Best Endurance Hydration Mix: Dietitians’ Review

As an endurance athlete and a dietitian who works with athletes on their endurance nutrition, I am a huge fan of the hydration mixes. An endurance hydration mix is like a 3-in-1 for meeting athletes’ nutrition needs. It offers:

• Carbohydrates for energy 
• Sodium and electrolytes to replenish what’s been lost through sweating
• Fluids to keep you hydrated

For cyclists and triathletes especially, a hydration mix in your bottles makes a lot of sense on the bike. My mantra with our athletes is, “The bike is the buffet,” because cycling requires a lot of fuel to put out the watts and power needed to perform well. If you already need to carry fluids, you might as well get some carbs and electrolytes through those bottles so you don’t have to weigh down your bike with huge quantities of gels, chews and other fuel sources. 

For runners, especially ultra runners who wear hydration vests with their fuel and fluids, an endurance hydration mix makes a ton of sense to add to your fluids.

Best Carbs for Athletes

For endurance athletes, simple sugars are the best carbs to fuel your training and races as they are digested quickly and reduce your risk of having upset GI issues.  Sports fuels will typically contain simple sugars such as glucose, dextrose, sucrose, and/or fructose or the polysaccharide maltodextrin (a cluster of sugar molecules) to supply that quick energy source.
For prolonged exercise, the body will require a source of energy to continue your desired pace. While there are numerous approaches to fueling your exercise. Endurance athletes usually can get their carbs from a variety of sources.

• Real food – applesauce, bananas, dates, crackers, sweetened desserts like rice krispie bars or cake
• Energy gels (ALN Review of Gels)
• Energy chews
• Energy bars (ALN Review of Energy bars)
• Sports drinks such as endurance hydration mixes

Since liquid carb sources tend to get digested the fastest, using an endurance hydration mix can be a great option. There are a lot of different fuel products on the market, the ALN team has tested many products and put together a dietitians’ review for you!

The Best Endurance Hydration Carb-Based Mixes: Sports Dietitians’ Review

I sampled A LOT of products for this review and I sampled them all together so that I could do a fair comparison between them. My opinions on taste are n=1, so if you love a certain product and I didn’t, it’s ok!

I mixed the products according to their instructions in a sports bottle. I mixed them by shaking (not stirring). Then I poured them into a clear labels plastic cup to sample.

Skratch Labs Hydration Sports Drink Mix

Cost: ~$0.95-$1.95/serving depending on size you buy

Flavors: Fruit punch, strawberry lemonade, orange, lemon lime, raspberry limeade (caffeinated)

Nutrition: (22 g) 80 calories, 0 g fat, 400 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrates (18 g sugar), 0 g fiber, 0 g protein.

Sugar source: Cane sugar, dextrose.

You can do 1-2 servings per 12-16 oz of fluid. This mixes really nicely into bottles. The flavor is light and pleasant, not overly sweet. Nutritionally, this works well for a lot of athletes’ needs. I personally have used the Strawberry Lemonade in my bottles for cycling, I’m a fan. The price point is pretty decent too compared to other brands and products.

Skratch Labs Super High Carb Mix

Cost: $5.24/serving (serving size is 7 scoops)

Flavors: Lemon lime, raspberry

Nutrition: (106 g) 400 calories, 0 g fat, 400 mg sodium, 100 g carbohydrates (4 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Carb source: Highly-branched cyclic dextrin, fructose, cane sugar, raspberry juice

This is one of ALN’s favorite products for endurance athletes. You can mix more or less per bottle depending on your calorie needs. The full serving will give you a whopping 100 grams of carbohydrates in a 16-24 oz bottle. Follow the instructions on the package to get the best mixing results.

If our athletes need additional sodium in their bottles, we often will have them add a scoop of the Skratch Hydration Sports Drink to 5 scoops of the Super High Carb to create 90 g carbs and ~685 mg sodium.

Tailwind

Cost: $1.60 – $2.49/2 scoops (depending on which size you buy)

Dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan.

Flavors:
Mandarin Orange, Berry, Naked (unflavored), Lemon
Raspberry (caffeinated), Tropical (caffeinated), Cola (caffeinated),
Grape (limited edition), Dauwaltermelon with lime (limited edition), Apple cider (seasonal)

Nutrition: (54 g) 200 calories, 0 g fat, 630 mg sodium, 50 g carbohydrates (50 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Carb sources: Dextrose, sucrose

This mixed very well in 20-24 oz of fluids. The flavor varieties are awesome to meet athlete’s different preferences. I tried the berry flavor and it was light and pleasant, not overpowering. Nutritionally, Tailwind (affiliate link) meets athletes’ needs well with carbs and sodium.

