In this review the item was free and I get a commission for sales from the link in the blog but you will pay the same price as you would otherwise. Thankyou for helping to support the site.
Ranger Ready have a range of insect repellents with a choice of scents and versions for yourself and your clothing. If you aren’t a fan of DEET based products with their greasy feel and tent melting spray then the choice of clothing treatment and body spray insect repellents will make a big difference to being in the woods. I’m a fan of the small lightweight option bottles that keep weight down too.
In depth Review
On my Fastest Known Time on the New England Trail I had some tough decisions to make on my third day due to the heat. I chose to ditch anything that wasn’t essential to save weight. One of the easier decisions was throwing away my Cutter Backwoods insect repellent. I was absolutely swarming in black flies in the woods and this spray did nothing to help other than melt my sunglasses and make my eyes sting. I’ve said this a number of times in interviews and podcasts…. products with DEET in just don’t seem to work and anything that literally melts your tent if you spray it on it by mistake raises some doubts about how good it is for your skin.
If like me you hate DEET products then its time to talk about Picardin which is the main ingredient for Ranger Ready who are a company based very close to me in Norwalk Connecticut.
If you hate DEETs ability to melt every piece of camping gear you own while not actually repelling anything you will find the Ranger Ready sprays a welcome relief
The Sciencey Bit
As an outdoor person and science teacher my first action when I got my hands on the Ranger Ready range was to look at what the ingredients were. With relief I saw that there is no DEET or ‘75% other ingredients’ ( I’m not kidding that’s what it says on Cutter Backwoods) but instead had Picardin and Permethrin as the options.
I’ve already heard good things about friends getting clothing treated in Permethrin and its long lasting insect repellent effects and was keen to see if the Picardin option for my skin was effective at actually repelling insects as well as avoiding the plastic melting and greasy skin feel of DEET.
Seeking out the Ouchy
I have a pond in the woods behind my garden I have lovingly named ‘Lake McCaffrey’ after a good friend. In the summer this becomes a haven for flying insects and often in the evenings I get badly bitten on the ankles when I’m nearby. It was the perfect place to test all the products.
In the spirit of suffering for science I did some yardwork for a few hours near the pond and tried Cutter Backwoods sprayed on one ankle and nothing on the other. I found little difference over a few hours and both ended up with a few bites. I then tried Ranger Ready the next day in the same area and found that my bare ankle again got some bites but the other ankle got none over a few hours.
Is this deeply scientific ? Well not really but I can tell you that this is the first time in a long time I’ve started wearing bug spray again and I don’t have to have my poor wife suffer the indignity of checking me for ticks every evening.
Bugproofing Clothing and Gear
As a ‘belt and braces’ approach it makes sense to coat your clothing in their Permethrin spray too, especially t shirts and socks and hats but I also sprayed it over a hammock tent I have to help also keep insects away from me at night. I haven’t yet had the product for 40 days but the claim is that this lasts well beyond the first day so this will particularly suit thru hikers and people on multi day adventures.
A Bug Spray that smells OK?
Ok so lets be real here. These don’t smell like the latest Hugo Boss scent for men or a sweet Amber based perfume from Givenchy but they smell a damn sight better than existing bug spray. The Orange option smells fine and the Amber option actually smells pretty nice, more like a suncream smell than a ‘keeping bugs away from me’ smell. There is even a ‘scent zero’ option that genuinely doesn’t smell of anything. The ‘Night Sky’ option is more musky and smells like a mens aftershave to me.
No more ‘greasy feel’
DEET based sprays have a tendency to feel very greasy on the skin whereas I found the Ranger Ready sprays to feel light and watery and not leave any feel of a residue.
Verdict
Ranger Ready have a range of insect repellents with a choice of scents and versions for yourself and your clothing. If you aren’t a fan of DEET based products with their greasy feel and tent melting spray then the choice of clothing treatment and body spray insect repellents will make a big difference to being in the woods. I’m a fan of the small lightweight option bottles that keep weight down too.
BUY $13Specs
BODY-WORN REPELLENT | Picaridin is a synthetic compound derived from the natural compound piperine, found in the group of plants used to produce black pepper. It was developed in the 1980s by German Scientists looking for a safer, yet equally effective alternative to DEET. Unlike DEET, Picaridin Insect Repellent can be safely applied to the skin, and does not damage clothing or gear. Ranger Ready Picardin 20% protects from ticks and mosquitoes for 12 hours and other biting insects for 8 hours.
CLOTHING-WORN REPELLENT | Permethrin is an insecticide in the pyrethroid family. Pyrethroids – synthetic chemicals that act like natural extracts from the chrysanthemum flower – kill insects upon contact. Designed to treat clothing and gear. Ranger Ready Permethrin 0.5% lasts up to 40 days or 5 washes.
About Ranger Ready
Ranger Ready was invented in Norwalk, Connecticut, just south of the epicenter of Lyme disease. Ranger Ready products are proudly made in the U.S., using local family-owned businesses. Ranger Ready bottles and packaging are 100% recyclable.
We put our fans first and strive to always deliver 5-star customer service.
