TiHabanero, I hear ya, Those biting black flies really piss me off because they'll bite right thru my socks and get my ankles. We spent a week up in the Boundary Waters canoeing one July and as long as we stayed on the water, we were safe, but the moment we ran our canoe aground, it was only seconds before they swarmed us. We literally would hit the ground running and run for the tent. It got so bad that we had to decide which was worse, fighting the black flies or risk burning to death by cooking inside the tent, we chose the latter.