Ola Loa ENERGY Drink
Test Series by Kurt Papke
Tester Information
| Name: |
Kurt Papke |
| Age: |
56 |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
6' 4" (193 cm) |
| Weight: |
225 lbs (102 kg) |
| Email address: |
kwpapke at gmail dot com |
| City, State, Country: |
Tucson, Arizona USA |
My backpacking background has mostly been in Minnesota where I have
lived
most of my adult life. This last year included hiking in
Michigan, Wisconsin, Utah, Colorado,
south and North Dakota and Oregon. My preferred/typical backpack
trip has been one week, mostly in the
Spring/Fall
seasons, but I started doing more winter camping last year. I
recently moved to Tucson to take a new job, and am excitedly exploring
the surrounding mountain ranges.
Initial Report
Product Facts
Ola Loa has a line of four types of powdered drink mixes:
- ENERGY: effervescent multi-vitamin-mineral-amino formula. A
one-a-day multivitamin that is drunk by dissolving in water instead of
taken in pill form.
- REPAIR: effervescent multi-vitamin targeted for bone and joint
pain.
- SPORT: hydration electrolyte drink with vitamins.
- KIDS: drinkable multi-vitamin for children.
This test will be for the energy drink.
Product Information
|
Manufacturer
|
Ola Loa, LLC
|
Manufacturer
website
|
http://www.drinkyourvitamins.com/
|
Year
manufactured
|
2009
|
Variety
|
ENERGY (SPORT, KIDS, and REPAIR
also available)
|
Flavors tested
|
Cran-raspberry, tropical, and
orange. These are all of the available ENERGY flavors.
|
MSRP
|
US $24.99 for box of 30 packets
|
Total Weight
(measured)
Measurement is average of 10 packets
|
Cran
Raspberry
9.5
g
(0.34
oz)
Tropical 8.5 g (0.30 oz)
Orange 8.7 g (0.31 oz) |
Net Weight
(specs)
|
Cran Raspberry 7.5 g (0.26 oz)
Tropical 7.0 g (0.25 oz)
Orange 7.0 g (0.25 oz)
|
|
Packet dimensions
|
2.75 in x 4 in (7 cm x 10.2 cm),
thickness was very small and highly irregular
|
|
Serving size
(1 packet)
|
4-6 oz (118-177 ml)
|
Quantity to
be tested
|
30 packets of each flavor were
supplied
|
I weighed an empty Cran Raspberry packet at approximately 1 g (0.04
oz). This accounts
for the apparent discrepancy between the measured and
manufacturer-supplied weights.
In the table below, all three flavors have the same nutritional
information, though the other ingredients do differ slightly. "*" in
the table indicates no recommended daily value has been established.
Product Contents
|
Contents
|
Cran-Raspberry
|
Tropical
|
Orange
|
Other Ingredients
|
Fructose, Flavor from Cranberry
and Raspberry,
Citric Acid, Beet powder (color), Stevia, Grape skin extract, Beta
carotene
|
Fructose, Citric Acid, Aspartic
acid, Tartaric acid, Malic acid, natural fruit flavors,
Stevia |
Fructose, Citric Acid,
Aspartic acid, Tartaric acid, Malic acid, natural fruit flavors,
Stevia |
Nutritional Information
|
Calories
|
5
|
Calories from fat
|
0
|
Total carbohydrates
|
1 g
|
Sugars
|
1 g
|
Vitamins
|
Amount per
serving
|
% Daily Value
|
Vitamin C
|
1000 mg
|
1670 %
|
Vitamin B1
|
2 mg
|
133%
|
Vitamin B2
|
2 mg
|
117%
|
Vitamin B3
|
10 mg
|
50%
|
Vitamin B6
|
10 mg
|
500%
|
Folic Acid
|
600 mcg
|
150%
|
Vitamin B12
|
100 mcg
|
1670%
|
Pantothenic Acid
|
10 mg
|
100%
|
Biotin
|
100 mcg
|
35%
|
Vitamin D3
|
200 iu
|
50%
|
Vitamin E
|
30 iu
|
100%
|
Vitamin K1
|
20 mcg
|
25%
|
Coenzyme Q10
|
25 mg
|
*
|
Vitamin A
|
1000 iu
|
20%
|
Lipoic Acid
|
1 mg
|
*
|
Choline bitartrate
|
10 mg
|
*
|
Beta carotene
|
3333 iu (orange flavor only)
|
66%
|
Herbs
|
Bromelain
|
10 mg
|
*
|
Citrus Bioflavonoids
|
100 mg
|
*
|
Cranberry powder
|
250 mg (cranberry flavor only)
|
*
|
|
Minerals
|
Potassium
|
200 mg
|
6%
|
Sodium
|
35 mg
|
<2%
|
Calcium
|
29 mg
|
3%
|
Magnesium
|
25 mg
|
6%
|
Zinc
|
5 mg
|
30%
|
Manganese
|
1.5 mg
|
75%
|
Copper
|
500 mcg
|
25%
|
Molybdenum
|
75 mcg
|
100%
|
Selenium
|
50 mcg
|
70%
|
Chromium
|
100 mcg
|
80%
|
Iodine
|
50 mcg
|
30%
|
Boron
|
1 mg
|
*
|
Amino
Acids
|
| N-Acetyl
Cysteine |
50 mg
|
*
|
L-Arginine
|
100 mg
|
*
|
| L-Lysine |
100 mg
|
*
|
| L-Glycine |
1000 mg
|
*
|
| TMG-Betaine |
1000 mg
|
*
|
L-Glutamine
|
100 mg
|
*
|
Notable in the table above are the low amount of calories and
sodium. Notable are the
large variety of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. My hope is
drinking this stuff will be like Popeye having his can of spinach!
