Tested: Sobe LifeWater
Like most companies that launched a product to compete with Propel fitness water, Sobe came out with a new line called Sobe Lifewater. Basically it’s water with some extra flavor, vitamins, and antioxidants.
The thing with this water is that it has the same amount of calories as Gatorade, at 50 calories per 8 oz serving. That puzzled me because Propel (Gatorade’s fitness water) has something like 20 calories per serving, helping it appeal to general dieters and fitness enthusiasts. Maybe Sobe is just targeting the people that already buy Sobe products looking for energy.
The two main ingredients are filtered water and fructose, so that’s not so bad - certainly better than high fructose corn syrup. However, the drink tastes a little too watered down.
“Watered down? But it’s water?”
Well here’s the thing. I like flavored waters because they taste like water with a little extra flavor. But this tastes like a juice or sports drink that has been watered down way too much. See the difference?
Let me put it another way: When you drink it, you get a little flavor, and then you get a water taste. It’s kind of like separate experiences instead of water with a hint of flavor. You can’t really compare it to Gatorade Rain or Propel Fitness Water either. It’s just its own weird experience.
That might not apply to all the flavors, but this Pomegranate Cherry isn’t something I plan to drink again. I was only attracted to it for the pomegranate flavor, and it turns out that the cherry taste overpowers any hint of pomegranate that might be there. (By the way, real pomegranate juice is exceptional!)
The strawberry kiwi flavor, on the other hand, was half decent. And the orange tangerine was alright. But overall, I wasn’t too impressed.
My final verdict is…
The plain water taste is too weird, so I don’t recommend it. Stick with other drinks like plain water or Gatorade. [Just make sure you choose ones without artificial sweeteners like sucralose.]
But if you do have to try this, opt for the Strawberry Kiwi.
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I disagree. I can’t stand gatorade or any other flavored waters…but this is one that I actually like and will buy again. The flavor is mild, smooth and not too sweet! If I could just figure out where to buy it?!
Gatorade can be a bit sweet, but I would choose most flavored waters over Lifewater due to that weird taste mentioned in the review.
I can’t even see how life water is being compared to propel. Propel has 6 grams of sugar per bottle compared to life water’s 32.5 grams of sugar per bottle. Luckly for sobe the majority of the population doesn’t know how to read nutrition labels and thinks that since the word water is in it, it must be healthy.
the person above me is extremely ignorant. “jon ruiz” or whatever. propel contains sucralose which is farrr worse than natural sugar.
@Jon
I am comparing Life Water to Propel because they can both be considered “flavored water” or “fitness water.”
@Heather
Yes, avoid sucralose!
I’m just miffed because Sobe changed the Life Water formula so now it tastes like all the other “fake-sweetener” garbage. The old Sobe life water was light and had just enough flavor. And best of all, it barely left an after-taste.
Now I find myself sifting through the grocery store shelves looking for the last bottles of the old Life water formula. How embarrassing! The old formula was crisper than Vitamin Water. This new Sobe Life water tastes awful. Whats up with the saccharine taste? What a shame. I’m now forced to buying Vitamin Water and watering it down. I hope the people at Sobe go back to the old Life Water formula. Maybe I can find some on Ebay. I tell yah, if someone had a forklift pallet of the “old” pomegranate-cherry Life Water formula, I would buy it!