Skratch vs Tailwind

From what I’ve observed with our ALN athlete community, these two brands of endurance hydration mixes are the most wildly used and popular, and for good reason. They mix beautifully into water, they tend to be well tolerated with many people’s GI systems and they have great flavors that taste awesome. 

They are very similar nutritionally so it just comes down to your personal preference in which you prefer to use. I am a fan of them both and many of our ALN athletes love using their products. The price point is pretty decent compared to other brands and products.

Maurten 160 & 320

Cost: Maurten 160 is about $2.33/sachet, Maurten 320 is about $3.42/sachet, 320 Caff is $4/sachet

Nutrition:

Maurten Drink Mix 160: 160 calories, 40 g of carbohydrate, 160 mg sodium.

Maurten Drink Mix 320: 320 calories, 80 g of carbohydrate, 200 mg sodium. Caff 320 mix offers 100 mg of caffeine.

It must be mixed with 500 ml and it does require a lot of shaking to form that hydrogel. Very mild to no flavor. A slight sweet aftertaste. There was a very slight thickness to the water, but it was hardly noticeable. Other than the price point, we’ve had many athletes use and enjoy this product. I do wish it had more sodium though, so if you’re a salty sweater I’d recommend having an additional electrolyte source.

Flow Formulas

Cost: $3.00/serving

Flavors: Lemon-lime, Strawberry, Raspberry Lemon, Orange, Apple Cider (seasonal), Blue Agave

Nutrition (95 g): 360 calories, 0 g fat, 590 mg sodium, 90 g carbohydrates (41 g total sugar), 0 g protein.

I’m a fan of Flow Formulas, especially for athletes who have food sensitivities or an allergy to corn. This is made with a tapioca-based maltodextrin and agave powder.

I tried the strawberry and mixed it to the 90 g carb concentration into ~700 ml fluid. Even with a lot of bottle shaking, I could not get all the powder to dissolve into water. The strawberry flavor was delightful, light and pleasant.

NeverSecond C30 and C90 Mix

Cost:

C90 is about $4.75/serving

C30 is about $1.60/serving

Flavors:

C90 comes in Citrus, Orange

C30 comes in Forest Berry

Nutrition:

C90 Mix (94 g) 360 calories, 200 mg sodium, 90 g carbohydrates

C30 Mix (32 g) 120 calories, 200 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrates

Carb Sources: 64% maltodextrin, 32% fructose

Ok, so I haven’t tried these because the single servings were Out of Stock at The Feed which was a bummer because these have grown wildly in popularity, especially among the cycling community. But, fortunately, dietitian Hanna and her super-star athlete hubby have used them. Here’s what they reported:

“These mix up better than anything I’ve tried, but we also usually use a blender. I’d give it a 9/10, as the flavor is not overly sweet and the flavor has the right balance of not too mild or too strong.”

SIS Beta Fuel

Cost: about $3/serving

Flavors: Orange, Red Berry, Strawberry and Lime

Nutrition: (82 g) 320 calories, 0 g fat, 10 mg sodium, 80 g carbohydrates (45 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Carb sources: Maltodextrin (57%), fructose (42%)

This did not mix well. There was globs of congealed powder stuck to both the bottom of the bottle’s lid and the bottom of the bottle. It was a huge mess that required a ton of bottle cleaning to get it all off.

I tried the red berry, it tasted very sweet and had a chemical-like essence to it. I rated it a 2/10.

Victus

Cost: about $2.75/serving

Flavors: Apple and Lemon, Strawberry and Lemon, Pineapple and Citrus

Nutrition: (28.21 g) 180 calories, 0 g fat, 343 mg sodium, 45 g carbohydrates (25 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Carb Sources: Maltodextrin, fructose, glucose

This did not mix well. I had globs of congealed powder that would not blend and stuck to the bottom of my bottle. I tried the Strawberry and Lemon, it had a light berry flavor, I’d give it a 5/10.

Nääk Ultra Energy

Cost: about $3.40/serving

Flavors: Watermelon, Lime

Nutrition: (72 g) 250 calories, 0 g fat, 400 mg sodium, 55 g carbohydrates (30 g sugar), 1 g fiber, 8 g protein

Carb sources: Dextrose, maltodextrin, hydrolyzed oat flour

I believe this product is marketed towards ultra-distance runners. I tried the watermelon flavor. This was light brown in color. There is some dark brown settlement both at the bottom and the top once the liquid sits for a while after mixing. After reviewing the ingredients that must be the hydrolyzed oat flour, pea and soy protein isolate in there. The texture was very gritty. I can’t imagine consuming this during exercise. I honestly couldn’t even register the watermelon flavor because my brain was so overwhelmed by the texture, so I rated this a 1/10.

