Review - Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration Mix

I'm generally moving away from using sports drinks; their high sugar content, acidic nature and synthetic feel, no longer have an appeal for my style of endurance riding (read my blog post on 'Fuelling on Fat and Protein'). This said, hydration remains a priority for me; and we all know that water alone is not enough to hydrate your body properly. As a result, I'm always on the lookout for hydration solutions; mixes that offer a low-sugar, natural and electrolyte supplementing drink, but without the sugary calories of most. Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration Mix seems to tick all of these boxes, and so I was keen to test it out…

Skratch Labs are an American company, founded on the principals of simple, natural and effective sports nutrition. Their products are made using real, natural ingredients; with no artificial colours or preservatives. There are no E-numbers or 15 letter word ingredients in their product; just the essentials, to keep your body firing on all cylinders, and to keep your stomach happy.

I've been trialling three of the Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration drink mixes: 'Pineapples', 'Raspberries' and 'Matcha + Lemons'. The ingredients in these three are similar: cane sugar, electrolytes, and natural fruit flavourings; then 'Matcha + Lemons' also contains Green Tea, for a natural caffeine kick (although strangely I can't find the caffeine content listed anywhere).

All three of the drink mixes provide a refreshing and very natural tasting drink mix, when combined with water at the recommended concentration. Per serving, they contain just 80 calories - which is about the same as an apple; those calories come from the sugar and the fruit extract, and they provide a small boost to blood sugar, without getting the peaks and troughs often experienced with super-sugary energy products.

I've found the Skratch Labs drinks a pleasure to use - being easy to drink, and effectively warding off cramps in hot conditions. In my mind, I'd also much prefer to have a few calories (in the form of sugar) in my drink mix, than go for "zero" calorie tabs, which contains artificial sweeteners.

These drink mixes have featured in my bidons a lot over the last few months. With the weather cooling down now, there are also a few other flavours in the Skratch Lab range that have real appeal; namely the 'Apple and Cinnamon' option, which is "best served warmed" - that sounds delicious for those frosty morning rides! Skratch Labs also have a great looking recipe book - always great to learn about potential 'Fuel for the Ride'.

If you're looking for a drink mix that is kind on your stomach, and suitable to drink all day long (and therefore great for endurance riding), then the drinks range from Skratch Labs is well worth considering.

View the range of Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration Mix range at Wiggle (Link)