TESTED: Pure Sports Nutrition

Pure Sports Nutrition hail from New Zealand, where the company was set up in 2012 when the owners struggled to find sports nutrition that had what they were after in terms of quality of ingredients, taste and performance. I'm sure anyone who has spent a lot of time training knows how important it is to find sports nutrition palatable, and also knowing the quality of what you will be consuming.

As athletes themselves, the founders Simon Kraak and Marewa Sutherland went to work. They focussed on the sports science for the nutritional needs, and sourcing and using the best quality ingredients they could find. Their range has grown and includes hydration mixes, energy gels, recovery drink mix and energy chews.

In April I was sent a range of their products to test – and I used them across some regular rides and during the Convict 100 mountain bike marathon in May – which was trial by fire!

Pure Sports Nutrition Electrolyte Hydration sachets – $4.45

A good electrolyte hydration mix is a key ingredient for endurance athletes. Partly it's about making water more palatable so you drink it, and having the electrolytes you need without filling you up with anything you don't need much of. Pure use a 5% carbohydrate concentration which is on the lower side of what can be found on the market – for some this is a bonus for endurance sport as it prevents bloating, the lower percentage assists with gastric emptying. It could mean you don't get enough energy though.

READ: How to choose (and use) a sports drink

The mix is vegan friendly, dairy free and gluten free, and has a mix of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. While the magnesium is quite low, those who can be sensitive to magnesium should do some trials first.

The 42g single serve sachets mixed easily in a 720mL bottle and I found all the flavours I tested to be great on taste. The sachets can be used in a 500mL bottle if you want a stronger mix. I used two of them in a race of a little over 4 hours. By all accounts I should have drunk more fluid in that time, but it is what it is. I'm not one to cramp very often, but I had zero cramps in the race, and no issues consuming any of the product. I have had problems with some mixes being too strong and ending up bloated, unable to absorb what has been consumed.

Pure Nutrition have 10 different all-natural flavours, and you can buy 500g bags as well. It's worth using some sample sachets first to see if the magnesium, and lower carbohydrate percentage works for you. Pure also do a low carb sachet – ideal for rehydration in summer or even during illness.

Pure Sports Nutrition Energy Chews – $6.95

Any endurance athlete will know they need to drip feed their nutrition out from early in the event. A number of brands make energy chews, and these really help many people tick off their energy demands as hours pass. The Pure Nutrition Energy Chews are flat little hexagons, and each pack has two 24g serves. There are two flavours; Lemon and Cola, which has 30mg of caffeine.

I really find energy chews useful, the only hard part is consuming them when racing. The best product in that regard is the Clif Shot Bloks – as they're all lined up in a tube, ready to go. Pure have a very mild taste which I find to be good, and of course they are vegan friendly, gluten free and dairy free. But I found getting them out and into my mouth a little more fiddly than I'd like while in a mountain bike race and pushing on in the closing quarter. This is not a criticism of the product – more something to be aware of with this product type within this specific use scenario. The faster you're going, the more you will tend to want your nutrition to be in liquid form. Back the pace off a bit and I think they'd be ideal. I was reaching for these in the back quarter of a marathon mountain bike race when a small group had two riders attacking, and I would have much rather had a few more gels on hand. 

Pure Sports Nutrition Fluid Energy Gels 50g – $4.25

This gel is a little larger than most, but it still delivers 24g of carbohydrate. There are seven flavours available, and three of them have 30mg of caffeine in them. What Pure have aimed to do with this product is aid the ease of ingestion. Being a little more fluid, the gels are easy to get down, without the feeling you need to chew them out of the package.

I have used SIS Isotonic gels for well over a decade, and often choose them for the same reason. They're thinner, easier to eat and I feel like they are easier to digest. Pack 8 in your pockets for a marathon and you do know about the greater volume and weight. I really like this style of gel late in an event where anything that is easier to consume is a bonus.

These are far from being watery, they're easy to manage once open and I had no spills – I found them a great product to use, and the flavours I used were all palatable.

Pure Sports Nutrition Energy Gels 35g – $4.25

As shown above on the left, this is your typical gel, with 22-23g of carbohydrate per sachet, and coming in 5 flavours, two of which have 30mg of caffeine. This gel is thicker but it's just not really that noticeable – if I had to equate it to other gels I'd say it's like a Wiggle gel or Gu – but not nearly as thick like Clif.

I used these gels and the Fluid Gel in the Convict 100 and was happy with both of them. I did prefer the Fluid Gel, as it's closer to what I'm used to racing with. The flavours I used were all fine, and like all their other product no artificial flavourings are used, so don't ecpect anything sickly sweet and hard to stomach.

Pure Sports Nutrition Whey Protein Recovery Sachet – $3.75

A recovery mix is handy for anyone who has some time pressures on their nutrition. I find them great to use on multi-day events and even after a morning ride before a big day at work. These sachets have 22g of proten and are gluten free. You can mix them in 200mL of water or milk. There are 3 flavours and you can get all three in 500g or 1kg pouches as well.

I tried both, and while mixing with water was easy in a shaker bottle, the flavour was manageable but not exciting. Mixing it with skim milk was way better – and that ups the nutritional value as well. The powder does use Stevia as a natural sweetener. Some may like this, some won't. I quite like it, and liked this mix as a not overly sweet recovery mix. It may seem like a low amount of protein compared to what you may find in a supplements shop – but do check up on how much you actually need.

Our take

Having used much of this product before, during and after a 100km mountain bike race, I was suitably impressed. Over the past decade or two I've come to know I prefer a thinner gel, and prefer gels over bars in the back end of a bike race. My preference is for a lower carbohydrate drink mix to prevent gastric issues, and I know a recovery mix helps with satiety after big training rides and races. I like the subtle flavours from Pure Nutrition, and that they're fastidious about using high quality ingredients. Your choice of sports nutrition needs to work for you, but I'd recommend picking up a few items to try for yourself to see if it's a good fit.

From: BikeCorp

Hits:

– Natural flavourings
– Options with or without caffeine
– Easy to mix and consume

Misses:

– An energy bar would be good in the range
– I still can't deal with energy chew packets