Sawyer Picaridin Insect Repellent - 3 oz.
Sawyer Premium Picaridin insect repellent (also known as the "Fisherman's Formula") provides up to 8 hrs. of protection from mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, gnats, chiggers and fleas.
- Picaridin is an effective alternative to DEET that provides long-lasting protection and won't damage your gear
- Application is simple with spray pump bottle
- Meets airline carry-on baggage requirements
Made in USA.
View all Sawyer Bug Spray| Best Use | Backpacking Hiking Camping |
|---|---|
| Active Ingredient(s) | Picaridin (20%) |
| Effective Duration | 8 hours |
| Volume | 3 fluid ounces |
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Works better than I expected!
Used this on a 2-day backpacking trip in WV, and absolutely loved it. It was easy to apply, and while it did have a slight odor when spraying, it was not nearly as bad as the aerosol-based spray my buddy was using. When doubled with Sawyer's Clothing Treatment, I found not a single tick or bug on me the entire weekend. I did reapply a light spray on my exposed arms, legs, neck, and face after several hours of moderate sweating, as it was a pretty humid day and a really buggy area. As soon as I did, the gnats would back off as if blocked by a wall. They would still swarm, but wouldn't come much closer than three feet or so to my face. All in all, a great product!
Good prodcut, poor packaging
I bought this because I wanted an insect repellent that would not harm any of my backpacking gear (mesh, nylon, polyester, spandex, etc). The product itself worked well at deterring insects and I didn't notice any discoloring/ integrity issues on any fabric which it was used. The only reason this would not get 5 stars is because of the slightly leaky bottle. The bottle has a small snap on cap directly over the spray nozzle and a secondary snap on cap over that. I thought this was a good idea to prevent leaks, but I still had issues with the bottle leaky a small amount when stored sideways in the waterproof portion of my pack.
Not One Bite During Six Days in WY in August
Based on reviews I read in my trustworthy consumer magazine, I bought six bottles of this from REI, one 3 oz. bottle for each member of my party (four adult kids and a nephew) to be used during a six day backpacking trip Aug. 9-14, 2015, in Wind River Range in Wyoming. I sprayed this on in the morning and again in the late afternoon/early evening. Did touch-up on hands and face every so often. I did not get a single mosquito bite. I usually get eaten up. Everybody else was remarking about how well it worked.
Repelled bugs completely, packaging is terrible.
Every year I get eaten ALIVE by bugs. This spray worked really well at repelling mosquitos while camping and hiking, it went on in a thin layer that wasn't too tacky and didn't have a strong smell which I liked. I also appreciated the double lid that kept the bottle from leaking repellent in my hiking pack. BUT. The spray action on this bottle is truly terrible and just dribbles repellent out in a really messy application. I decanted it into another spray bottle that works better and is much cleaner. Plus all the ink on the label came off and stained hands and clothing during the first application as well. Verdict: 10/10 for repelling bugs. 2/10 packaging.
It works.
This worked GREAT! We went to Vietnam, and I didn’t get bit once. My husband who hates putting on anything sticky (Deet/sunblock, etc) LOVED this. It worked. He was skeptical at first, so he got bitten twice. He changed his mind and decided to give this a try, and wasn’t bitten for the rest of the trip. This thing has a light scent at first, but it goes away pretty quick and dries up without leaving a residue. It didn’t stain our clothes either. I had it in my carry on, and didn’t have any problem going thru TSA. I’m a big deet fan because it works, but this is a good alternative, sans staining my clothes, chewing through my nail polish, and leaving a residue like deet does.
This is the Real Deal
I used this in the Andes when I was hiking the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. Three of the five days have mosquitoes, including yellow fever-carrying species for one of the days, so I was really hoping this stuff worked. It seemed like everyone else had different brands or types of mosquito repellant, including smoke machines, OFF! lotion, and special soap. Everyone else got bites when they were wearing their repellent. One day, I forgot to put in on my feet when I wore sandals and my feet were eaten up. This repellent sprayed over my exposed body as well as long-sleeve shirts and pants helped me stay bite-free, otherwise.
No Match for Mosquitoes in Paraguay
I normally don't use bug spray as it almost never seems to work for me, but decided to give this stuff a try since I knew I was entering a mosquito war zone in South America. I give it 2 stars for the lack of smell and typical bug repellent icky feeling. Unfortunately, it's no match for the mosquitoes that inhabit the forest & wetlands of Paraguay. It didn't even slow them down. Though, to be fair, neither did long sleeves, pants, and thick socks. I'll test it out on the bugs in the Pantanal in Brazil next month. However, I'm keeping my expectations low as it seems the mosquitoes down here are just "built different". The attached photo shows the results of them biting through the long-sleeve sun shirt I had on over the t-shirt.
Stains clothing
I’m in Uganda- it seems to be doing ok with the bugs, though I have a few bites, but it has stained all of my clothing, despite saying it “won’t harm harm gear and equipment.” Don’t get it on anything you want to ever wear again and be prepared to spend the day with stains if you spray it before you go out.
May not work everywhere
I bought this product to use against mosquitos and didn't want to use deet. While hiking in a known mosquito area with lots of small lakes and snow melt, my party applied this repellent. While it may have reduced the amount of mosquitos attracted to us, it certainly did not provide much repelling power. Even simply staying still for photo ops proved impossible due to the amount of mosquito swarms we were in. I want to stay away from deet as much as possible, but after getting bitten so many times with this product, I may rethink my plans. At one time I had more than 15 mosquitos on me. After swatting some and having my hands turn red from blood I realized that this product and my party were over matched. Mosquitos - 1, humans with this product - 0.
Works Super Good and Isn't Greasy Like Deet
This stuff definitely works great...I can say its absolutely on par with Deet based bug repellents. The best part is that this stuff doesn't stink like Deet sprays and it doesn't damage your nylon hiking equipment. I have used both this spray type and the lotion type Picaridin repellents and the spray us much easier to apply. The lotion version does make your hands sticky until completely dry so for me the spray is the best one. It dries completely once applied and is like it isn't even there. I highly recommend.