While I always thought $1 for a tiny gel packet was a rip-off, GU energy gel was one thing I couldn’t live without during a mountain bike race. Real food was too much of a hassle, and PowerBars just took too long to chew while navigating teeth rattling singletrack!

Every mountain bike race I did, it was a sure bet that I had at least one GU in my pocket or tucked under my shorts!

Why choose GU?

I first chose GU due to the neat name, but it turned out to be a perfect choice. First, GU comes in many flavors. You’ve got chocolate and coffee, fruity flavors, and even a “plain” flavor for those with sensitive tastebuds – surely one tastes good to you.

Just as important, the flavors actually taste good! I really like GU gels and could eat them all the time!

Next, the packets are easy to carry, easy to open, and easy to squeeze. You just tear the small tab off the top and you’re all set. There is no excess bulk to the package like with the Hammer and Clif Shot gels.

Best of all, GU gel gives me good energy boost. While all energy gels are basically the same thing (100 calories of quick energy from sugar,) there is something about GU that just makes me feel better. After having a GU, I always seem to get this uplifting feeling where I actually feel the energy returning to my body.

Other energy gels may provide me with calories, but none of them give me that energizing feeling I get with GU.

Science, Ingredients, and Nutrition

The GU website has a complete description of how GU works. I’ll summarize here.

You first get a shot of natural fructose, which will quickly build up your energy levels. That gives the maltodextrin time to be absorbed and broken down, maintaining your glucose levels for extended energy. The electrolytes and calcium keep you hydrated and make sure your blood and muscles are functioning optimally.

Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, valine and isoleucine, serve as another fuel source, aid in recovery, and can improve mental performance and reduce fatigue. Antioxidant vitamins C & E defend muscles from assault by free radicals, while chamomile works as an anti-inflammatory. Ginger soothes the stomach, a nice bonus if the race includes gut-wrenching climbs!

Whatever the exact formula is, GU did a good job with it!

Vanilla bean ingredients:

MALTODEXTRIN (GLUCOSE POLYMERS), FILTERED WATER, FRUCTOSE, GU AMINO ACID BLEND (LEUCINE, VALINE, ISOLEUCINE, HISTIDINE), POTASSIUM AND SODIUM CITRATE, GU ANTIOXIDANT BLEND (NATURAL VITAMIN E AND VITAMIN C), SEA SALT, NATURAL VANILLA, CITRIC ACID, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM BENZOATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, GU HERBAL BLEND [CHAMOMILE, COLA NUT (HAS CAFFEINE), GINGER], FUMARIC ACID, PECTIN

Nutrition Facts:

100 calories
55mg sodium
40mg potassium
25g carbs
3g sugar

But while you won’t get fat and protein in a GU gel, you get more than just sugar. You’ve got the antioxidants, amino acids, ginger, etc.

GU Gel Taste Test

Here are my thoughts on the eight different flavors of GU gel:

Vanilla Bean

A sweet vanilla flavor. It’s not quite a true vanilla bean flavor, but it’s not the same as imitation vanilla. Basically it’s sweet and tastes a bit like vanilla once you swallow it. I’d say it’s the sweetest GU flavor.

Tri-Berry

Tastes mostly like red raspberry. It’s pretty sweet, too. There is a hint of strawberry in there, especially in the aftertaste, and I think that sweetens up the raspberry. I’m not sure on the third berry; probably blackberry.

It’s a good berry flavor. It used to be my favorite GU, but has since been replaced by the recently added Strawberry Banana flavor.

Chocolate Outrage

This gel is thick and chocolaty. It contains actual unsweetened Belgian chocolate. While it’s not as delicious as a chocolate bar from Belgium, and doesn’t have that melty texture like a piece of Dove chocolate, it’s like a moderately good piece of dark, bittersweet chocolate.

It’s great on a cold day when it thickens up like a chocolate milkshake. It’s messy in the summer though, so watch out.

Espresso Love

Espresso is possibly my new favorite flavor! It really does taste like espresso. The flavor comes from “natural coffee flavor” rather than actual coffee, but it pulls off a great taste regardless. If you like espresso, you will love this gel!

Just Plain

This is basically a weaker version of Vanilla Bean. It’s not flavorless like water, but it’s definitely not strong and overpowering. So while this is definitely not “plain,” it’s probably the least potent flavor of gel available.

Lemon Sublime

An interesting lemon lime flavor. Each time I have one, it reminds me of something else. I just can’t compare it to anything else. It’s not too sweet, not too sour, nor too weird. I would rate it “pretty good.”

