Or being serious for a moment, as a Boy Scout I used to have to wear dayglo armbands on night hikes and such like. Would this keep both sides of the argument happy? Less irritating, not big enough to be a fire risk, cheaper, still pretty visible, and doesn't get in the way of your pockets.
Alternatively, there are the bright orange nomex suits much loved of certain companies FT departments - but even many test pilots can't bring themselves to wear those.
G