Jean and Mike Gormley took The Intrepid Explorer Moisturising Cream Sunscreen and Insect Repellent to where eagles fly in Alaska.
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A little while ago I reviewed the Intrepid Explorer Hand and Body Wash, which is a very efficient low volume granulated powder, and more recently this ‘intrepid explorer’ has been to where the eagles fly in Alaska.
Our trip was a good opportunity to take along a couple more of the products from this range as we would be heading out into the wilds on a number of occasions; perhaps not that wild by Alaskan standards, but you get my drift. On this occasion we also took both The Intrepid Explorer’s Moisturising Cream Sunscreen and combined Moisturising Cream and Insect Repellent; the latter which contains Factor 50 sun protection.
As with the previously reviewed Hand and Body Wash, these products come in small and really very convenient 60ml tubes which also weigh in at only about 170g each; ideal for intrepid travellers. The size of the container is for a good reason as not only are they easy and convenient to carry on a trip, but you really only need very small amounts of any of these products. There is no need to slap on a handful of sun or moisturising cream. In fact, this is something you quickly need to get used to as it is easy to overdo it. In part this low volume is achieved by not adding spurious water and other ingredients to bulk them out ~ just what is essential to do the job.
I came by these products at this year’s Outdoor Trade Show and quickly discovered both the developers of these and I have African connections as well as a love of travel and wild places. It soon became apparent the evolution of these products had all the right background with an aim to provide the traveller with convenient lightweight and, importantly, effective ways of keep clean and protected. This as well as being very environmentally-friendly both in their content and the negative environmental impact as they find their way back to nature as you use them, which of course they do, as you wash in streams and use them in the great outdoors.
I have just put a tiny amount of these creams on my hands as a reminder as I write this. They both have a very pleasant fragrance but not a full-on scented type of smell and really do leave your skin feeling great. As ever with products such as these, it is really difficult to quantify their effectiveness. I have to say that when in Alaska and Canada on this trip, sunburn was not much of an issue and what we really needed was additional waterproofing. Neither, at the time of year we visited, did we get much of a problem with those tiny biting nasties. Good perhaps, but did not really give us a chance to fully evaluate these products as far as sunscreen and insect repellency.
The one thing that does stand out is the effect they both have on the skin and how long it lasts on there when out doing active thing,s such as on boats and kayaking or just out walking. They will definitely be coming with us on our next adventure early next year.
[images © Mike Gormley]
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