For this piece, we got down to pattern as many alternative power gels as doable. The objective was to provide tasting notes, just like what one would possibly discover for various vintages of wine, or espresso beans of particular origin. It’s, after all, a bit totally different to pattern candy and sticky gels than both espresso or wine, however we tried to benefit from the course of as a lot as we might.
Of the gels we tasted, some are extra within the “actual meals” camp, whereas others are decidedly “sports activities science.” Each have advantages relying on when and the way you make the most of them, although usually the better to eat the gel is, the higher it’s suited to more durable efforts or race eventualities. Some athletes admire a wide range of flavors to maintain issues contemporary, whereas others select probably the most impartial or inoffensive choice to get in gas rapidly and hold competing.
The testing Course of
Power Gels Examined (in no explicit order)
Web site: maurten.com
Taste: Gel 100
Dimension: 40 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: In case you spend sufficient time with toddlers at wading swimming pools, finally you’ll witness some hapless father or mother sending their progeny in carrying an everyday (non-swimming particular) diaper. The diaper will then swell as much as breathtaking dimension, earlier than bursting and filling the wading pool with super-absorbent goo. Maurten’s Gel 100 (no taste listed) has an analogous consistency. Upon discovering this, I used to be initially stunned, however rapidly bypassed all extra feelings and ended up at delighted. I had no thought I might get pleasure from a gel textured like this, however man is it scrumptious. Candy and splendidly chewy, it’s good in each manner. Maurten additionally presents the identical gel in a bigger dimension, or with caffeine, for these inclined.
Pairs with: Water
Web site: humagel.com
Taste: Mangoes
Dimension: 42 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: There aren’t any two methods about it: Huma’s mango-flavored gel appears to be like like mango chutney and tastes like mango chutney. Relying on whether or not or not you’ve got a predilection for chutney, this will or will not be a superb factor. Heavy sweetness, however that’s to be anticipated with mangoes, and it’s each scrumptious and nutritious. Stickiness is gentle to medium; mouthfeel is light. It will be pleasant to eat considered one of these whereas watching a sundown on the summit of a granite-capped mountain.
Pairs with: Water
3. Huma Gel – Blueberries
Web site: humagel.com
Taste: Blueberries
Dimension/energy: 42 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: Huma’s Blueberries taste (and I admire the plurals as a part of the naming conference) tastes like thick blueberry syrup. Primarily based on the packaging, which highlights chia as an ingredient, I used to be anticipating a chia-puddingesque sludge (to be clear, I might be alright with this), however Huma blends the chia right into a butter that’s straightforward to eat and tastes nice. It’s easy and fruity and under no circumstances sticky. I can think about myself snacking on considered one of these whereas using in view of the Atlantic Ocean and periodically stopping to eat sun-ripened blueberries alongside the highway.
Pairs with: Water
4. Science in Sport (SiS) – Apple
Web site: scienceinsport.com
Taste: Apple
Dimension: 60 mL, 158 cal
Tasting notes: Upon visible inspection, the feel of SiS’s Apple gel seems eerily like rubber cement. Aroma-wise, it provides off robust Jolly Rancher vibes. Taste is equally candy-like with intense sweetness, which needs to be a pleasant pick-me-up throughout a protracted day within the saddle. Mouthfeel is easy, with a barely bitter apple end. Possible finest loved after a number of hours in a paceline, absolutely on the rivet. These things is clearly rocket gas.
Pairs with: Water
5. Science in Sport (SiS) – Fruit Salad
Web site: scienceinsport.com
Taste: Fruit Salad
Dimension: 60 mL, 87 cal
Tasting notes: The clear, skinny liquid of SiS’s Fruit Salad taste has a light, berry-forward profile. It’s candy, however not too sticky. Fruit Salad is a bit bit ambiguous for my tastes—which fruits precisely? Did SIS simply pour the remnants of a tinned fruit salad into packaging? We’ll by no means know. The flavour lingers, and it’s decidedly not an bizarre meals style. SiS gels are designed to be eaten with out water, although this one might use some to chase it down.
Pairs with: Water
6. Spring Power – Orange
Web site: myspringenergy.com
Taste: Orange
Dimension: 53 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: Texture is skinny, and preliminary taste is nice, although the looks isn’t significantly appetizing. I suppose there’s a motive you’re imagined to eat gels immediately from the bundle. Sweetness index is low, as is stickiness. Taste is finest described as “weak applesauce with an orangey zest”. Spring Power gels have a tendency very a lot towards the true meals finish of the spectrum, however this one can also be very straightforward to eat and intensely gentle on the abdomen. A winner.