If you like lemon lime products though, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Orange Burst

Not a realistic orange, but not totally artificial or too sugary. It reminds me of orange Gatorade. The taste is alright but nothing that blows me away.

Strawberry Banana

I always liked banana (my second favorite flavor,) so I was disappointed to see GU replace it with Strawberry Banana. But once I tried this, I was excited!

The Strawberry Banana is awesome. It is very sweet and delicious. It tastes mostly like banana but with some sweet strawberry flavor in there as well.

So Strawberry Banana actually beats out Tri-Berry and Espresso Love as my favorite flavor!

My final verdict is…

GU is my favorite gel. It tastes great, contains good ingredients, comes in good packaging, and provides the best energy boost I’ve had from a gel. All around, a perfect gel.

If you need a gel for your endurance sports adventures, GU is my recommendation.

Official website: www.GuEnergy.com

Buy online: www.REI.com | www.PerformanceBike.com

Just about every energy bar manufacturer also makes an energy gel. Clif Bar is no different – they offer Clif Shot for anyone who wants a quick shot of calories in the convenient gel form.

I’ve used Clif Shot gels a few times in the past few years, and never had great success with them, but I bought a bunch this past fall/winter season so I could perform a complete test and review.

After many hours of road riding, mountain bike racing, and XC skiing, here is what I think of Clif Shot gels…

Clif Shot Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

Let’s start by looking at the ingredients list of a Clif Shot gel:

Strawberry: Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Strawberry Puree, Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Organic and Natural Flavors, Green Tea Extract (contains caffeine), Potassium Citrate, Magnesium Oxide.

The first thing you notice is that Clif uses brown rice syrup instead of the more popular maltodextrin (brown rice syrup is also the first ingredient in Clif Bars.) I don’t consider either one to be any better or worse than the other as far as healthiness goes, so if you like brown rice syrup, great.

The other interesting ingredient is strawberry puree. Clif seems to use some ‘real’ ingredients in their gel to give it that natural flavor. I do appreciate how they choose the more natural and organic ingredients.

The Nutrition Facts go a little something like this:

Calories 100
Fat 0g
Total Carbs 25g
Sugars 8g
Protein 0g
Sodium 40mg
Potassium 30mg

That’s your standard energy gel right there. It focuses on carbs, contains no fat or protein, and has a few electrolytes. Nothing more to say about that.

Clif Shot Taste Test and Review

Here are my thoughts on all the Clif Shot flavors.

Sonic Strawberry – Starts with a natural strawberry flavor, probably due to the “strawberry puree” in there. It’s a decent flavor, but a little too ‘natural’ for me.

Also, after maybe half the gel, I notice a metallic taste. (I’m not sure how to best describe it, but some weird tinge is in there that I didn’t like.) Or maybe you could call it a chemical/artificial taste, despite the organic ingredients and natural flavors.

Strawberry has 25mg caffeine.

Razz Sorbet – This was the first Clif Shot flavor I ever tried. It’s not bad at all; it’s quite a bit better than strawberry.

Razz has a similar natural taste like the strawberry, except this tastes like real raspberry. It’s pretty sweet, with no aftertaste. It’s still not as good as Tri Berry GU, but it’s edible.

Cola – This sounded kind of weird, but it wasn’t bad at all. I don’t even like cola or any soda, so I was surprised to like this at all.

This was a very interesting flavor – probably one of those “love it or hate it” ones. Apparently they quit making this flavor though, so there must not have been much ‘love’ for it.

Apple Pie – Finally, a good tasting flavor! This tastes quite a bit like apple pie, but not too sweet (a good thing.) It has that natural apple taste like other Clif Shot flavors, but this time there is no aftertaste!

Apple Pie is probably my favorite Shot. As for flavor, it’s not quite as good as the apple cinnamon Hammer gel, but it’s worth trying if you like apple.

Double Espresso – [Review coming soon.]

Double Espresso contains 100mg caffeine, like a “double” shot of espresso.

Mocha – Even though I don’t care for chocolate flavored energy bars, chocolate energy gels are a different story. Especially this mocha Clif shot, which is awesome! (I’d say this is my favorite of all chocolate energy gels.)

It has a very natural taste since it contains actual cocoa powder – it’s like real chocolate. It’s not bitter though, thanks to the sweetness of the brown rice syrup.

Mocha contains 50mg caffeine.

