paulradcliffe.me

Sport-Glo Reflective Decals Review

As I mentioned in my post for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon expo, I was looking write my name on my shirt before the New York City Marathon, and I was fortunate to come across the Sport-Glo booth. Rather than a typical print-at-home iron on like I used for the Chicago Marathon in 2012, I wanted something a little better. The Sport-Glo booth impressed me enough that I ordered two decals from them.

From what I understand, the decals are made of 3M’s “ScotchBrite” material, which is really, really reflective. Sport-Glo has formulated it to be easy to iron on. And they can print their own designs, so I ordered one that said my name, “Paul.” I also ordered a “Canada” decal to put on my back.

Unboxing and Application

The decals arrived in the mail on the Wednesday following the expo. Included in the mailing package were instructions and a piece of “craft paper” which was necessary for the ironing process.

Sport-Glo package contents from “unboxing” the delivery

The shirt I was planning to add these labels to already had some reflective markings so I figured that there would be enough of a contrast for the new labels to be visible.

I set up my ironing board and iron and set it to the “cotton” setting as directed. Peeling the back of the decal off I noted that there is some sort of adhesive or static cling that made it stick really well to the fabric. That was handy because I was worried about it slipping when moving the iron over it.

Bare shirt, iron, and decals ready to apply

As directed, I placed the craft paper over the decal and then applied the iron for about 30 seconds.

Applying heat with iron

After that, I let it cool for a moment. Once cooled, I peeled off the craft paper and then decal top to reveal the finished product!

Finished product

And to show how reflective it is, I took a photo with the flash!

End product with camera flash! it really is reflective!!

I was worried that the letters would blend in too much with the grey shirt, but they popped quite well.

Trying on my race gear for the New York Marathon

I wore this customized shirt when I ran the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon. There were hundreds of times I heard strangers cheer “Go Paul” because they could read my name on my shirt.

Running the TCS NYC Marathon

Finisher photo for TCS NYC Marathon. You can see how it shines from the photographer’s flash

The lettering survived the race, and survived being washed. I followed the directions on the website and turned the shirt inside-out before washing.

I’m very happy with the product and recommended it to anyone as a low-cost way to customize any piece of gear!