The blue U.S. flag reflective patches offered by TGJ are OK . . . mostly. They’re thinner and have more of an exposed and pointed right-angled edge than run-of-the-mill embroidered patches with a merrowed edge. This means that this type of patch has more of a tendency to “catch” on a lot of protruding objects that come into contact with it. I’ve had a few incidences of “catching” the corner edge of the Velcro patches—name tapes or flags—unless the hook side skirts or protrudes the edge of the patch as close as possible. Bear in mind, the patch doesn’t necessarily come off entirely but may have to be taken off and reattached properly. It makes my Tourette’s syndrome flare up, if you know what I mean.
Another anomaly is that the black with blue flag patches feature a slightly darker blue hue. I was expecting a more Royal blue as shown on my monitor. The hue isn’t necessarily “bad” or “too dark,” yet I would still solidly describe it as “subdued,” given that it’s juxtaposed against the black stripes on the flag. For the most part, that’s OK since most of my flag patches are subdued anyway. The reflective material shows up fine under flashlight-in-the-dark lighting conditions, but the dark blue on the patch against the Navy blue loop side Velcro background on a Navy blue shirt makes the patch nearly disappear under normal indoor lighting conditions. The blue coloring on the silver-with-blue patches was/is exactly as pictured, a nice shade of Royal blue that, along with the silver stripes on the patch, doesn’t disappear against a Royal blue loop side background.
Granted, I bought what blue-themed forward and reverse flag patches are offered by TGJ, both the black with blue as well as the silver with blue, so I’ve earned my credentials for an owner’s opinion. Like Peter Gabriel sings, “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe).”
The trade-off is that there are fewer online –and much less retail—offerings available for blue-themed U.S. flag patches. I have bought sewn-with-hook-side forward blue flag patches before but couldn’t find ANY reverse flag patches in the same color scheme, either black with blue or silver with blue. I must also mention that competitor patches are not the same size as TGJ's, with the 3.5 inch width being more desirable for visibility. If the patches are shown on the same basic placement like mine are—right sleeve for the reverse flag with either front or back placement for the forward flag—then matching forward and reverse patches are more professional-looking. Thus, for the moment, if you got ‘dem old kosmic blues again for blue-themed flag patches—whether singularly forward or forward matched with reverse—you gotta try just a little bit harder and pay the higher price along with tolerating the chance of the “catch.”
