by Flipper Hands » Fri 23 Dec, 2016 9:11 am
I too am as fair as the driven snow. If I hike in summer with shorts and T-Shirt I destroy huge quantities of sunscreen.
I am currently using Kathmandu's Clark convertible pants to deal with the leg burn, they regularly go on sale for $90, and I have taken to wearing them to work as well. The Anthracite ones I have have become hugely valuable as they suit pretty much occasion. I go back to short mode as soon as I get a decent sweat up, and apply sun screen then. If you are a hairy bugger like me thats all I need for the day on my legs.
Arm wise I have a few options. Mountain Designs have a long-sleeve vented shirt that I use that can be had for $50 on sale. I also recently added a Kathmandu Fitzroy shirt. It is mad of the same material as their other active base layers, it is long-sleeve, hooded, pit vented, the back is highly breathable. I haven't used it much, 1 multi-day and a couple day walks in mild heat, but so far it has done a fantastic job. The hood does trap a lot of heat (for me), so I reserve that for walking in direct sun, if at all.
Hat wise, I have tried the legionnaire style caps, but heat is a problem again, some have removable flaps to mitigate this, but then you are using a cap. I have also tried various wide brim hats, but they are often hot again, and get in the way on tight trails. Consequently I use a vented baseball cap, it's cool, guarantees I keep the sun out my eyes, is light, and can easily be reversed out of the way if you are in tight stuff. This means sunscreen for neck face and ears.
All in all this setup is light, relatively cool, and I don't take much sunscreen by minimising usage.