Sunday, April 1, 2012

Energy Gels taste review

I've managed to be riding for 10 years and not yet really gotten involved with Gels for on-the-bike nutrition, sticking mostly with Powerbars and Cliff bars. I thought I'd give Gels a try. I went and bought an assortment of brands and flavors. Here's my thoughts so far.

They all seem to have the same consistency or "mouth feel". They're all really sweet. And I can't tell from this point which give me more energy or have any other attributes. So in the end it all comes down to flavor.

I'm taking two along on each ride longer than 2 hours, and recording my post-ride impressions.

Clif Shot chocolate. This one tasted pretty good, like actual chocolate flavoring. No obvious traces of artificial flavors or other ingredients. I'd give it a 9 out of 10.

Powerbar Energy vanilla
. Vanilla flavor gave strong artifical flavor tones. I managed to choke it down but wouldn't buy this again. 3 out of 10.

Hammer Gel raspberry. Well, eww. First taste was quite artificial, but toward the middle I could fool myself into thinking it was OK. Better than the Powerbar Energy vanilla but not by much. 4 out of 10.

Clif Shot vanilla
. Now this is vanilla done right. Again, Clif manages to make a gel that actually tastes OK. 9 out of 10.

Hammer Gel Orange. Flavor: quite bland, and artificial orange-like flavoring. Impression was that it wasn't quite as sweet as expected, but the flavor wasn't anything to write home about. 4 out of 10.

Clif Shot Raspberry. Tasted like straight raspberry jam. Nearly genuine flavor but oh-so-sweet. So far, the best of the "fruit" flavors. 8 out of 10, would be a 9 if not for the super-sweet flavor.

GU Peanut Butter. Nicely done! This gets a 10 out of 10. Genuine peanut butter flavor. Smooth consistency and mouth feel. Not too sweet. Flavor was good all the way through.

GU Tri-Berry. Good berry flavor, and again very smooth. 10 out of 10.


Final Results:

Winner: GU
Close runner up: Clif Shots
Loser: Hammer Gel