High Sierra Topix

Last weekend this was my attempt:

I took the family to Chilikoot Campground this weekend for 2 nights. Its far from water and fairly low elevation so the mosquitos werent unbearable. They were present though and I made a point of trying a variety of things. After each swim in the creek I tried a different product.

Most effective was Joes 99% DEET. But its oily nasty stuff and it actually started to melt my girlfriends hair clip! For some reason this worked noticeably better than Repel 99% DEET which has proven on multiple trips to be worthless. I have no idea what the difference is.

Almost as effective was Sawyers 20% Picaridin in the tiny pocket sized bottle. Its not as smelly or toxic and doesnt leave that nasty film on your skin. I find it takes awhile to become effective so apply early. And doesnt seem to last as long as deet so u need to reapply.

Others products used, OFF Deep Woods deet free (worthless) Bug'n'Sun 20% deet (worthless)

So im becoming an advocate of: sleeves+campfire+picaridin+proper location


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FeetFirst wrote:Last weekend this was my attempt:

Im gonna bring one of those on the next trip. How did it work out? Was it annoying to wear?

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Headnets arent annoying at all if you have a hat on. I dont leave home without it. Get a green one. The black ones seem harder to see through.

Im curious that your 99% deet didnt work?? Must have been defective. Deet has always worked wonders for me.

sparky wrote:Headnets arent annoying at all if you have a hat on. I dont leave home without it. Get a green one. The black ones seem harder to see through.

Im curious that your 99% deet didnt work?? Must have been defective. Deet has always worked wonders for me.

Yeah I was suprised too. Its actually 98.11% but thay shouldnt matter. Ive taken this bottle on a few trips as backup and its always disappointed me so im tossing it.



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An interesting article about DEET. According to this the DEET concentration in a product may not be as significant as I thought.

http://www.nrdc.org/thisgreenlife/1006.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At any rate I think im done with DEET as a go-to. Ill continue to carry a small bottle for those days when the skeeters are just out of control. But I think ill stick with 20% Picaridin products for regular usage.

The health issues, the oily film, the smell, the possibility of melting stuff! Its just too much. I imagine in the future people will look back at using DEET against bugs and laugh, the same way we now look at using Asbestos in construction.


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Anyone tried these yet?

http://www.mosquitnoband.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I backpacked with an REI employee last weekend. He brought Picardin, DEET, and one other I can't remember. DEET was the clear winner. Picardin was close to worthless - they still hovered and some of them bit. Which jives with my previous attempts to find alternates. Eucaliptis junk or citronella bothered me more than the bugs.

None of them work against biting flies, which were out and biting every afternoon.

Clothes and a headnet trump it all.

I use 30% DEET sparingly on the backs of hands, and clothing and a headnet.

In the future, gene therapy might be the best avoidance technique.
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science ... an-others/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Im gonna bring one of those on the next trip. How did it work out? Was it annoying to wear?

A head net doesn't really bother me; much less than mosquitoes! I agree that you should use it with a hat, the bigger the better, so the netting stays as far as possible from your skin. This along with long sleeves and pants keeps me sane. I still use a bit of DEET (3M Ultrathon has been the best for me) when needed, which is usually early morning and early evening when I'm not moving on the trail yet.