 All Terrain
Recovery Rub
Temporary relief from aching muscles, joints, and arthritis pain.
Andrew Buskov
Initial Report: October 7, 2009
Long Term Report: January 18, 2010
Tester
Biographical Information
| Name: |
Andrew Buskov |
| Age: |
34 |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight: |
223 lbs (101 kg) |
| Email: |
Rescue(at)Corridor9(dot)net |
| City, State Zip |
Madisonville, Kentucky
USA |
Backpacking Background:
I’ve been backpacking for years now,
and have
slowly started
developing my ideal style. I’ve gotten my pack weight down to roughly
25 – 30
lbs (11.3 - 13.6 kg) before water, and am whittling it down every hike. Day hiking is
nice, but
getting out over multiple nights is really what I enjoy. I like to take
my
time and enjoy the scenery as opposed to hiking hard. I also like being
comfortable and insist on an air mattress. I usually tent or hammock,
but stay in shelters when needed.
Product
Information:
| Item: |
Recovery Rub
|
| Manufacturer: |
All Terrain
|
| Website |
http://www.allterrainco.com/
|
| Year of Manufacture: |
2009
|
| MSRP: |
$9.99
|
| Listed Weight: |
3.0 fl oz (90 ml)
|
 Product
Overview:
(From Label & Website)
The All
Terrain Recovery Rub is designed to give temporary relief from
sore muscle and joint pain. It quickly provides cool penetrating
relief, using all natural ingredients. Some additional uses include
pain associated with: bruises, sprains, strains, arthritis, and the
simple backache.
Some of the warnings include not to apply this
product to open wounds or damaged skin, near the eyes or mucous
membranes, and not to use it with heating pads. Additional warnings
include consulting a doctor if your condition worsens, a rash develops,
or if symptoms worsen over a period of 7 days.
Active Ingredients include: Menthol 5%
Inactive ingredients include:
Arnica (Arnica Cordifolia) Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides,
Caprylyl Glycol, Ceteareth-20, Cetyl Alcohol, Cinnamon (Cinnamomum
Zeylanicum) Leaf Oil, Citric Acid, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Kava Kava
(Piper Methysticum) Extract, Olive (Olea Europaea) Oil, Sweet Almond
(Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis) Oil, Sweet Clover (Melilotus Officinalis)
Leaf Extract, Shea (Butyrospermum Parkil) Butter, Steareth-2, Water,
1,2 Hexanediol.
Initial Impression:
This product came in a retail paper box which included various facts
about the use of this product, the warnings, and the directions for
use. Inside the box was 3 oz (90 ml) of white cream in a plastic
squeeze tube. The top was a flip style cap that was easy to open, and
the tube was quite full as the product started gushing out as soon as
I opened the cap.
The
cream has smells a bit like the vapor rub that my mother used to put on
my chest when I was a child and had problems breathing. It comes out of
the tube relatively easy, but didn't continue to flow out after I
stopped squeezing. My first use came after a relatively short dayhike
in Rocky Mountain National Park. I had a catch in my calf that just
wasn't working itself out so I decided to give the Recovery Rub a try.
I
squeezed about a palm size amount of the Recovery Rub into my hand and
rubbed it generously against my lower calf. In the beginning I
didn't notice too any change in my calf; no heating, cooling, or relief
was noted for quite a while. It wasn't until after roughly 15 minutes
that I actually started feeling a bit of heat on my calf. It was nice
not to have an overabundance of heat as I would receive with some of
the sports medicine rubs available on the market. However, I would have
liked to feel that it was working sooner than 15 minutes after
application.
In the end, it did seem to help my calf loosen up a
bit. The smell wasn't overly noxious, nor was the residue left on my
hands greasy feeling. The relief was noticeable, and the rub did seem
to work over a period of time. I was glad to have this with me during
my dayhike, but am curious about the weight to relief ratio when taking
this on backpacking trips. I'll definitely be testing this over the
next few months.
I'd like to thank BackpackGearTest.org and All Terrain for
allowing me to
participate in this test.
Long Term Report: January 18, 2010
Field Information:During
the past number of months, I have been able to use most of the All
Terrain Recovery Rub. In total, I've probably used it about 15 times
for various reasons. A number of those were for after hike rubs on my
legs and ankles. I found that my legs got a bit more tired out after
some of my hikes this season than they did last season. I'm hoping this
is not a trend, but as I age I'm finding that things are hurting more
now than before. Definitely not a good sign, but something I have to
live with. I was also able to use this rub on my back and shoulders a
couple of times after I was injured at work. Nothing serious, but after
a few good house fires, there's bound to be some tired muscles.
Final Impressions:I
have to say that I am impressed with the All Terrain Recovery Rub. The
packaging states clearly that it relieves "sore muscles, joints, and
arthritis pain", and while I don't have arthritis I can say that it
does indeed live up to the claims made. As with before, each time I
applied the Recovery Rub, I didn't notice too much change right off the
bat. Even after knowing that it would take a while, I was still
surprised when the cooling started to take effect. Then the feeling of
heat began to take effect and my muscles started relaxing and feeling
better as the rub worked for a number of minutes.
One thing that
did seem a bit strange though was the sensation of cooling and heating.
I didn't notice anything the first few times that I used it because I
really didn't know what to expect. However, after a few times I noticed
that I received different sensations during different times. For
example, when I was hot after the house fire I received a sensation of
cooling first. However, when I was rubbing down my ankle after a day
hike I felt a heating sensation first. I am not sitting here saying
that the effect changes depending on the body part the rub is applied
to, but am more saying that maybe body heat and perspiration would have
a different effect on how the cream works. Quite honestly though, this
is just a guess as I'm not really sure what conditions are needed for
the different sensations to occur.
As with before, the smell
wasn't out of the ordinary, and I actually grew to like it over the
course of the testing period. I did find that it helped to clear my
nose a bit after one of the hikes I took in cold and damp weather. A
nice bit of relief after having to mouth breathe the whole way home. I
did find out that I was left with a bit of a greasy feeling if I didn't
completely distribute the rub during application. Not something I
usually do, but I was forced to hurry one day and really noticed it
when I got in the Jeep to head out. It was fairly easy to alleviate the
problem with a few swipes on my pants, but definitely something I made
sure didn't happen again.
I found that I tended not to carry the
Recovery Rub with me on trail much though. While I did pack it a few
times and use it, the relief I received wasn't immediate enough for me
to justify the weight. This was especially true when I was day hiking
with a smaller pack. It was just easier for me to apply the rub prior
to my return trip home.
In closing, while this product did work
as expected I found that it wasn't quick enough for my tastes. I prefer
something that has a quicker heating & cooling effect. I will
continue to use this product as long as I own it, but will have to
think seriously about purchasing another bottle after I run out.
I'd like to thank BackpackGearTest.org and All Terrain for allowing me to participate in testing the Recovery Rub.
Read more reviews of All Terrain gear
Read more gear reviews by Andrew Buskov
|
