I had to wait until the heat of summer to try out an array of product samples I got earlier in the year from All Terrain. Most of what they produce is meant to protect you from two menaces: the sun and biting bugs. They do both in an all natural way though, with no DEET in the insect repellent and no wide array of tough-to-pronounce chemicals in the sunscreen.

Some of these products I liked more than others. If the stuff works as well as its chemical counterpart—or close at least—then naturally I’d rather go natural. When there are performance issues, however, using the natural variation is more of a moral or health choice than anything.

Lip Armour Balm – This lip balm was my favorite of the bunch, and a bargain at a list price of $2.59. In this case the product feels (and tastes) better on the lips than the usual petroleum-based alternatives. It’s made of Shea Butter, Vitamin E, hemp seed oil and All Terrain’s proprietary Z-Cote zinc oxide for SPF 25 sun blocking. Great stuff!

Herbal Armour Insect Repellent – My past experience with natural insect repellents has mostly been disappointing, with the results ranging from “not bad if you reapply every half hour” to “bugs thought I was breakfast.” This All Terrain version is the first one I’ve tried that I would consider a fairly good alternative to DEET. The company claims it stays 100% effective for two hours (and 95% for another hour) and while I didn’t scientifically test those claims, the 5-oils repellent didn’t require frequent reapplication to keep the mozzies at bay. Especially if you have kids or sensitive skin, Herbal Armour offers natural protection without a lot of trade-offs. At $7.99 for four ounces or $4.99 for a two-ounce travel size, this is a great value too.

Biodegradable Sunscreen -Unfortunately, it wasn’t a three out of three with the all natural products. “I absolutely hate this sunscreen” was my wife’s reaction after a couple of days using it at the beaches of Puerto Vallarta and I had zebra stripes on my belly after not rubbing it in uniformly enough one day. I tried all three versions (Terra Sport, Aqua Sport, and Kid Sport) and the results were similar. All were tough to apply without a lot of elbow grease, streaky on the skin, and quick to leave white streaky stains on all three of our bathing suits. These problems aren’t unique to this company, but are issues that plague nearly every brand of natural sunscreen. Without all the binding agents and nanotech wonderstuffs you get with the more popular kinds, and with the tendency of any zinc oxide product to be less-than-transparent, natural sunscreens have a tough comparison battle with the chemical alternatives.

Having said all that, I would still use this in sensitive areas like Yucatan cenotes or when snorkeling around protected coral reefs. It’s worth it to put up with a little inconvenience to protect our planet mates. In a swimming pool though? Unless you have sensitive skin, bring on the Banana Boat.

See the full line of All Terrain Natural products and order direct.

All Terrain Herbal Armor Spray Insect Repellent at REI.

Kid’s Herbal Armour at Amazon

Related review:
Beyond Coastal Sun Care Products