Inflatable Kayak Blog

As paddlers, we spend lots of time outdoors in the sun and, although it’s good to absorb some Vitamin D, it’s also dangerous to get too much sun. That’s what sunscreens are for. Sunscreens contain a variety of ingredients that reflect, absorb or scatter the ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Sun protection factor (SPF) refers to a sunscreen’s ability to protect a person’s skin from some UV rays and gives a measure of how long it would take a person’s skin to burn while wearing the product. For example, if your skin would burn in 5 minutes, a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 will increase the time it takes your skin to burn to 150 minutes (5 multiplied by 30). SPF indicates protection against UVB rays only, whereas, broad-spectrum sunscreens protect against both UVB and UVA rays. Although there is no standard way to measure a product’s efficiency for shielding against UVA rays, ingredients that offer UVA protection include: avobenzone (Parsol 1789®), titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Have fun kayaking this summer, but don’t forget the sunscreen!