just 3.5 hours.)

We also love the Petzl Tikka Outdoor Headlamp, which stays put and provides 300 lumens of light for up to 120 hours. But, unlike BioLite, Petzl uses triple A batteries so you will have to replace instead of recharge. This doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker, though. While we love being able to recharge everything, carrying triple A batteries instead of a charging brick on an overnight trail run, for example, is a lighter load.

The headband detaches from the light so you can wash in between runs.

We know sports bra running doesn’t really mesh with in-the-dark running—as the days get shorter, it’s getting colder, too. But! There’s no question we’re having (and will continue to have, in some form) unseasonable weather, and for those runs, you still need to be seen.

The Nightlife colorway of the Drive 3 Pocket Run Bra is bright. It’s not reflective but the material is high-visibility, almost like glow-in-the-dark. And thanks to a higher neckline than most sports bras, you have more fluorescent material, which means more visibility.

The Pocket Run Bra, visibility aside, is incredibly comfortable and has, you guessed it, three pockets for your stuff. The back pocket is big enough to fit your phone, but it’s a little tricky to access midrun.

The downside is that this sports bra is made with those removable pads that get all bunched in the wash. If you’re going to make a bra with pads, make them stay put!

I also liked the Puma High Shine Crop Top, which definitely needs a sports bra underneath, even for the smallest of chests. The top has 360-degree reflective patterns, kind of animal print-y, but I wasn’t totally impressed with the actual reflectivity. You can pair with the High Shine tights for a matchy-matchy look and added visibility.

Last year we covered the entire Brooks Run Visible Collection, and it continues to serve us well. I’ll start by saying, I can’t take off the jacket. It fits comfortably over a base layer without being too tight or baggy. While the latest model does not have thumbholes, the sleeves have a slightly longer cut to cover the tops of your hands with reflective strips that will move with your arms and hands.

The jacket touts zipped side pockets and several inside pockets for extra storage. The lightweight, reflective hood folds up so you can tuck it away on dry runs.

As for the reflectivity and visibility, this jacket takes the cake. The white fabric alone will make runners stand out against the black of night. The apparel in this line, including the jacket, reflects light with 3M Scotchlite Carbon Black strips. This reflective material is strategically placed to mimic the shape of a runner in motion from 600 feet away to a car driving 35 miles per hour.

“Through research, we learned that most runners take routes through suburban areas during low-light and night conditions, where the speed limit is, on average 30 miles per hour,” Orton says. “Using this as our benchmark, we needed gear that could make a runner visible from at least 450 feet to give a driver enough time to recognize what is in front of them and react if necessary.”

So what happens at 625 feet? Or at 38 miles per hour? The runner may still be visible in the Brooks Run Visible gear, but not clearly identifiable as human, Orton says.

“Ultimately we want drivers to see a person and not a thing [like a deer] on the road,” Orton says, noting companies can’t put reflective gear on wildlife.

Sure, you could buy a cheap-o vest designed for a night-work construction crew, but if you’re going to be wearing this frequently, it’s worth it to pay up. Nathan’s Streak Reflective vest fits much better than those vests; plus, it’s lightweight and avoids chafing due to arm swing.

“The fit was perfect,” one tester said. “It is adjustable, and oftentimes it’s hard to get a good fit with something adjustable, but this was perfect.”

The vest, which has 360-degree reflectivity, promises 1,200-foot visibility. Our tester said she felt so comfortable on dark country roads thanks to the reflective strips placed all over the already-bright vest.

“I could be seen at all angles,” she said. “I wouldn’t change a thing about this vest.”

If you want to up your vest game, this could do the trick. We’ve seen this vest at overnight relays, and it basically turns you into a running rave. The 6.5-ounce vest has front and back lights that can change color and modes (flashing or steady). While rechargeable, these batteries don’t last as long as a headlamp (six to eight hours). Reviewers were pleased with the brightness and quality of the vest, at a reasonable price.

As part of the Brooks Run Visible line, Brooks has taken its popular Ghost 14 shoe—a neutral, cushioned trainer—and dressed it up for night running with the same material used in its Run Visible apparel. The bright yellow soles pop, yes, but the reflective details all along the outer of the shoe add a pop of moving reflectivity for those dark runs. For the first time, the Ghost shoe is a little spooky.

They’re headlamps ... but for your feet. The NightRunner 270 brand has been around for a few years; in 2016 the company appeared on Shark Tank, during which runner and shark Robert Herjavec made them a deal.

Slide these shoe lights onto the laces so they sit snugly against your shoe’s tongue, and they will alert cars to a moving being. The weatherproof, rechargeable lights will project light 30 feet to the front, and on the standard setting will last for up to five hours.

I was hesitant about these Swiftwick socks; I’ve run in their low-cut socks, and they constantly slip under my heel. But the Aspire Four sit comfortably on the calf, making them a popular cycling sock. I was impressed with the comfort, given the compression, which is the Aspire’s main billing.

The yellow and green colors are considered high-visibility, and during a pre-dawn run they didn’t disappoint. I felt like that plutonium rod that Homer Simpson casually tosses away in the intro of The Simpsons, but maybe less toxic. These socks are a great addition to my early-morning workout wardrobe, especially if I don’t want to add a ton of extra gear.

If you’re looking for a super inexpensive but effective reflective option (say that five times fast), try the HiVisible reflective bands. A four pack is just $16.99, and you can strategically and securely place the bands on your arms and legs to be seen as a moving object from about 800 feet away.

Make your phone carrier do more. Not only does the Tribe band hold your phone, key, and headphones, but it’s also made with reflective material to help you be seen in low-light conditions.

One potential downside: without extra reflective or high-vis gear, cars may only see the reflective band from one side. You’ll need additional reflective gear to be seen from all directions.