Initial Inspection
|
|
Front of
package
|
Rear of
package including
extensive list of nutrients
|
Initial Experiences
The packets open easily with no tools -- they tear open with no
problems or spillage. The powder is easily poured into a water
bottle,
even with a very small mouth, by forming the packet into a V. I
was
able to pour the powder into a bottle without spilling any powder in
the process. The powder dissolved easily with just a few shakes.
I followed my usual procedure and attempted to use the product without
first reading the instructions. I mixed it with 1 L (1 qt) of tap
water. The color seemed a little light, but pleasant. The
taste of
the orange was pleasant, but seemed very
weak. I couldn't detect any of the effervescence.
Then I read the package instructions: it called for mixing with 4-6 oz
(118-177 ml) of water.
I mixed a packet of the tropical flavor with 4 oz (118 ml) of water,
and it
frothed
immediately, and dissolved with no problem with a quick stir. I
took a
sip, and it had a very nice fruit punch flavor.
First Impressions
I am really excited to see if there is any impact of a daily ingestion
of the energy drink, as opposed my usual multivitamin tablet. I
intend to drink one packet every morning to overcome my usual slight
dehydration upon awakening.
Kudos:
- Flavors tasted so far are excellent.
Concerns:
Please return to the site in about 3 months for
the Field Report when I've had a chance to experience any impact of an
extended use of the product. I typically take a daily
multi-vitamin tablet, but I hope to replace that with a daily Ola Loa
ENERGY packet.
Field Report
Test Conditions
During the Field Report period I drank one packet of the Ola Loa Energy
drink every day dissolved in a small glass of water, consuming all 90
packets during the last 3 months. I found the individual packets
to be an excess of packaging for daily use at home, however as I
mention below the opposite is true on a backpacking trip.
The product
also accompanied me on the
following backpacking trip:
Date
|
November 14-15, 2009
|
Location
|
Saguaro National Park, just east
of Tucson, Arizona in the Rincon Mountains |
Altitude
range
(from
GPS/topo
map)
|
3088 ft to 5979 ft (m to m)
|
Distance
(from
GPS)
|
13.81 miles (km)
|
Temperature
range
|
25 F to 75 F (C to C)
|
I did not take any of the Energy drink with me on my many day hikes
during the test period due to the parallel testing of the Ola Loa Sport
drink.
Saguaro National Park
Ever since I moved to Tucson I had good intentions of doing some
backpacking in Saguaro National Park. There are actually two
parts to this park, one on the west side of the city in the Tucson
Mountains, and one on the east side in the Rincon Mountains. I
heard the view from the Rincons was spectacular, so on the weekend of
November 14th I thought I'd give it a try.
I took one packet of the Energy drink with me on the trip and drank it
in the morning while my tea was heating up. It was a nice way to
start the day with a little hydration and some essential vitamins and
minerals. I appreciated the single-serving packet as it minimized
the weight and bulk I had to carry, and made preparation a snap.
Mixing It Up
I tried the following combination of Ola Loa Energy drinks with real
juice. In each case I mixed one packet of Energy drink with 6 oz
(177 ml) water and 6 oz (177 ml) of fresh juice:
Ola Loa Flavor
|
Juice Type
|
Comments
|
Orange
|
Fresh orange juice
|
The real orange juice helped mask the somewhat
medicinal odor
|
Cran-Raspberry
|
Fresh pomegranate
|
Excellent combination
|
Other Observations
After getting used to the flavors and sampling it on a daily basis, I
began to smell the vitamin fragrance of the drinks. The
effervescence does help mask this to some extent, but it is noticeable
to me. My preference for the flavors was:
- Orange - consistently pleasant.
- Cran-Raspberry - slightly tart, very fruity.
- Tropical - a little bland for me. I like a little more zip
to my flavors, but of course that is my personal bias.
Summary
Overall I enjoyed getting my daily dose of vitamins in a good-tasting
morning drink. During the test period I had one illness, a nasty
cold right at Christmas. I generally am in pretty good health and
often go several years between even getting colds, so I was a little
surprised I got sick while taking the daily supplement. On the
other hand, I am in a new job working in an office all day long in a
new locale, so I am being exposed to a whole new array of germs, so
maybe it is not so surprising.
Since I am accustomed to taking a daily multi-vitamin tablet, the
ingestion of the Ola Loa Energy nutrients did not seem to make a marked
different in my health and well-being from what I had been
experiencing, but of course this is very subjective.
What I like about the product
- Good-tasting drink, not too sweet or salty like some hydration
drinks
- Nice bubbles
- Powerful daily dose of vitamins, minerals and amino acids
What might be improved
- Spendy. At almost a dollar-a-day I would find it difficult
to justify the expense of the product unless I could feel a certain
increase in health and well-being.
- The vitamin smell is perceptible, though the effervescence helps
to mask it.
Many thanks to Ola Loa
and BackpackGearTest.org for the
opportunity to
test this product.
Read more gear reviews by Kurt Papke
|
