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Reviews > Food > Energy Bars and Drinks > Ola Loa ENERGY Multi Vitamin Drink Mix > Test Report by Thomas VickersOla Loa
Energy Drink Mix
|
Thomas Vickers |
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
Manufacturer
Information: Manufacturer: Ola Loa Website: http://www.drinkyourvitamins.com Year Manufactured: 2009 MSRP: $ 34.99 US
(one box/30 servings) |
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
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.