In case you all haven't noticed, it has been a hot summer here in Chicago. It has been one of the hottest summers of my entire life actually (not an exaggeration). Now that fall is approaching and it is getting cooler, it seems that the mosquitoes are in full force out there. They are huge, brutal, and hungry. Being outside for only a few minutes can lead to several bites, let alone out on the trail. Even after my run a few days ago, I had 2-3 bites from standing around for 10 minutes in the dark.
When I saw an ad in Buzz Feed for a company that made insect repelling clothing (
Haeleum), I was very interested. The "
Insect Shield" technology aims to propel against mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, and all other types of nasty insects that cause a havoc to humans and their pets. It is also EPA approved and safe for use around infants as well. You can find out more information on the technology behind the product on Haeleum's website
here. I contacted them to see if I could test out one of their products. They sent me a t-shirt to try out on one of our night runs out on the trail. This past Thursday, the temps were cool enough for sleeves and I gave it a try.
I had originally asked for a small but was told it was probably best to go up a size so I ordered the medium instead. It was a little too big but I think the small would have still been too small. Either way, I suggest going up a size if you're looking to purchase one of your own.
I wasn't sure what to expect before heading out on the run as it was kind of chilly and I wasn't sure how many bugs we'd actually see. After taking our group photo, we headed out onto the trail.
Turns out the trail has a big gnat problem. There were swarms/clouds of gnats or whatever kind of bugs, and I was pretty much unaffected in my Haeleum shirt. My fellow runners were coughing/choking on bugs as I just smiled and may have squealed "It works!" Coming from someone who is pretty spastic when it comes to bugs, I was excited about my shirt. The run continued and we had some more bug problems and I continued to remain pretty unaffected compared to other runners. In the end, everyone was jealous of my shirt and wanted one of their own!
I had a few questions after the run about my shirt. How do you take care of this type of garment? Simple washing and drying does the trick (up to 70 washes), as long as you don't dry clean or spot clean for stains. I have hard water, and I specifically asked if the salt for the softener (or extra minerals) would change things and the answer was no. Hard water or regular water... effective up to 70 washes! Does it smell like bug spray? No! It just smelled like any other new dry-fit shirt and was nice and sweaty after my run (so it smelled like sweat.) With how hot this summer has been, I'm looking forward to wearing this tee to more training runs out in the woods.
With my shirt, they also sent me a bandanna/scarf that I'm going to giveaway to one lucky reader! Sorry Pepper, no new fashion accessories for you!
If you're uninterested in the bandanna and want a piece of the clothing yourself, there is a Gear Buzz code for 50% off (I'm not sure when it expires). Use the code: gearbuzz50 when checking out.
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| I held up my hand to help scale |
And if you don't like to wear bandannas but have a dog or cat, you can totally put it on your pet as well! (I didn't test this out on Pepper in fear it would be somehow muddy in mere seconds.)
To enter: (1) leave me a comment telling me about the bug you fear the most... For me, that is spiders (especially the scary looking ones).
For additional entries,
5) Follow RunningKellometers through Google (click "follow" on the right hand side of the blog)
PLEASE summarize all entries in a single comment!
You have until Monday, September 24 at 11:59pm CST to enter. The winner will be chosen (using Random.org) on Tuesday, September 25 by 10am CST. The winner must contact me within 72 hours (3 days) to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen (using random.org again). If you have any questions about the product or rules of the giveaway, please
contact me before entering. This giveaway is open to all readers within the continental United States.