Pairs with: Water
7. Spring Power – Chocolate Heaven
Web site: myspringenergy.com
Taste: Chocolate Heaven
Dimension: 54 g, 180 energy
Tasting notes: This one’s identify guarantees so much: it had higher be good when the phrase heaven is evoked. Maybe Chocolate Cherry would have been extra apt. Cherry taste is the dominant one, whereas the chocolate takes a little bit of a backseat. Texture is barely gritty—that is clearly meals and requires some chewing. It jogs my memory a little bit of a larabar, which shares a number of of the identical elements. Finest loved on an extended experience once you need one thing a bit extra substantial to eat.
Pairs with: Water
Web site: carbsfuel.com
Taste: Unique Power Gel (at present the one taste Carbs Gasoline makes)
Dimension: 55 mL, 200 energy
Tasting notes: The identify “Carbs Gasoline” makes it fairly clear about what to anticipate right here. Ought to we anticipate a future ketogenic product referred to as “Fat Gasoline” fabricated from shelf-stable bacon grease? Hopefully not. Carbs Gasoline’s Unique taste has an uncommon, however not unpalatable scent. The flavour is gentle and never overly candy, and whereas it does have an aftertaste, it’s arduous to pin down what precisely that style is. These look like an awesome choice for individuals who need energy with out an excessive amount of taste faffing about. Finest eaten on a protracted experience, many hours deep when nothing else is feeling good in your abdomen.
Pairs with: Water
Web site: firstendurance.com
Taste: Wild Berry
Dimension: 44 g, 110 energy
Tasting notes: First Endurance’s Wild Berry taste is berry-forward, however not particularly wild; gentle berry is perhaps extra correct. Nevertheless it’s good and easy and comparatively skinny. It’s fairly candy. The flavour works nicely with out drawing an excessive amount of consideration to itself, making for a considerably impartial gel that’s straightforward to eat. It has a vaguely chemical-flavored aftertaste. This one would make a pleasant snack on a late spring coaching experience via the winding roads of an apple blossom-filled valley.
Pairs with: Water
Web site: firstendurance.com
Taste: Kona Mocha
Dimension: 44 g, 110 energy
Tasting notes: Toffee in shade, espresso in aroma. The scent is intriguing, and the flavour is sort of yummy, assuming you want espresso. Kona Mocha appears to be a greater car for First Endurance’s proprietary mix than Wild Berry. It’s additionally candy however nicely balanced, and is a bit stickier than others because of the sweetness. Excellent for these cool daybreak patrol rides, simply because the solar begins to peek over the horizon.
Pairs with: Water
11. GU Power Labs – Cola
Web site: guenergy.com
Taste: Cola
Dimension: 30 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: Visually paying homage to two-part epoxy. Once more, there’s a motive you’re not supposed to take a look at these things. The scent is unbelievable although: like an additional piney flat Coke. Stickiness is excessive, as is viscosity. Taste is decidedly cola-esque, although a bit too chemically for me. The aftertaste lingers as nicely. These would ideally be consumed mid-ride at an old-timey lunch counter on a sizzling summer season day together with a BLT. I admire Gu making an attempt to do one thing enjoyable right here. For individuals who crave chilly soda on a experience, these’ll be proper up your alley.
Pairs with: Water
12. GU Power Labs – Campfire S’Mores
Web site: guenergy.com
Taste: Campfire S’mores
Dimension: 32 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: All people loves s’mores, proper? And this taste of Gu really appears to be like tasty. It has a tempting caramel shade and a mouthwatering marshmallow scent. Taste could be very candy, however barely synthetic tasting. It couldn’t be stickier. It’s pretty thick and barely chewable and you may virtually really feel the power going into your muscular tissues. This taste could be supreme on a moist and chilly experience once you want one thing to remind you of the heat of a campfire, or vaguely, of happiness.
Pairs with: Water
Web site: honeystinger.com
Taste: Gold (Unique)
Dimension: 31 g, 90 energy
Tasting notes: Honey Stinger’s Gold is pleasantly golden (as one would hope) and sparkles with trapped air bubbles. Sweetness is acute, nevertheless it works, and many of the taste is simply sweetness, however honey is tasty in any type. Stickiness is off the charts. It does have a barely funky aftertaste, which isn’t almost as easy because the preliminary taste. One in every of these could be good to snack on whereas using gravel bikes via the Hundred Acre Wooden on the lookout for Heffalumps.
Pairs with: Water
14. Honey Stinger – Fruit Smoothie
Web site: honeystinger.com
Taste: Fruit Smoothie
Dimension: 31 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: The Fruit Smoothie taste appears to be like like calmly coloured honey, with a barely corn-syrup-esque look. The honey taste is scrumptious, although the fruit accent is a bit bit too synthetic for me. I want to know extra concerning the contents of this “fruit smoothie.” However, it goes down easily, and the aftertaste is gentle. This one could be good to eat whereas using champagne gravel in between mud season and mud season (offered you reside someplace with seasons).
