| |
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
|
Spectrum Brands Cutter Advanced Insect Repellant
Field Report
October 29, 2005
Tester Bio
Name: Anthony (TJ) Smith
Age: 30 years old
Gender: Male
Height: 5’10” (1.78 m)
Weight: 155 lbs (73 kg)
Email address: tjsmith1946@gmail.com
City, State, Country: Pensacola, Florida USA
Backpacking Background:
I have been camping for a little over 5 years now, mostly car camping. I have
recently begun backpacking, and I am constantly adding new gear to my “collection”
in an effort to get my gear list tailored more towards backpacking. Most of
my backpacking trips are short duration, not more than one or two nights. I
am planning some longer trips in the near future.
My current pack weight is around 15-20 lb (7-9 kg) without food and water, depending
on if I'm solo camping or taking my son along, as I have to carry some of his
gear. I am a dedicated hammock camper and have tailored my personal gear to
that aspect of camping.
Product Information
Manufacturer – Spectrum Brands
Manufacturer URL – www.spectrumbrands.com
Year of Manufacture – 2005
Stated Weight – 6 oz (170 g) Large Spray Bottle, 1 oz (28 g) Small Spray
Bottle
Weight as Delivered – 7-3/8 oz (208 g) Large Spray Bottle, 1-3/4 oz (50
g) Small Spray Bottle, 1/4 oz (6 g) Wipes (weight is including packaging)
Initial Information/Observations
Please see my Initial
Report for more information.
Testing
Date: August 24, 2005
Location: Jackson Red Ground Trail, Baker, Florida
Items tested: two packets of wipes.
Weather Conditions: Temperature range 85 F (29 C) to 94 F (34 C). Sunny throughout
the day, with no precipitation. I did not experience any wind stronger than
a very slight breeze during this trip. The humidity level was above 80% the
entire trip.
This trip was to conduct maintenance on a local hiking trail. The terrain varied
from pine forest to marshy swampland. I applied the repellant, using the wipes,
approximately 15 minutes before setting out on the trail. I did not experience
my usual insect problems while on the trail, until the very end of a 3.5 hour
work period. At this time, I experienced a single yellow fly that appeared attracted
to me. The rest of the period I did not experience any other insect problems.
Date: September 4-5, 2005
Location: Jackson Red Ground Trail, Baker, Florida
Items tested: 1 oz spray bottle.
Weather: Temperature 92 F (33 C) to 71 F (22 C), sunny, humidity 70%, wind was
less than 1 mph (1.6 kph) during the trip.
During this trip, I followed the directions and applied the product every 4
hours as indicated. Near the end of each application period, I noticed an increase
of insects (mosquitoes, gnats, and flies) in my vicinity. After reapplication,
the insects would dissipate from my area, only to return towards the end of
the application period.
Date: September 17, 2005
Location: Jackson Red Ground Trail, Baker, Florida
Item tested: 6 oz Spray Bottle
Weather: Temperature 82 F (28 C) to 94 F (34 C), sunny, humidity 30%, wind was
from calm to about 5 mph (8 kph) during the trip.
This trip was a day hike with a stop for lunch. The entire trip lasted approximately
3 hours, which is less than the 4 hour period for reapplication the directions
indicate. The product was used on both myself and my 6 year old son, and was
applied at the beginning of the trail. While applying the product, I found that
if the bottle is leaned too far to one side or the other that the product doesn't
come out in a spray, but more of a stream. While this may be beneficial when
spraying a small amount into my hand for rubbing onto the face of my son (which
the directions indicate also) it is a bit disconcerting to me when I'm applying
a mist to my legs and suddenly have a stream causing the product to run down
my leg.
One item of note in comparison to the 1 oz bottle is that this 6 oz bottle did
not have any discernable odor to me. The 1 oz bottle I used on the previous
trip listed had the odor of popcorn, the only odor I detected with this use
was the alcohol-base which dissipated upon contact with my skin.
About half way into this trip (approximately 1.5 hours) both my son and I started
to notice mosquitoes, gnats, and yellow flies starting to bother us a bit. By
the end of the 3 hour hike, the mosquitoes and gnats were beginning to bite,
but the yellow flies had not yet begun to. This would have still left another
hour before the reapplication time of the directions and I was glad that the
hike was over at that point. The packaging indicates that the product should
not be affected by sweating but I feel that may have been an issue since we
both were sweating quite profusely.
Date: October 1-2, 2005
Location: Jackson Red Ground Trail and Wiregrass Trail, Blackwater State Forest,
Florida
Items Tested: Wipes and 1 oz Bottle
Weather: Temperature ranged from a high of 89 F (31 C) to a low of 70 F (21
C), humidity ranged from 55% to 95%. Skies ranged from full sun to overcast.
Winds ranged from calm to 10 mph (16 kph).
As with previous uses of the wipes, this trip again required two wipes per application.
