We do plenty of testing on our products
and the competition (to make sure our stuff is still the best).
When something new comes out, we'll try it, make some notes, and
keep the results to ourselves.
Normally, we do not like to disparage anyone's
product but sometimes we need to provide the facts. Because the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has come out in support of Picaridin
as an alternative to DEET, we'll make a few comments, in addition
to our press
release.
In our field testing, Cutter Advanced Insect
Repellent with 7% Picaridin provided less than 15 minutes protection
from only a handful of mosquitoes (<20) on several individuals
around a campfire. This test was performed on June 10, 2005 just
after dusk near McGregor, Minnesota (Big Sandy Lake). We thought,
OK, that's fine. The stuff isn't that great and ours is much better.
People will try this new Cutter once and never use it again.
BUT, when we saw this (below), we had to
say something. The young man was at Boy Scout camp near Longville,
Minnesota the last week in July, 2005. He was literally soaking
himself with Cutter Advanced to try and stop the mosquitoes from
biting his lower legs. His brother had the same problem. They
commented, "That stuff was like water. It did absolutely
nothing to stop them!" After a couple days, the poor kid
resorted to long jeans and hiking boots in 90+ degree heat to
protect himself. His mother was appalled - she had done the research,
heard the press reports, and thought he was going to be fine.
We took these photos almost 2 weeks after
his ordeal and several dozen welts are still visible.
He now uses our Buggspray - Original, reported
no bites in the 3 days he used it in northern MN (in early August),
and exclaims, "This stuff actually smells good!." His
mother is making sure she's prepared for this season and requested
more in January 2006.
OFF Skintastic Clean Feel Insect Repellent
This is new to the market in 2006. It only
contains 5% picaridin and we expect it to perform at parity, or
worse than, Cutter Advanced.
Please see our press release and the associated links.
Picaridin Insect Repellent
