Every year, the crew of Leafygreen.info and friends head out for a weekend in the woods. This year, we decided to bring along a new set of green products for real life testing. We had a good amount of bug sprays and sunscreens as well as lanterns, sporks, plates, silverware and a sleeping bag.
Let’s talk about the sunscreens first. Purple Prairie’s has two products: the Sun Stick and the Sun Stuff. The Sun Stick is a deodorant-stick type sun block. It applies smoothly, yet leaves a white residue unless you rub it in nicely. The Sun Stuff, however, is a non-oily cream. Both of the Purple Prairie products seem to work well. The products do not irritate my skin and actually work well. Just be sure to cover your skin completely as the directions state, otherwise you’ll get a nice red skin burn.
Soleo’s Sunscreen is another cream-based solution. The package I have comes with a handy karabiner for hanging on my backpack. The lotion is very light, but does not seem to work that well. In fact, it left me with a slight burn, unfortunately.
Australiant Scent, commonly known as aS, aside from their personal hygiene line, has a bug spray. We tried the bug spray out in the woods and it was semi-effective. The odor was pleasant, but the spray is very oily. It left my legs and arms slippery to the touch, but the bugs still got to me. I did not receive too many mosquito bites, but then I reapplied the Bugger Off spray and it the mosquitoes seemed to stop their pestering. If I had to choose between last year’s camping trips bug spray of choice, All Terrain Bug Spray, and Bugger Off by aS, I’d go with All Terrain. It seemed to be much better overall.
Like I stated above, we had eco-friendly sporks, silverware and plates. The Sporks were pretty cool. They are made from plastic, a heavy-grade plastic, which allows for easy washing and reusability. The sporks from Light My Fire come in multiple colors and feature a convenient fork spoon and knife combo. One side is a fork with a knife on the edge and the other is a spoon. This are unlike the sporks your grandmother has for her grapefruit for breakfast. The sporks are pretty sturdy and perfect for camping.
Some opted for conventional silverware, well, green-conventional. The silverware is made from starch made from vegetables such as potatoes. The forks, spoons and knives are not only durable but could be a fierce competitor in the disposable silverware marketplace. These will degrade over time just like normal food. Throw them in the garbage or into the compost, it’s going to biodegrade nonetheless.
The plates we used were also green. Made from sugar cane, the plates had an unfamiliar texture to them, but worked much like the thick paper or plastic disposable plates work. They held the food in place and did not have any real issue with sogginess. Pretty cool, we all thought. Again, compost or trash them, they are biodegradable.
Check out Earth Shell’s products here!
The last three items were my favorite, however. The sleeping bag, from Sierra Designs, made from recycled polyester, the LED flashlight by Altus Lumen and the two candle-based lanterns from Light My Fire.
The Lazer 30 is lightweight and super warm and is made from plastic bottles and fibers. Some fun and useful features include; the pocket at the foot that lets fresh air in all the time, unless you close it of course; the mummy/hood area and the hanging straps for both drying it out and packing it tightly. I loved using it. In fact, it was super warm at some points and I had to unzip the bag to let more air in.
The LED flashlight charges via USB either with the included power adapter or via your computer. The flashlight battery does not last a long time, roughly and 3 to 6 hours, but it’s worth stuffing it into your pocket. You can use the TRI-L in so many different ways because of the nifty tripod stand it’s built into. Pick your angle and your lights and go for it. If you’re going to be out for a while you may want to consider the solar charger or just the traditional lantern.
The Industrial Revolution came and went, but it seems to be back with the innovations coming from Industrial Revolution. The Candle Lantern and the Candleier are pretty sweet. The glass enclosure keeps the burning candles safe and wind-free while at the same tine letting out a pretty steady flow of light from the fire. It’s not hot too the touch and seems to never go out. In fact, the candles are positioned so they are actually in a holder mounted on a spring so when the candle burns down, it moves up and appears to be a the top of the lantern the entire time.
Oh yeah, we also drank purified water straight from the river with a little help from our SteriPen friends. This quickly sterilized river water and made it safe for consumption. It did not make any of us sick. It’s hard to get used to at first, but follow the directions and you’ll be safe! Awesome for any hiker or camper that is on the go and may not have access to fresh drinking water.
Really cool stuff! So, this review is huge, there are many products, but it’s well worth checking out the products that these green companies offer.
