BayAreaKiteboarding.com

I just got back from Australia and the sun there is intense! I went onto their kite forum and one of the first things I read about was how many people have skin cancer. Yikes. Apparently it's pretty normal for them to get it. But it made me think about kiting back home.

I was curious what people use or if anyone has any tips or advice on what they've found to be good protection?

Here are my finds:
1. Bull Frog Surfer's Forumla is by far the best sun screen I've ever used. Usually I only put it on once per day and i'm good to go. Twice if I'm riding more than 3 - 4 hours.

2. In Oz I got the zinc cream. The white stuff surfer's put on their noses like in "fast times at ridgemont high." I noticed a lot of people used it so I went for it and it worked great.

One day I used my Bull Frog on my nose and it got SUPER red? Maybe the sun in Oz is way stronger or something, but I figured since we never talk about this here it might be nice to share some thoughts or concerns about this important issue.

-Bobby

zinc oxide is the only real sunscreen. Or, just get a good tan.

Bobby, welcome back. Got any pictures or video from your trip? I'm sure we'd all love to see them.

I believe the sunscreen question came up early last season. The thread is here:
https://www.bayareakiteboarding.com/vie ... =sunscreen

Ah, thanks. I must have missed that thread. :)

No video. Only a few pictures. Lots of costal riding. Only about 1 or 2 days of freestyle flat water riding and 1 session in 40+ mph winds on a 9m in the rain. There were about 6 other guys out too. It got so nutty you could pull the bar in and go flying. It was an experience I had to do once... once is enough. :)

-Bobby

Yeah, 30-35 on my 10 rhino is enough to fly. 40 on a 9 is rediculous!
i use banana boat but thats here. Seems to work pretty well. My issue with some others is that they are hard to apply if you have any hair-which I have lots of. the banana boat applies nicely and isnt greasy, which the bull frog always seemed to be unless you let it sit for an hour first. I'm curious, do they wipe that zinc oxide all over? i just see it used on the nose usually. You know-Jeff Spicoli style.

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs ... imes_l.jpg

As a very white guy, I try to cover as much of my skin as possible with clothing and the remaining exposed skin with zinc oxide. In the summer I wear running tights under my shorts and a long sleeved rash guard. This combo usually does pretty well for me.

Today I kited Lake Altus, OK and wish I'd been wearing a dry suit. The water was about 42 degrees. Not many kiters here, but always plenty of wind. Who needs California?

Kit, aka the 'ghost rider' or 'ghostface killer'. this summer you took no chances with sunscreen after getting burned real bad. Great to hear you are exploring some more kiting destinations around the country. But: "Who needs Cali????????? " ha ha - ask that question again in August. How long are you in OKY?

We kited yesterday at Alameda and were lucky to get a short but fun session before the rain sqashed the wind!!!
Hit me with a pm if you are back in Cali and want to do some winter kiting.
Glenn

The best sunscreens come from Europe & Canada and were "illegal" here until last year a bunch of dermatologists pressured the FDA:

http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/news/ng.asp?id=69386

The Mexoryl products get ratings of up to 90 SPF.

The stuff is the bomb, maybe it's cheaper elsewhere, I didn't hunt around:

http://www.beautyriche.com/detail.aspx?ID=595

John

Good find

What matters most is to reapply reapply reapply....SPF 30 would be fine, especially when going in the water :). My 0.02 cents, and it works great for my burn prone skin :).

Tim