Sun Protection

Featured review by G00se

When you think of Sawyer, you probably are thinking “water filters.” My first thought when I saw Sawyer was selling a sunscreen was, “It can’t be very good. Companies should stick to what they know.” However, after a summer of use, I strongly assert Sawyer’s “Stay Put” SPF 30 Sunscreen is the best sun protection product I have ever used.

When Trailspace honored me as the Reviewer of the Month in May 2016, they sent me a prize package made up of the “10 Essentials.” Included in the package was a 1oz. tube of Stay Put SPF30. I didn’t plan to use it. As a red-headed Scotsman (wish I had the accent), I am all too familiar with sunburns. Too often I have found myself hurting from a day in the outdoors. I do not tan. I burn, peel, then burn again. So the only SPF level I touch is SPF50, the highest legitimate level made.

Read more: Sawyer Stay-Put Sunscreen SPF 30 reviews (2)

Reviewed by Andrew F.

Sun protection that keeps you from getting fried and that truly does not wash or sweat off. Broad spectrum, doesn't irritate skin (hypoallergenic). It isn't greasy or sticky and has no odor. Wish it were more readily available.

UPDATE July 2018: I still regularly use Rocky Mountain Sunscreen. They no longer sell SPF 70; we get a quart pump bottle of SPF 50, and that lasts about two years for our family. Active ingredients are avobenzone, homosalate, and octocrylene. [note that oxybenzone are no longer on the menu—it is regarded among those who care as a potentially bad chemical to apply to one's skin, though I don't think there is adequate research to definitively draw that conclusion]. So, it doesn't include the chemical that is drawing the most suspicion, and literature I have read suggests that these chemicals carry a low to moderate risk of being endocrine disruptors.

Read more: Rocky Mountain Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 70 review (1)

Reviewed by Andrew F.

I have been using Badger sunscreen this summer as an alternative to more chemically-based sun protection. It definitely does the job of keeping you from getting burned, and it doesn't have nanoparticles or potentially carcinogenic chemical agents. It also doesn't easy wash, rub, or sweat off. On the downside, it is very thick and not so easy to apply, and it can make you look like a ghost. Also, removal requires some scrubbing.

My go-to sunscreen, which works extremely well, apparently isn't so great for me or the environment. In particular, I read that sunscreens that employ nanoparticles and chemicals are wreaking havoc on reef systems. In the interest of not contributing to reef damage or other water contamination this summer, I set out to find a healthier alternative.  Badger's Sport SPF 35 Sunscreen keeps your skin from burning with all-natural, 98% organic, biodegradable, reef-safe ingredients. The active ingredient is zinc oxide.

Read more: Badger Sport Broad Spectrum SPF 35 Sunscreen review (1)