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Reviews > Food > Energy Bars and Drinks > Ola Loa ENERGY Multi Vitamin Drink Mix > Test Report by Thomas Vickers

Ola Loa Energy Drink Mix

Initial Report - November 22, 2009

Long Term Report - March 26, 2010

Thomas Vickers

41 years old
Male
5 ft 11 in tall (1.8 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
redroach@pobox.com
Southeast Texas, Houston Area


Tester Background:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the house. My style has evolved and over the last 4 or 5 years, I have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and tents, just lighter versions). While I have flirted with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid-weight hiker now. My philosophy is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible.


Initial Report
November 22, 2009

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Manufacturer Information:

Manufacturer: Ola Loa

Website: http://www.drinkyourvitamins.com

Year Manufactured: 2009

MSRP: $ 34.99 US (one box/30 servings)

Weight: 7 g (0.25 oz) Amount of one serving not including packaging

Flavors: Tropical, Orange, Cran-Raspberry

Information From Tester:
(all measurements approximate)


Flavors:Tropical, Orange, Cran-Raspberry

Packets per box:  30
Servings per packet: 1
Weight per packet: 0.30 oz (8 g) includes packaging

Packet measurements: 2.75 x 4 in (7 x 10 cm)

Initial tester expectations:
I feel like I am a drink mix fanatic. After visiting the Ola Loa website I realized that I might have to take a backseat to the folks at Ola Loa.  Not only is the site stuffed full of information about their products, links to nutrition information, and their company, but it is also easy to navigate. I really came away feeling that I had a great insight into this product and its intended uses.

Manufacturer's description:
"Ola Loa ENERGY is the first multivitamin-mineral-amino acid supplement to combine advanced nutrition research into a convenient “drink your vitamins” delivery system. Ola Loa Energy is available in three delicious flavors: Cran-Raspberry, Orange, and Tropical. Providing hard to get nutrients like TMG, NAC and CoQ10, plus vitamins A through K, 1000 mg of Vitamin C, 40 mineral complexes and 6 amino acids, Ola Loa’s nutrients are pleasing to taste and provide almost instant benefits. You will feel a difference."

Tester's Description:
The Ola Loa Energy drink mix is a fizzy drink making powder designed to provide me with vitamins and a natural energy boost.  It comes

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packaged in individual boxes, each holding one flavor of drink mix. Each box contained thirty individual packets of the Energy drink mix and directions that stated each packet should be mixed with 4-6 ounces (118 - 177 ml) of water with the daily intake being 1-3 packets.  I have not tried any of the mix yet, but I am looking forward to giving it some serious testing. 

Initial thoughts:
I have been experimenting with various non-caffeinated drink mixes as a way to start my day on and off the trail.  The Ola Loa Energy Drink mix appears to be another interesting approach to providing a non-caffeinated boost.  The one thing that really stands out with this drink mix is that it is not just super massive doses of the B vitamins. From reading the ingredient list, it appears to be a pretty complete multivitamin mix combined with an energy boosting formula.

One thing I really miss on the trail is drinking something other than water. On most lengthy trips I carry some sort of electrolyte drink mix for some variety in flavor and its recovery properties. I also I take multivitamins daily and really do not like having to pack them in my first aid kit due to their size, weight, and fragility. I am hoping that the Ola Loa Energy Drink mix allows me to combine two of my current pack items (multi-vitamins and electrolyte drink mix) into one smaller package.  Even with the energy boosting claims aside, I am happy about a different way to carry my vitamins with me, especially if the taste of these mixes is palatable to me.  Any extra energy boost this mix may provide is going to make it just that much more impressive to me.

Final thoughts:
The only thing left for me to do at this point is to get on the trail and start using this mix. I plan on using it on day-hikes, over night trips, and as a pre-run energy boost on my trail running days.  As with my regular hiking, I already use a mix that is similar to the Ola Loa Energy Drink mix before I go trail running, so I will be interested to see if there are any additional benefits to this product.

Things I like:
1. Size of packet
2. Non-caffeinated
3. Variety of flavors available.

Things I do not like:
1. Seemingly small serving/mixing size (4 - 6 oz/118 - 177 ml of water) per packet

Long Term Report
March 26, 2010

Locations:
Sam Houston National Forest
Other locations around Southeast Texas

Conditions:
Temperatures: 30 - 70 F (-1 to 21 C)

Getting my fizz on:
The first thing I did after writing my first report was to email the Ola Loa company and ask if it was okay to add the drink mix with hot water. I had visions of using it as a warm drink (too much winter in Texas this year) and I was not disappointed. I received an email reply by the end of the day and they confirmed that there were no issues with adding the mix to warm/hot water and using as a hot drink. Okay, now things were moving in my favor and I was very happy.

I tended to use the drink mix in a few ways during the entire test period. It was either a hot breakfast drink on the trail, a hot lunch booster on the trail or for dayhikes, or as a pre-run drink before I went running. My usual dose was two packets of mix combined with about 8 ounces of water or less. I found that I really like the intensity of the flavors if they were less diluted. A normal day on the trail saw me consuming between two and four packets of the drink mix, depending if I just used it in the morning or at lunch as well.

While I am not a big fan of commenting on the flavor/taste of a product because I do think that it has a lot to do with personal preferences that are beyond the control of the manufacturer, I do have to say something here. I found all the flavors of drink mix great. Like I said, this is personal preference and I also felt that the less water I added to the mix, the better I enjoyed the flavor.

It is fizzy:
I am always on the prowl for something interesting to drink on the trail. The drink mix was very appealing because it was not just a B vitamin ‘pick me up,’ but a complete multivitamin mix. It let me combine my normal vitamins, a morning energy boost, and a warm drink all in one. This means that rather than having three separate items to worry about, dig out of my pack, and spill on the ground, all I had to do was pull out two packets of the Ola Loa drink mix and add it to hot water. That really made mornings a bit more simple and with the wet Texas winter this year, I did not have to worry about my vitamin tablets getting wet and being unusable.

There is probably no scientific way to measure the effects of this drink mix, but I can say that it was at least as good as any other mix of multi-vitamin/B vitamins that I use on a daily basis. The Ola Loa mix had a slight advantage in its packaging. I really felt that the packaging was great for the trail and made carrying vitamins and drink mix very convenient. I have suffered through many days of wet vitamin tablets that have gotten moist and become useless and the packaging on the Ola Loa mix kept this from happening during the entire test period.

Final thoughts:
I like the Ola Loa Energy drink mix. The flavor is good and different with a nice fizz, the packaging is easy to carry and makes measuring convenient, and it seems to do what I like my vitamin mixes to do. Being able to drink this mix warm or cold is another thing that makes it a definite keeper in my pack. It does not matter what kind of weather I am in the Ola Loa Energy drink is good for a hot or cold boost at any time of the day.



Read more gear reviews by Thomas Vickers

Reviews > Food > Energy Bars and Drinks > Ola Loa ENERGY Multi Vitamin Drink Mix > Test Report by Thomas Vickers



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