Nectar, the energy drink brand from the firm behind For Goodness Shakes milkshakes, have expanded their range with Hydro, almost zero calorie hydration tablets.
Hydration tablets have increased in popularity in recent years, helping to replace the electrolytes and fluid you lose in sweat without the calories of traditional sports drinks. Nectar Hydro tablets contain just 1.3-2 calories per 100ml once diluted, and come in packs of 20 for £6.99.
One tablet equates to a 500ml or 750ml drink, depending on how concentrated you like it. Three flavours – orange, lemon/lime and summer fruits – are available.
The taste echoes that of the isotonic Nectar drinks, minus the sugar content. From our point of view, the tablets tasted better the more they were diluted.
Gatorade
Fancy getting your hands on a signed green water bottle as used by the Tour de France riders of Team Sky? Gatorade are giving away 100 in their summer promotion, and one could be yours. They're not just signed by the riders, either. The one above is a grubby, race-worn bottle used by Ben Swift on stage seven of the recent Tour of Norway.
From now until 20 August, each purchase of a canister or 12 'stix' of their Perform powder will come with the chance to win a Team Sky bottle. All you need to do is take out the leaflet inside the bottle and enter the code on Gatorade's website.
Sponser Liquid Energy Long Salty
The market certainly isn't short of energy gels, but most of them are of the sweet, fruity variety. To our mind, this salty gel from Sponser is a first and we can't pretend to be completely taken by it.
It has more of a salted toffee flavour than the savoury idea you might get when you first see the packaging. It also has a granulated texture that's different to most gels out there. Each 40g sachet contains 94kcal and 23g of carbohydrates, and costs 99p.
Nutrixxion
Nutrixxion is a new German brand distributed by Cycle Division. The line-up includes drinks, bars and gels of varying potency, from the stimulant-packed Endurance xx-Force to more straightforward energy drinks and bars.
First up is the Energy Bar (£1.50/192kcal), which comes in banana, fruit, fruit yoghurt and salty nut flavours. It's ideal as a snack in the office but we found it a little dry and mealy on the bike, and difficult to get down without water.
The Energy Gel (£1.30/120kcal) comes in Orange, Strawberry-Vanilla, Lemon and Citrus, and has small amounts of caffeine (40mg) and guarana (20mg) per 40g sachet. The 40g xx-Force gel (£1.79/118kcal) has double the caffeine (80mg) and lots of taurine (500mg). It packs a real punch and comes in a single flavour that's claimed to be based on jelly sweets.
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