Dealing with the Vile Mosquito
There are three components to my camping nirvana. Great views, excellent food and comfortable sleeping. There is also one of God creations that can easily ruin all three components. The vile mosquito. They swarm around in your face while cooking. Sting you as you enjoy the scenery. And keep you awake with their annoying buzz when invading your tent to feast on your blood. There are obvious health concerns as these winged vampires can transmit diseases when moving between meals. So keeping them off your skin is important. Thermacell Backpacker to the rescue.
Another health concern is the use of Deet found in the most effective of bug repellent sprays. We’ve all used them because they’re effective. But hate the downside to applying that poison to our exposed skin. The Backpacker from Thermacell is a great solution I’ve been using for awhile now. It uses D-cis/trans allethrin rather than Deet and provides a 15 foot dome of protection from most mosquitos. I say most because there were always a few brave mosquitos that found their way inside the wire but the overall experience was fantastic.Costing only $39.99, we actually bought 2 units to protect various areas in the camp.
Thermacell Backpacker Video:
A spring camping trip to Drummond Island, Michigan proved to be a valid testing ground. Our campsites were perched right on the edge of Lake Huron during a warm weekend with little to no wind. The skeeters were out in full force but so was the Thermacell Backpacker. This little device is compatible with the most common camp stove fuel canisters with valves designed to the EN417 specification. And the run time is crazy long. The super fuel efficient Backpacker can run on a 4 ounce canister (seen in the video) for 90 hours. I’ve been using the same canister for several trips and there is plenty of fuel left. The replaceable blue pads only last for 4 hours however so make sure you’re well stocked before heading out.
The Backpacker is typically the first item unpacked from our Yeti Loadout GoBox that stores most of our camp kitchen. Once the unit is screwed onto the fuel source, simply turn on the device. Wait 5 seconds for the fuel to start flowing before clicking the piezo ignitor. Double check the flame window to insure it’s lit then simply place the device at the center of your activity. In about 15 minutes, you’ll start to see a huge decline in mosquitos.
Essential Overland Gear
We really hate putting bug spray on our exposed skin because extended backcountry adventures may have us skipping the daily shower we enjoy at home. Although our RoadShower4 has been a blessing for personal hygiene. No one likes crawling into a sleeping bag while covered in the oily bug spray still on our skin. To avoid this, the Thermacell Backpacker has become a key piece of kit for our Overlanding adventures. Take a look at the Thermacell website to see which of their several mosquito repelling devices will best suit your needs.
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