Once you’ve chosen the sunscreen clothing and UV 400 goggles of your choice, it’s time to think about sunscreen. Health experts recommend that hikers and mountaineers bring a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30 with every outdoor adventure. Choose a safe sunscreen, either in cream or powder form, and reapply it every 2 hours when exposed to the sun. Add a favorite hat that you can wear as needed (or not)
.
I know many hikers who wear lightweight pants even when hiking in very hot temperatures, both for sun and insect protection. While it doesn’t advertise the ability to be waterproof, it does a fantastic job getting through a long, multi-hour hike. Overall, it’s a good choice if you want mineral sunscreen for your face, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it if you’re looking for a full-body sunscreen. However, if you cover up for the hike and only use it on areas of your skin that are exposed to the sun, you should be able to get a lot of use out of a tube.
Not many people think of the scent of sunscreen, but it’s just as important as the SPF rating, especially when hiking. For example, if you’re planning to hike along the Appalachian Trail under the shady cover of trees, you may not need the full arsenal of sunscreen. The Clear Sunscreen Stick from Shiseido is ideal to store in your everyday bag and offers sun protection when you’re on the go. Sun protection clothing for hiking includes shirts, pants, and hiking sleeves—outdoor clothing that protects you from UV rays and doesn’t require you to smear yourself with large
amounts of sunscreen.
Always look for fragrance-free sunscreen, as it is much better for your skin than fragrance-based sunscreen. But when I go out in the sun, I usually go hiking for days and sometimes I do it day after day out in the burning sun while backpacking. For nostalgic reasons, I tend to hike with my Rainbow Unicorn trucker hat, but when I hiked the Camino de Santiago and the Portuguese in Europe, I had to bring along a wide-brimmed floppy hat
to better protect my neck and the side of my face.