I have begun to notice the same "popcorn" smell when applying the
wipes that I had previously noted with the 1 oz spray bottles. When I initially
set out onto the trail, I did not apply any of the Spectrum Brands product to
judge how much of an insect problem I would encounter. About 2 hours into the
hike, I stopped and used my first application of the product due to a few nuisance
mosquitoes and flies. Within 1 hour of applying, I began to experience the insects
again bothering me. This left me 2 hours to deal with the bugs until the next
recommended application. I could not wait for the time to be up and be able
to reapply the product, hoping it would alleviate the insect issues. At the
3 hour mark, I again applied this time using the 1 oz spray bottle. Within minutes
I had relief from the bugs. This application lasted for about 5 hours, even
with me taking a swim about 3 hours after the application of the 1 oz spray.
At the end of that 5 hour period, I again began to be bugged by the bugs and
applied more of the wipes. This time the application lasted more than just an
hour, and I was still bug free at 8:30 when I retired for the night. The next
morning, upon rising from bed and climbing out of my hammock, I was almost immediately
assaulted by mosquitoes. I quickly reached for the 1 oz spray, and coated myself
with it. Ah, relief! Breakfast and breaking down camp followed, and then we
headed back out onto the trail. The trip back out took about 3 hours, and I
was not bothered by any insects for the time from the first application of the
morning until reaching the end of the hike about 5 hours later.
Date: October 14-16, 2005
Location: Various locations in Northwest Florida
Item Tested: 6 oz Spray Bottle
Weather: Temperature ranged from a high of 85 F (29 C) to a low of 59 F (15
C), humidity ranged from 55% to 95%. Skies remained clear and winds remained
calm throughout the weekend.
This trip was for the regional conference for the Florida Trail Association.
The main conference was held at an organized campground, and I stayed in a primitive
camping area. Trail activities occurred at several trail locations in Santa
Rosa and Okaloosa Counties in Northwest Florida. I used the spray at regular
intervals throughout the trip due to the abundance of active insects in the
area. I again experienced increasing numbers of insects bothering me the closer
to reapplication time I got, and by the time I could reapply felt as though
I had no protection left. The first day was a shorter day, so I was able to
keep below the listed maximum application per day. The second day, however,
I applied at 7 am upon waking up, then again at 10 am (three hours later), and
again at 1 pm (again three hours later.) Following the guidelines of not more
than three applications per day, this would have left the last application wearing
off at 4 pm. This is approaching dusk, when the insects come out in abundance.
I chose to step outside the recommendations and made a fourth application, which
protected me until 7 pm when the insects dissipated for the evening due to the
dropping temperatures. Had this been a typical night during the more active
insect season in this area, I would have probably required one more application
to finish out the evening before retiring to bed.
The last day of the trip I only required one application, when the temperatures
rose enough for the insects to become active. I departed for home before the
three hour period elapsed, and therefore did not require any additional applications
on this day.
Overall, this product continued to perform as it has previously, which lends to an expectation level that I am comfortable with. I have figured out by this point that the product works great when first applied, but as reapplication time approaches I will begin to notice an increase in insect activity around me.
Overall Impressions
Currently, I have a mixed impression of the Spectrum Brands Cutter Advanced.
The product is advertised as being odorless and non-greasy, which I agree with
and like. In the wipes and 1 oz spray bottles, the product has a smell that
is reminiscent of popcorn during application, which quickly disappears leaving
no discernable scent behind. When applying, there is a light wet film on my
skin, that also quickly disappears leaving no trace. The 1 oz spray bottle provides
an average of 10 applications with my usage. This provides me with what I feel
is an average coverage over my arms, legs, head, neck, and applied to my clothing.
During the use of the wipes, I have to use 2 wipes each application to get what
I feel is adequate coverage before the wipes dry out.
I have experienced protection relatively consistent with the product information,
with reapplication needed about every 3 hours or so. There have been occurrences
where I hoped I could reapply more frequently but for the sake of testing I
haven't. On the other hand, I have also experienced situations where the product
lasted longer than expected, even given exposure to water and humidity. This
could be attributed to lower insect populations except for the fact that hiking
companions were bothered by bugs while I was not.
Continued Test Plan
I will continue using the Spectrum Brands products on a variety of overnights,
day hikes, and trail maintenance activities for the remainder of the testing
period. Expected conditions during the remainder of the testing period will
be similar to those already experienced, with the exception of the temperatures
expected to range from the 70s F(40 C) to lows around 20 F (-7 C) at the coolest.
I do expect to continue encountering insects throughout the remainder of the
testing period as well.
I will continue to explore many of the issues outlined in my Initial
Report. Primary among these are how well the product lasts for the recommended
reapplication period, and how well the product appears to handle various weather
situations.
My thanks to Spectrum Brands and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test
these products.
Read more reviews of Spectrum Brands gear
Read more gear reviews by Anthony Smith
|
