Gear Qs about next weekend: pesky skeeters!

[Matthewkphx]

Agreed, hiking pair-mosquito season would be great however I am available to hike this weekend. My question was about gear... What I think I'm hearing you all say is to go expecting mosquitos. I think I'll take the Notch and since that means I'm taking my Circuit pack I'll bring a couple of shirt options.

I'm hiking in the Sierra again in September. I'll go more lightweight then.

Thanks again for the responses.

[rlown]

what i found successful when in Mosquito hell is to have an undershirt (poly) and then an overshirt (long sleeved cotton).. worked well. YMMV. and lots of Deet. good luck.

[Ska-T]

I should have mentioned that I don't use DEET

I quoted you to demonstrate that I read what you wrote, although you didn't say why you don't use DEET. At any rate, I agree with SSSdave that after you cover up with long pants, a long sleeved shirt, and a hat that usually the back of your hands and your face are still exposed when, for example, you have to eat and your headnet is removed. A little DEET completes the protection.

However, personally I find 100% DEET way too oily for my tastes. I use 3M Ultrathon, which is a cream (or thick lotion) containing 34% DEET. It is not nearly as oily as 100% DEET and according to experiments is just as effective as 100% DEET. Many sporting goods stores carry it now including REI. I believe Sawyer has a similar product, perhaps it is Ultra 30 Controlled Release Insect Repellent.

Since you are a LW backpacker you won't want to carry the whole heavy and necessarily large 60 ml tube. That is enough to last a lifetime. I repackage my Ultrathon into a small container. Typically I use about 300 microliters or less per application (about 1/16 of a tsp). For any given trip I don't remember having to use more than 1/2 tsp total. For peace of mind take 1 tsp.

[Matthewkphx]

Ska-T - I don't use DEET for lots of reasons. Mostly I don't like putting stuff on my skin. It feels icky. I wear long sleeves and sun gloves rather than sunscreen. I'm not particularly excited about the toxicity of DEET or its ability to degrade synthetic materials either.