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Adventure Medical Natrapel Insect
Repellent
Test Series by Kurt Papke
Initial Report
May 10, 2008
Tester Information
| Name: |
Kurt Papke |
| Age: |
54 |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
6' 4" (193 cm) |
| Weight: |
220 lb (100 kg) |
| Email address: |
kwpapke at gmail dot com |
| City, State, Country: |
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA |
Backpacking background: mostly in Minnesota - have hiked all of the
Superior
Hiking Trail, starting on the Border Route.
Preferred/typical backpack trip is one week. Dayhiking in
Utah,
Colorado and Oregon. Mostly Spring/Fall seasons.
Comfort-weight hiker: I try to carry as few items as possible, but do
not go to extremes to reduce weight of items carried. I try to do
most of my hiking in seasons where I avoid the worst of the bug
problems and minimize use of insect repellent, but living in Minnesota
mosquitoes are a part of life.
Initial Report
Product Information
| Manufacturer: |
Adventure Medical Kits
|
| Year of manufacture: |
2008 |
Expiration date:
|
Not labeled
|
| Manufacturer website: |
http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com |
| Listed volume (net contents): |
3.5 fl oz (104 ml)
|
| Weight as received: |
4.8 oz (134 g) 4.7 oz (131 g) [2 packages]
|
Package dimensions (measured):
|
6.4 x 2.1 x 1.1 inches (16.2 x
5.2 x 2.7 cm)
|
| MSRP: |
$5.99 US per package
|
Product Description
 Natrapel is packaged in a
tall slender pump spray bottle with a removable cap that protects the
pump from inadvertent dispensing. The active ingredient is
Picaridin, which the product labelling claims is "proven as effective
as DEET" for eight hours of protection. According to the
Wikipedia page on Icaridin (apparently the chemical manufacturers name
for Picaridin) the World Health Organization also claims it
"demonstrates excellent repellent
properties comparable to, and often superior to, those of the standard
DEET". The article also claims Icaridin as opposed to DEET has
less irritation and does not dissolve plastics, both features I would
greatly appreciate if true.
The article claims Icaridin is both colorless and odorless, though a
test spray on the back of my wrist indicated a fresh smell that does
linger. The product label indicates that the contents are 80% inert
ingredients but does not state what those ingredients are.
The labelling claims eight hours of effectiveness and recommends
against more than two applications per day, which should cover a full
hiking day. If I do not achieve eight hours of protection, I will
have to decide whether or not to push the application limit.
Initial Impressions
Packaging: weighing in
at almost 5 oz (140 g) this is more heft for bug dope than I would
ordinarily carry. The bottle fits comfortably in my hand, and the
shape is conducive to use of the pump spray. I was able to use
the pump without any finger contortions or excessive force. The
cap presents quite a bit of resistance to remove - there are mating
ridges on the bottle and cap that keep the cap from falling off, but
also require a fair bit of force to overcome. Replacing the cap
is a bit easier, it easily pops back on. I find the packaging
colors to be pleasant. The bottle is quite large, and would not
fit in many pack hipbelt pockets, nor would I find it comfortable to
carry in pants or shirt pockets.
The "directions for use" on the back of the bottle are somewhat hard to
read. As can be seen from the picture above a very small typeface
is used. I can hardly read the text even with my reading glasses
on. The section headings of the directions are all set in a light green color that has
very poor contrast against the white bottle, making it almost
impossible to read these lines.
Pump spray action: the
pump required three presses to prime. Each finger press produces
a nice fine mist with good dispersion which traveled about 18 inches
(46 cm) in quiet air. I found that by holding the spray head
about 4 inches (10 cm) from my hand [bottle labelling recommends 4-6
inches (10-15 cm)] I could get coverage of an area of about the same
diameter as the distance. Unscrewing the pump head from the
bottle revealed a feed tube that extends to the bottom of the bottle,
so I should be able to utilize the spray for the entire contents as
long as the bottle is held in an upright position.
Fragrance: as
mentioned previously Natrapel has what I would term a "fresh" scent,
reminiscent of eucalyptus. The scent does not disperse quickly.
Skin feel: after
application to the back of my wrist and allowing for time to dry I
could notice a sheen to my skin when held up to a light. Rubbing
a finger over the applied area gave a very faint sticky/oily
sensation. I noticed after doing this that my test fingers also
had a bit of a sticky feel, so apparently there is some dry transfer of
the substance.
Unfortunately from the time the Natrapel arrived to the time of writing
of this initial report the mosquito season had not yet begun, so I was
unable to do any preliminary effectiveness testing.
Test Plan
I have
plans for a week-long May trek through the Boundary Waters (Border
Route
Trail) and a segment of the Superior Hiking Trail (about 120
miles). I will attempt to assess:
- Usability: how easy is it to pack the Natrapel bottle on my
person or pack?
How easy is it to remove the cap and use the pump in the bush?
How easily can I transfer Natrapel sprayed into my hand onto my face
and ears?
- Reliability & robustness: does the pump clog? Does the
spray mechanism continue to work while dispensing the entire contents?
- Functionality: how effective is Natrapel at repelling mosquitoes
and possibly ticks? Hopefully this trip will precede the
notorious black fly season and I will not have the chance to test its
use against them, though the Adventure Medical website claims black fly
effectiveness. Does it really work for eight hours?
- Aesthetics: how do I like the odor after a week of use?
Does it start to become objectionable? Does the odor wash off
from my clothing and sleeping bag after my trip?
- Quantity/sizing: how much of the bottle do I consume on a
one-week trip? Do I run out?
- Adverse effects: is there any irritation from repeated use?
Any burning of the eyes, nose or mouth? Any noticeable
degradation of any of my plastic-based (polyester, nylon, etc.)
clothing?
This concludes my Initial Report on Adventure Medical Natrapel.
The Field Report will be appended to this document in about 3 months.
Many thanks to Adventure Medical Kits and BackpackGearTest.org for the
opportunity to
test this product.
Read more reviews of Adventure Medical Kits gear
Read more gear reviews by Kurt Papke
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