Pairs with: Water
Web site: precisionhydration.com
Taste: Unique (Precision Gasoline’s solely taste)
Dimension: 50 g, 120 energy
Tasting notes: Like Carbs Gasoline, you kind of know what to anticipate with this one based mostly on the identify. Unique is at present Precision Gasoline’s solely taste, and it’s a superb one. Visually it’s clear, and appears extra akin to a cleansing product than meals, however has no extra shortcomings. It’s not too candy or sticky, and is extraordinarily straightforward to eat. The gentle taste jogs my memory a bit little bit of chamomile tea. It has a bit little bit of physique to it, like Maurten’s gel. I’m a fan.
Pairs with: Water
Web site: ucan.co
Taste: Pineapple
Dimension: 53 g, 70 energy
Tasting notes: UCAN’s Pineapple taste appears to be like like lotion, and the flavour is considerably in the identical vein. It’s not dangerous per se, it’s simply…totally different. Apparently Ucan makes these gels with out sugar, which is sensible. As a substitute it makes use of some sort of cornstarch combination. Sweetness and stickiness are minimal and the pineapple taste is gentle, with a barely chalky end. It has unmistakable pina colada vibes, however once more, lotion-y. Pineapple won’t be the perfect taste to showcase this explicit gel. It does look like it will be straightforward on the abdomen, nonetheless.
Pairs with: Water
17. UCAN Edge – Unflavored
Web site: ucan.co
Taste: Unflavored
Dimension: 53 g, 70 energy
Tasting notes: Unflavored appears a daring transfer on UCAN’s half. The lotion-y look and texture are the identical as in pineapple taste, although the pineapple flavoring is not any extra. As a substitute there’s a touch of rubber glove. It’s additionally barely gritty, although we couldn’t determine why. I used to be reminded of when, on the dentist, they attempt to rinse out the fluoride with the suction gadget and a few stays. This one additionally looks as if it will be straightforward in your abdomen no less than—no want to attend half-hour earlier than consuming.
Pairs with: Water
18. Muir Power – Raspberry
Web site: muirenergy.com
Taste: Purple Raspberry
Dimension: 30 g, 110 energy
Tasting notes: Muir’s Purple Raspberry gel is good, sticky and really thick. You possibly can even maintain it the other way up on a spoon: we tried! The flavour is akin to a molasses-y jam, with some related grittiness. Each raspberry and molasses flavors linger on the palate. One in every of our testers described it as “wholesome tasting,” and it in all probability tastes like actual meals as a result of it’s. Splendid location for consumption: mid-hike-a-bike on an epic bikepacking journey. Cease and scent the flowers and eat some jam!
Pairs with: Water; peanut butter
19. Muir Power – Ardour Fruit Pineapple Bananas
Web site: muirenergy.com
Taste: Ardour Fruit Pineapple Bananas
Dimension: 30 g, 105 energy
Tasting notes: These things is thick and sticky. There’s so much occurring right here: the eagerness fruit scent is each very robust and really distinctive and it has bother morphing into the molasses-heavy taste. This one tastes “wholesome” too, however the mixture of flavors doesn’t go fairly as nicely collectively. Muir, in the event you’re studying this, how a few pumpkin pie taste with cinnamon and further nutmeg? Name me.
Pairs with: Water
20. UnTapped – Salted Cocao
Web site: untapped.cc
Taste: Salted Cocoa
Dimension: 39 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: UnTapped appears to be like precisely like maple syrup, which is sensible, as a result of that’s what it’s. Sweetness is shiny and sharp, and under no circumstances cloying. The flavour profile is decidedly maple-forward, and it’s fairly sticky, although the feel is skinny. Mouthfeel is superb: easy and mushy, with a pleasing aftertaste. The salted cocoa taste doesn’t dominate, as an alternative it’s a mild complement to the maple taste with out overpowering it. I might eat lots of these! Finest consumed within the mountains.
Pairs with: Water; waffles
21. UnTapped – Salted Citrus
Web site: untapped.cc
Taste: Salted Citrus
Dimension: 40 g, 100 energy
Tasting notes: UnTapped’s salted citrus taste is easy and skinny. These things is tasty too! The citrus taste pairs nicely with the sweetness of the maple syrup, and is vaguely paying homage to lemon curd. It has a light end. The dearth of viscosity paired with the packaging design make it a bit arduous to devour rapidly. It will be pleasant to eat mid manner via a heat summer season experience whereas sitting in an Adirondack chair exterior a log cabin, maybe in a Nationwide Forest?
Pairs with: Water
