In the late 90's, I was at Mt. Auburn travel clinic and the doctor handed me a sheet with comparison of all the insect repellent. It showed that ultrathon was the best insect repellent but at that time, 3M was considering discontinuing ultrathon and I had to call all the local millitary surplus stores to find this miracle cream.

So what's special? Deet is the only thing that really works to repel insects. What it does is basically masks the human signature from the insects and makes the wearer invisible. There are other things on the market that 'helps', but nothing compares to Deet, especially against ticks.

Now, the tube seems small and it will last roughly about 2 weeks of consecutive use if you use is sparingly. The military issue actually has a strip next to it to tell you how much to apply. (Ingenious!). You apply this cream, and for solid day you are good to go. I have tried everything, including 100% Deet and even that doesn't compare. So what's so special? Ultrathon's miracle is in their time release formula. Their cream is able to contain Deet and release it over course of ~12 hours. I've walked through the rain forest with my ex-fiancé with a well known popular famous outdoor brand back when and once she used my ultrathon, she was hooked.

It is expensive. If you want to get it cheap, look for a green tube in cream formula (often called "GI Insect Cream") from a military surplus store. It's not any of these brand names. It will have generic military green color, and I believe should have '3M' written somewhere. I've picked up 3-4 bottles from a military store for $5 each back then. (I called a local military surplus store and they got them for $5.99 each)

What else can you do to protect yourself?
Use Permethrin spray on your outerwear. The spray will last for week or so and will keep various insects off your clothing. Combination of this along with the ultrathon cream is unbelievable.

My personal experience.
I was walking through the rain forests of Costa Rica with my ex-fiancé and watched as others were swatting mosquitoes. I would literally walk through a swarms of mosquitoes without a thought. (I hate insect bites as I'm mildly allergic to them.) I saw one person spraying one of those clear bottles of insect repellent constantly and it was useless.

I'm going to Tanzania on safari, and I've just ordered 4 tubes. Once you try ultrathon, you will never be able to go back to other stuff.


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