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Reviews > Food > Energy Bars and Drinks > Ola Loa SPORT Hydrating Drink Mix > Test Report by Thomas VickersOla Loa
Sport 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 hammocks, 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: $ 24.99 US
(one box/30 servings) |
Information
From Tester: (all measurements approximate) Flavors: Lemon Lime, Mango Tangerine, Mixed Berry 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 SPORT is an all natural thirst-quenching,
HYDRATING
drink created for people who want to lead healthy, active lives.
Golfers to runners,
soccer moms to extreme athletes, all benefit from Ola Loa's ELECTROLYTES
for ENERGY and STAMINA. OSMOLYTES, TMG
and GLYCINE
prevent dehydration and excessive thirst and VITAMIN C
with over 60
MINERAL ASCORBATES and COMPLEXES support
detoxification during
activity. For an active and healthy life, simply add a packet of any of
our delicious Ola
Loa SPORT flavors to water, then enjoy."
Tester's Description:
The Ola Loa Sport drink mix is a fizzy drink making powder
designed to rehydrate
me before/during/after intense activities. 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.
Initial thoughts:
I use electrolyte replacement drinks almost every day. It does not
matter if I am on or
off the trail, there is a good chance that I have a plastic bottle full
of something that
is not plain water and is designed to rehydrate me after my activity.
On the trail I even
go so far as to mix a two liter (2 qt) bladder full of electrolyte
replacement drink to
sip on during difficult stretches of trail. Most commonly I use it
during my day-hikes or
after my running sessions. In other words, I use stuff like the Ola Loa
Sports Drink Mix
all the time. I am not sure that I can even make it through the day
without something like
this mix.
I was dying to try out the Ola Loa Sports Drink Mix and after a recent
three mile (5 km)
trail run, I promptly misread the instructions and mixed two packets
with 16 ounces (473
ml) of water. I thought the box had said to mix with 6 - 8 ounce (177 -
237 ml) instead of
the recommended 4 - 6 ounces (118 - 177 ml). Anyway, with that
small error aside I
quickly learned an important lesson. This is definitely a fizzy drink
mix. It nearly
fizzed up and out of the 20 ounce (0.59 l) plastic bottle I was mixing
it in before I
could get the lid on it and shake the mixture up.
To make this a really interesting test, I made sure to use the flavor I
figured would be
my least favorite (Mixed Berry). While I cannot yet decide if it
works as well as I
want it to, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised. The flavor was
good (Mixed Berry)
and the strength of the flavor was not too diluted because I used more
water than the
instructions called for. In fact, I think that had I mixed it with the
recommended lower
water to drink mix ratio, the flavor would have been too overpowering
for my taste buds.
So right out of the gate I was pleased and surprised. It tasted
good, mixed well,
and fizzed a ton. I guzzled the 16 ounces quickly (no surprise, just
ran 3 miles/5 km) and
did not make the sour, nasty taste face at all.
Final thoughts:
The last thing left for me to do at this point is to drink up. I plan
on using this drink
mix during and after hikes as well as after my trail running
sessions. I am also
going to check with the manufacturer on the recommend daily
doses. If I can mix two
packets with 16 ounces of water, then I am hoping that I can drink more
than 3 per day
safely. I will report back on that in my next installment of this test
series.
Things I like:
1. Size of packet
2. Variety of flavors available.
3. Mixes and dissolves well
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
Activities:
Hiking
Day-hiking
Trail running
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.
Using the new vitamins:
The Ola Loa Sport Drink Mix was a very interesting item to use. I
either used it post-run or post-hiking to replenish the fluids that I
sweat off. My initial issues with the small serving size (2
packets and 4 - 6 oz/118 - 177 ml of water per packet) did not amount
to much at all. Even after running for 30 minutes I was easily full and
satisfied after only drinking two full packets of the drink mix and the
corresponding water. Not only did I no longer feel thirsty, but I was
also usually full. If I was not, then I had no complications or
issues with drinking an additional two packets worth of drink. I know
this was a bit over the recommended servings per day, but sometimes i
was very dehydrated.
While there was no way to really judge how well the drink worked as a
vitamin mix, I can say that it was easy to carry and use on the trail.
The packaging is small and rugged and kept the contents dry no matter
how crumpled the packets became. I also enjoyed the fact that I
could have a tasty and filling warm vitamin drink before bed on the
trail. Most cold nights find me wishing for something other than warm
cider, but everything else I carry to drink warm contains
caffeine. With the Ola Loa Sport Drink Mix I had another quick
and easy warm drink which also gave me a large doses of vitamins for my
body to use while I slept.
My one complaint about the Sport Drink Mix was the Mango-Tangerine
flavored mix. I can (and did) drink just about anything, but this
flavor was flat out disgusting to me. I used all the mix, but for some
reason this one flavor just did not sit well with my palate. I normally
do not worry about things like this because I am pretty easy
going on the food and drink flavor front, but this was one time when I
had to force myself to keep going. I am not sure what made it so
unbearable, but I can say that I will not be using that particular
flavor in the future. The good news is that I really liked the other
two flavors, so things were a bit balanced out.
Final thoughts:
I like the concept of vitamins in a packet. The fact that I use
vitamins daily, on and off the trail, means that being able to carry
them in such a convenient and easy to use form appeals greatly to
me. To be able to add this mix to hot water to drink on cold days
is another huge plus for me. Being able to use it in the morning, after
a day of hiking, or at bedtime no matter if the weather is hot or cold
is excellent.
The one thing I would prefer is that the flavor was a bit more intense
so that I could mix the Sport Drink Mix with a larger portion of water
and keep the strong flavor that I preferred. I will probably
stock up on the Ola Loa Sport Drink Mix for the upcoming hiking season.
Summer is hot in Texas and I would rather carry the small packets of
this drink mix than the larger, heavier plastic bags full of sport
drink mixes that I normally carry.