My team and I were reviewing the product label. Quote from dietitian Hanna: “It’s nice they added that magnesium citrate in there so you can shit your brains out as well.” 

Note: magnesium citrate is known for helping relieve constipation. Why did they put that in the product? I have no idea. Granted it’s a small dosage, 52 mg, but still.

PowerBar Isoactive

Cost: $1/serving

Flavors: Raspberry Pomegranate

Nutrition: (33 g) 120 calories, 0 g fat, 380 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrates (20 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Carb sources: C2Max Dual Source Carb Mix (glucose, maltodextrin, fructose)

The flavor was decent. This mixed very nicely, there was no clumping of powder even with minimal shaking. Price point on this is excellent.

Infinit Go Far

Cost: about $2.50/serving

Flavors: Fruit Punch, Orange

Nutrition: (77.1 g) 280 calories, 0 g fat, 379 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrates (24 g sugar), 4 g protein (contains whey protein isolate)

Carb Sources: Maltodextrin, cane sugar

For athletes with a sensitive gut, we usually steer clear of any sports fuel with protein in it. Protein added to sports fuel isn’t going to benefit performance.

I tried the Fruit Punch flavor, the flavor was mild. This mixed up well.I’d give it a 7/10, but not sure I could drink large quantities of this. 

Stryker

Cost: Styrkr Mix90 is about $3.33, Styrkr Mix60 is about $2.91

Nutrition:

Styrkr Mix90 (95g) 375 calories, 0 g fat, 80 mg sodium, 90 g carbohydrates (40 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Styrkr Mix60 (65g) 257 calories, 0 g fat, 56 mg sodium, 60 g carbohydrates (27 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Caffeinated versions are available with 150 mg caffeine per packet.

Carb Sources: Maltodextrin, fructose

I sampled the Styrkr Mix90. After shaking this in a bottle quite significantly, it still had a huge glob of congealed powder at the bottom that I could not get it broken up. It refused to blend with water. It was weird. This tastes like very sweet sugar water, even with that large congealed powder not included in the water.

These products were very low in sodium, but they can be coupled with Styrkr SLT products (that come in raspberry flavor) to boost the electrolytes.

Carbs Fuel Sport Drink Mix

Cost: $2.76/serving

Flavors: Original (unflavored)

Nutrition: (78 g) 300 calories, 0 g fat, 500 mg sodium, 75 g total carbs (44 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Carb sources: Maltodextrin, fructose, sucrose, highly branched cyclic dextrin

Nutritionally, I love this and it’s a decent price point. But, when I tried it, it tasted like sweet sugar water and that was it. It was too sweet (and I like sweet) for my brain to drink ongoing during exercise.

GU Roctane Energy Drink Mix

Cost: $4/packet

Flavors: Tropical Fruit (with 35 mg caffeine), Lemon Berry (with 35 mg caffeine), Strawberry Hibiscus, Grape

Nutrition: (65 g) 250 calories, 320 mg sodium, 59 g carbohydrates (16 g sugar) This also includes a 1900 mg amino acid blend in it, though that won’t offer any performance benefits.

Carb Sources: Maltodextrin, fructose

This mixed up very well. I sampled the Lemon Berry and it didn’t taste particularly like lemon or berry. It was a little too bland for my taste buds compared to other sports mixes, but I’d rate it a 6/10.

6D Isotonic Sports Drink

Cost: $2.29/serving

Flavors: Agrum (citrus), lemon lime, blueberry

Nutrition: (35 g) 131 calories, 0 g fat, 450 mg sodium, 32 g carbs (20 g sugar), 0 g protein.

Carb sources: Maltodextrin, fructose, sucrose, dextrose

This mixed up very nicely, no clumping of powder. Blueberry flavor was nice. I don’t know if I could drink this for multi-hour long exercise, but it was good. I like the higher sodium content for salty sweaters. Price point is great too!

Endurance Hydration: Putting Your Nutrition Strategy Together

Phew, that was a lot of endurance hydration product sampling. It can be an overwhelming process to select fuel that meets your needs and put together a strategy that supports your training and brings out the best performance on race day. That’s where myself and my dietitian team and help you work through the process in the most efficient (and stress-free) way.

Our 1:1 nutrition coaching program is set up for you to succeed and feel fully confident in your fueling and nutrition choices. We are accepting new clients, apply today!