How to Choose Hiking Gear that will Protect you from Bugs & the Sun

Video Transcript

"Hi, I’m Kate I’m here with Zoar Outdoor on behalf of Expert Village and we’re going to talk about hiking today. Okay we’re going to be talking about sun and bug protection. Those two things are very important for your well being for the day. You definitely always want to wear some sunscreen, SPF30 is great, your face, your neck, anything that is exposed. Mainly your neck, your face and your ears, don’t forget about your neck. You can also wear a bandana over your neck which will keep the sun off your neck. They have sun proof shirts that are suppose to be great for hiking in, you should be wearing hats and eye protection because sun can do damage to your skin and to your eyes especially if you’re walking around water. The most annoying part about your hike for today will probably be the bugs. There are several options you can use for bugs, you can either use a bug net, this will go over your face and your neck, pretty much the top part of your body, that’ll keep more bugs away still a little annoying, possibly. You can also use bug spray, there’s Deet, there’s family skin kids stuff, it doesn’t necessarily have deet and this one definitely has no deet. It’s your call which of these feel best but you don’t want to attract any West Nile Virus or anything else from bugs. They make herbal remedies for bug spray, they smell a little funny but they work just as well. I also found that if you use a dryer sheet anywhere on the back of your body, the bugs don’t necessarily like the smell, you might get sick of the smell though. Anything to keep the bugs away from you, they will be the biggest pest. So when you do go out for your hiking in your backpack you should have sunscreen, sunglasses, possibly a bandana and definitely bug spray."