Mango – This tastes like a real mango, but not a ripe one. It’s not sweet, and it’s not sour, but it’s just plain bad. It was so awful I could barely finish the whole gel packet! (The aftertaste was bad too – I had to consume a strawberry gel after this just to get the taste out of my mouth as quickly as possible!)

While I don’t think any of the fruit flavored Clif Shot gels are good, the strawberry and razz are like delicacies compared to the Mango! Avoid the mango flavor unless you’re a true masochist!

Overall, you can taste the natural fruit purees (or cocoa) used in these gels. That’s not so bad. But that real puree mixed with whatever else is in these gels does not make for a good final product.

I think Clif Bars taste pretty good, but the gel is another story. Except for the Mocha (their chocolate-flavored gel,) I’m not a fan of Clif Shot gels.

Texture:

The Clif Shot texture is sort of different than the other gels, probably because of the brown rice syrup. It gets quite thin in the heat, which I don’t really like. Fortunately, it’s nice and thick in the cold weather.

It turned out great for XC skiing. But I also did an XC mountain bike race in 92 degree heat with these. A pack goes down in 2 seconds it’s so thin! (At that point, you barely even taste it, which could be good or bad, depending on your preference.)

Clif Shot Energy Boost

I did get a small but noticeable energy boost with these. Roughly 5 minutes after consuming one I noticed I felt stronger. It was not as good of a boost as GU gel, but it was a little better boost than with Hammer gel.

(Of course, I wanted another one after 45 minutes or so; same as any 100 calorie energy gel.)

I got a pretty heavy caffeine kick from the Mocha, and that only has 50mg caffeine! With 100mg caffeine, the Double Espresso should be pretty potent!

The Litter Leash

To show their environmental concern, Clif came up with something called the Litter Leash. This is a design where you can tear off the top of the gel pack but still leave it attached! It prevents the inevitable litter from many people who drop the little tops of gel packs along the road or trail.

However, I have found that standard GU gel packets are easier to open and less bulky. And since I don’t mind saving the tab and sticking it in my jersey pocket, GU is great for me.

To make matters worse, the litter leash doesn’t always work. Since the packet is pretty hard to open, sometimes I have to pull it hard enough that the litter leash rips right off, rendering it useless.

My final verdict is…

I won’t be switching from GU gels, but it’s worth trying a Clif Shot to see if it works better for you. I’d recommend a raspberry or apple pie flavor if you like fruit, or the Mocha or Double Espresso if you’re adventurous.

(For me, GU is easier to open, tastes better, and starts working faster, so I will stick with them.)

Official website: www.ClifShot.com

Buy online: www.PerformanceBike.com

While most energy gels are practically the same thing, there are subtle differences with each one. Here is a quick comparison chart that shows nutrition facts from the top ten most popular energy gels:

	Serving Size	Calories	Carbs	Protein	Sodium	Potassium	Caffeine	Price
Accel Gel	41g	100	20g	5g	100mg	50mg	0	$1.67
GU	32g	100	25g	0	55mg	45mg	Yes	$1.35
Power Gel	42g	110	27g	0	200mg	20mg	0	$1.25
Clif Shot	32g	100	25g	0	40mg	30mg	0	$1.00
Hammer Gel	36g	90	23g	0	25mg	n/a	0	$1.25
Honey Stinger	37g	120	29g	0	50mg	85mg	0	$1.25
Carb Boom!	41g	110	27g	0	50mg	50mg	0	$1.25
Sharkies Chews	45g	140	36g	0	110mg	30mg	0	$1.50
Enervit	25ml (24g)	71	18g	0	n/a	n/a	0	$1.89
e-Gel	55g	150	37g	0	220mg	80mg	0	$1.49

* Figures come from company websites as of 7/1/09. Values based on the vanilla flavor. (Except Honey Stinger, which is based on “Gold” flavor, and Sharkies, which is based on “Citrus.”)

You can find more information at the respective company websites:

• Accel Gel by Accelerade
• GU Gel by GU Sports
• Power Gel by PowerBar
• Clif Shot Gel by Clif Bar
• Hammer Gel by Hammer Nutrition
• Honey Stinger Gel
• Carb BOOM Gel
• Sharkies Fruit Chews
• Enervit Gel by Enervitine
• eGel by Crank Sports

I encourage you to visit these websites and check out the flavors, ingredients, and other information before buying. This was just a quick comparison chart; there is much more research to do.

