Sun Protection article

[big bend gyrene]

Wore a buff last trip out and didn't find it suffocating at all! Light and thin enough it actually seemed to cool me off more than make me hot, providing just a bit of shaded relief from the sun. Very breathable fabric.

As for Eddie Joe's comment, lips are very prone to burn. Might help to share UV sun damage image with everyone to make clear why. Basically, simple as surfaces angled upward towards the sun capture the most damage. Cheeks, bridge of nose, upper edges of ears, and lips all by design "catch" the rays more effectively than do edges sloping at an angle less directly aimed at the sun. Which brings up REALLY putting the screen on thick in these areas as well as back of neck, back of legs if will have back to the sun.

Non-Visible UV Damage.jpg (150.79 KiB) Viewed 1248 times

Share the pic too for young folks to see how much damage happens early. Photo (used with permission) is one of our former employees in her mid-20s. Some damage is evident through sun-freckling in the regular photo on the left, but the right shows much UV damage not yet evident to the eye. Had she not had some laser work done, the UV damage would have become increasingly evident as she aged and her dermal layers thinned, a natural part of the aging process. Moving a bit off the fishing focus, but surely still on the sun protection one, if any of you have female family members / friends using tanning beds the increased cancer statistics risks are truly horrendous. Couple of great videos you can share that may well save a life are below. Both deeply touching, though in very different ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuNbbGBdjwM[/video]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4jgUcxMezM[/video]

[big bend gyrene]

Not sure I perfectly explained the pic... if you look closely you'll see the darkest patches of spots are on the surfaces described as angling towards the sun... including the forehead area (didn't mention it but it's evident in the picture). Areas angling away such as lower jaw have a bit less damage though STILL DO have some damage.

[EddieJoe]

I was curious about a buff and whether it would feel hot and suffocating or not.

I think you should buy one and see. If nothing else, wear it on your neck and pull it up when you can. Also depends on what kind of boat you have. On my cousin's Maverick with absolutely no protection against anything, the Buff was great to pull up completely when we were running. It made it really more comfortable in the wind, and no problem with heat.

However, when the sun was beating down like a fist, with little wind, the Buff could be wet down, then put back on and it was really nice for about 10 minutes at least. If too foggy with sunglasses or hot I could pull it down until I was comfortable. Since I usually wear a LS Columbia t-shirt now, neck coverage is needed and the Buff does it well. Even on my boat with a T-top, I also wear the Mangrove gloves or equivalent and those help a lot on the back of the hands. If you get a Buff, consider one with the Bug treatment, as sometimes cleaning fish the no seeums are awful, and hot or not it is better than eaten alive.

I have several and they are good to have along. Use as needed, and as comfortable for you.

EJ

[EddieJoe]

Not sure I perfectly explained the pic... if you look closely you'll see the darkest patches of spots are on the surfaces described as angling towards the sun... including the forehead area (didn't mention it but it's evident in the picture). Areas angling away such as lower jaw have a bit less damage though STILL DO have some damage.

Thanks, BBG, for providing these images. Very informative. Never had one of those done, but my face was the worst, especially on the left side. This is indicative of driving over the years and getting more sun that way through the window, illustrating that a lot of what we get is not just from long hours fishing, but a few minutes each day over the years. Lesson is, daily sun screen use. Like your wife probably does, my doc talked me daily sunscreen about five years ago. The mineral screens are the best for me.

EJ