Pun very much intended.
I’m on the hunt for a new electrolyte drink mix for long ultra races. Traditionally my favourites have been Nuun tablets, but I recognize that these are more for light exercise than endurance events. Since I am on my feet for a looooong time during a 50k, the hope is to find something with some calories to supplement gels/bars/foods that I have to carry. I’ll keep adding to the list as I experiment!
The scores, from lowest to highest are:
Hard Pass
In a pinch
We can make this work
Elixir of Life!
Gu Roctane Summit Tea
The current leader is Gu Roctane Summit Tea. It’s a blissfully not-too-sweet ice tea flavour that includes electrolytes, BCAAs and plenty of calories. The only downside of this one is that all of the flavours include caffeine. Caffeine is great, but at some point it does require you to balance your consumption with something non-caffeinated.
Näak Ultra Energy Drink Mix
Näak was the drink mix I really wanted to like. It’s got calories (250 in a bottle!), electrolytes, BCAAs and it’s a Canadian company focused on the environment and sustainability. Plus, I like their Stoopwaffles. Wouldn’t it be nice for once to be able to order everything in one order? Unfortunately, while the flavour of the Näak drink mix was pretty good, the texture (and colour) put me right off. The instructions called for 2 scoops in 500mL. That might work in a shaker bottle, but in my soft running bottles the powder wouldn’t actually dissolve. I had to mix it in a separate container before pouring it into my bottles and even still it was so gritty that it actually clogged the bite cap on my bottle so that I couldn’t drink it at all. I gifted the leftover powder to someone else in my running group, who has since tried to give it away to others…
Score: Hard Pass
Nuun Sport
Nuun was my introduction to electrolytes for hiking and there are tubes of Nuun scattered throughout my house, car and running bag. Its comes in caffeinated and uncaffeinated versions — I really appreciate the caffeinated ones when I’m trying to get out of a campsite quickly without stopping to make coffee. We also have to give a shout out to Nuun for being a great choice the morning after a night out at the bar. I really only have one complaint about Nuun: I really don’t like the taste of Stevia which is what Nuun uses to sweeten their tabs. Its not as bad as trying to down a Zevia drink, but I would rather have the calories of a bit of sugar instead of the taste of Stevia.
Score: We can make this work
Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Drink
The thing about Skratch is that it tastes fine when its cold, but I don’t like the after taste as it warms up. So far, my favourites among the Skratch flavours are the Lemon Lime, Orange and the Matcha Green Tea and Lemon.
What I like about Skratch is that it has a some calories but doesn’t require you to mix a third of a cup of powder into your bottles. I also like the little single serve pouches which seem handy for throwing in your pack races. Skratch does seem to have a new “Clear” hydration mix with less taste (but also less calories). I haven’t seen this on the shelf yet but I will need to track some down and give it a whirl.
Score: We can make this work.
Spark Nutrition
This is one I had in a race last year and was not a fan. Not sure what flavour it was, but I picked it up at the last aid station of a 65km race and…did not drink any of it. Possibly unfair, but I won’t be picking any up to give it another shot.
Score: Hard Pass
Xact Electrolytes
This is another Canadian company and on the whole, the Xact Electrolytes tabs are very similar to Nuun. Xact was the electrolyte drink available at the Quebec Mega Trail, so I had a chance to try them out through a hot (hot!) 50k race. The Xact tablets come in a tube just like Nuun but are even lighter in flavour which I really appreciate. They even have a unflavoured version (although I note that even the unflavoured version still has bit of Stevia in it). Again, I would love to see a version of these without the Stevia - but there is definitely less stevia taste in these compared to Nuun.
Score: We can make this work
