OWNER REVIEW

BullFrog “The Quik Gel” Sunblock
Richard Lyon
July 17, 2006

 

Personal Details and Backpacking Background

Male, 60 years old
Height: 6' 4" (1.91 m)
Weight: 200 lb (91 kg)
Email address: rlyon AT gibsondunn DOT com
Home: Dallas, Texas USA

I've been backpacking for 45 years on and off, and regularly in the Rockies since 1986.  I do a weeklong trip every summer, and often take three-day trips.  I'm usually camping in alpine terrain, at altitudes 5000 to 13000 ft (1500 - 4000 m).  I prefer base camp backpacking, a long hike in with day trips from camp, but I do my share of forced marches too.  Though always looking for ways to lighten up, I'm not yet a lightweight hiker and I usually choose a bit more weight over foregoing camp conveniences I've come to expect.

Product: Details

Amphibious Formula BullFrog Quik Gel is a sunblock gel said by its maker to be “Waterproof ·Sweatproof UVA/UVB Protection ·Dries Instantly.”

Manufacturer: Chattem, Inc. (www.chattem.com) The photo to the right and all quotations in this review come from this website.
Year of manufacture: 2006
Year of purchase: 2006
MSRP: None listed on the website.
Active Ingredients (from the bottle): Octinoxate 7.5%; Octisalate 5%; Octocrylene 10%; Oxybenzone 6%. (I have no idea what any of these compounds is.)
Net contents (per product label): 5 oz (148 ml)
Measured weight (including plastic flask):  7 oz (198 g)
Packed size, as measured: The flask is 4.8 in (12.2 cm) high, not including the spout.
SPF Rating: 36 

Related Products: Quik Gel is also available in a spray bottle and in an individual-size foil packet. A related product in stick form is called "Quik Stick."  BullFrog also sells SuperBlock lotion (SPF 45) and spray lotion (SPF 40), Extreme Sport Lotion (SPF 36), and several types of Kids UV Defender Sunblock products.

Why I Use It

I am a fair-skinned former redhead, and all my life I’ve been prone to sunburn.  On doctors’ orders and my own desire to reduce cancer risk and discomfort from sunburn I wear sunblock whenever I expect to be outdoors for any extended period.  This means fishing days, hiking days, ski days, backpacking trips, swimming, visits to the local dog park, and daytime spectator sports like baseball or golf.  I use sunblock in all seasons and all day long when I’m outdoors, and I normally choose the highest SPF rating I can find.  I'm careful to use it and careful to apply it.  In this review I explain why BullFrog has been my brand of choice for many years and the Quik Gel version my favorite flavor.

This isn’t a scientific review.  I’m not a scientist and I’m not particularly interested in how different sunblocks work, or, until medical science announces noxious effects from a particular ingredient, what’s in one product or another.  I’m looking primarily for two things – preventing the sun’s harmful effects (sunburn and worse), and staying power (how frequently must I apply the product).  

Field Conditions

All conditions, all seasons.  In the past year I've worn BullFrog at temperatures from - 20 F (- 29 C) while skiing to over 100 F (38 C) while hiking, at altitudes from sea level to 11000 feet (3400 m).  I keep a bottle in my fishing vest and my ski pack, in my pocket on hiking days, in the console of my car, and in the closet at home.  I am especially careful to wear sunblock at high altitudes and, because of reflected glare, while skiing or fishing.  On a day when I've scheduled an outdoor activity I put a coating on exposed areas before starting out, as recommended by Chattem and my doctor; that's just after breakfast on most backpacking days.  Although Chattem says a dosage lasts for eight hours, I normally re-apply BullFrog to my face after lunch.  BullFrog is easy to apply; I just squeeze a small dab from the bottle onto my finger and rub it into my skin.  Any residue is gone after five minutes or so.

Why I Like It

Why BullFrog? First and foremost, because it's given the best protection of any product I've used.  I simply don't get a sunburn when I apply it properly.  On an especially windy day I'll have some color from the wind for a few hours after sunset, but no warming sensation and it's gone by next morning.  This stuff works.

BullFrog also has the most endurance of any sunblock I have used; it really does last all day, even when I forget to re-apply more after lunch.  And that holds true after stream fords, a day of fly fishing in shorts and sandals, or a 100 F (38 C) day when my hat and face are soaked with sweat.  (Of course, in these conditions there's a natural reminder to keep re-applying, so maybe it's not just the product.  I said that this wasn't a scientific review.) 

BullFrog has a faint chemical smell when I apply it to my face.  Any odor has vanished after the five minutes it takes to set.  I prefer this brief chemical aroma to the heavier fragrances promoted as an advantage in skin creams and sunburn lotions.

Perhaps the strongest reason I've stuck with BullFrog rather than sample competing products is that BullFrog is greaseless.   It has the viscosity and feel of a shaving gel as I apply it, but after it's absorbed I rarely notice that it's there.  It is not oily or greasy and hence doesn't give me the sticky feeling that I've found with other sunblocks.  In consequence I've had much less trouble with the sunblock dripping into my eyes, from sweat or water.  All of these observations apply equally to Quik Gel gel or spray.  (I prefer the gel because it's more substantial and I can be more certain that I've applied it.) 

What I'd like to See Improved

Occasionally I do get it into an eye, from heavy perspiration shortly after applying it, or simple carelessness in smearing it on my face, and it really stings.  One of those unpronounceable active ingredients (or "SD alcohol," which is listed as an inactive ingredient) packs a wallop.   It's also difficult to flush out of an eye; it seems to adhere more quickly and more tenaciously than other products.

Quik Gel has an unpleasant taste, certainly unpleasant enough so that I don't use it on my lips.  And instructions on the flask recommend a poison control center if it's swallowed.  So I must also carry a lip balm.  (The Quik Stick is relatively new to the product line and is advertised specifically for use on lips.  Perhaps there's something else in that version.)

Occasionally at very low temperatures (well below 0 F/-18 C) or after a flask has been unused for an extended period (accidentally leaving it in my ski suit after the last ski of the year, for example) some of the gel will congeal to the point where it's difficult to apply.  This can also block the small hole in the spout, requiring some clean-out with a needle.

I haven't done any comparison shopping but Quik Gel tends to be more expensive than competing sunblocks in the stores where I purchase it.  I'm prepared to pay a premium, however, for BullFrog's splendid performance.