Also note that most figures in the chart will apply to all flavors in the line of gels, but not always. Take caffeine for example. Most gels do offer some flavors with caffeine, even if the vanilla flavor (listed here) has no added caffeine.

Also, while most gels use maltodextrin and dextrose for the sugar, one gel listed here actually contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. Always read the ingredients before making a purchase!

Want my opinion on the gels?

See my reviews:

• Clif Shot Gel Review (coming soon)
• GU Gel Review (coming soon)
• Hammer Gel Review (coming soon)

If you are running a marathon or other endurance event, there’s a good chance you need to carry food with you. Sometimes you need to carry food and water, but most events provide water and Gatorade on the course, so food is the primary concern.

I prefer to carry energy gels with me by pinning them to my shorts, but there are many other ways you can try.

Here are 7 of those ways: (The catch is, you do NOT want to carry your gels like this!)

1. Gels under your race cap.

If you wear a running cap, you could put the gels underneath the cap so they are held in place between the hat and the top of your head.

But gel packets on your head isn’t very comfortable, and you also have to make sure the gels don’t fall onto the ground whenever you remove the cap!

2. Gels under a forearm sweat band.

I like wrist/forearm sweatbands so I can easily wipe sweat from my brow, but I wouldn’t use them to hold gels against my arm.

Gel packets are slippery, especially against skin, and they could easily slide out from underneath the sweatband.

3. Tape gels to your body.

To make sure the gels aren’t going anywhere, you could just tape them to your body. That will certainly hold them in place, but removing them is not comfortable, especially if you have body hair!

4. Glue gels to your body.

If you’re out of tape, don’t worry – you can glue the gel packets to your body! Of course, this makes for even more painful removal, since a layer of your skin will rip off with the gel packet!

5. Clothes pins around your waistband.

If you’re out of safety pins, maybe you have some wooden clothes pins lying around? You could clamp some gels to your waistband with these pins.

You just have to deal with the discomfort of a big wooden object pressing against your body, and the good possibility that the gel will slide right out of its grasp.

6. Sew your own Velcro holders.

If you are good with needle and thread (and glue,) you could make your own Velcro attachment system. Simply sew Velcro patches onto your shorts, then glue the corresponding Velcro to your gel packs.

That’s pretty secure and allows for an easy grab, but why waste good Velcro on gel packs that will be thrown away?

7. Wear a triathlon singlet.

By far the easiest way to carry gels when running would be to wear a triathlon singlet (those fancy skin-tight tank tops.) It has a neat little pocket in the back where you could stow a few gels.

But triathlon gear has no place being worn during a marathon! Outside of triathlons, you shouldn’t, you know, look like a triathlete…

Photo credit: Penningtron

Doing a race where there is plenty of water on the course, but you still need to carry your favorite energy gel? Then skip the fancy products like the Fuel Belts and go back to basics – safety pins!

Yes, you can use safety pins to attach gel packs directly to your running shorts. I used this technique during my first marathon and it worked marvelously.

What you do is…

1. Gather the supplies.

You are going to need one or more gel packets, scissors, and safety pins (one for each gel packet.)

2. Smooth the gel.

Since these gel packets will be close to your skin, sharp corners are the enemy. So you need to take the scissors and round the sharp corners off the energy gel pack and you’re all set. (Notice the gel on the left has sharp corners, while the gel on the right has been cut.)

I recommend GU energy gels, because the packet is very slim and you can easily round the bottom corners off with scissors. Plus, the tab provides plenty of room to pin the gel without puncturing the actual gel part.

Some other gels, like Hammer, are big and bulky, so I’d skip them.

3. Pin the gel to the outside of your shorts.

Pin the gel to the waistband, but not so it hangs down. You actually need to pin it upside down, as shown in the picture.

Be sure you pin through the pull-off tab and not through the gel part!

4. Put on shorts.

This is simple. Put on your race shorts and singlet.

(Don’t worry if the gels fold over.)

5. Fold the gel over to the inside.

Now fold the gel packs over to the inside of the waistband. This step holds them in place so they don’t flap around.

With the sharp corners cut off the gel packets, this should actually be comfortable. If not, just tuck in your shirt, and you won’t even notice the gels (which will rest between your shorts and singlet, not touching your skin.)

6. Eat.

Then during the race, you can rip the gel off your waistband, and there’s no tab to litter, because it’s still pinned to your shorts!

(You can deal with the safety pins after you have recovered from the event. No need to mess with sharp objects when you have no energy!)