Stuff We Like: Coleman SkinSmart

Summer is mosquito season. So what better time to tell you about our new favorite insect repellent. It’s called Coleman SkinSmart ($3.49 to 6.49, www.colemanrepellents.com) and it’s notable because it’s made without DEET, which is a very strong smelling—and very effective—chemical found in many repellents. Besides being stinky, DEET is notorious for eating away at plastics and discoloring (and, at times, dissolving) some performance outdoor fabrics, like those found in some GORE-TEX rainjackets and tents. Instead, SkinSmart uses something called IR3535, an odorless chemical that, based on our field testing, works every bit as well as other DEET products we’ve used in the past. And we’ve been testing this stuff in some pretty darn buggy spots with folks who are typically mosquito magnets. SkinSmart works like a charm and doesn’t ruin your other outdoor gear in the process. It’s available in a 6-oz. aerosol spray can ($6.49) or a 5-oz.Go Ready spray pen ($3.49).