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Energy & recovery drinks
Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Mix - Box of 20 Servings2023 Scratch Labs Sport Hydration Mix - Box of 20 Servings - sachets.jpg

Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Mix - Box of 20 Servings

6
by Suvi Loponen
Wed, Jun 26, 2024 15:45
0
£27.95

VERDICT:

6
10
A good choice if you like a sachet that provides a mild-tasting sports drink, but it doesn't mix that easily with water
Natural ingredients
Vegan and non-GMO
Not too sweet
Hard to mix with water
Taste won't appeal to all
Weight: 
23g
Contact: 
www.silverfish-uk.com
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Drink Mix has been designed 'to replace the electrolytes lost in sweat and to provide a little bit of energy when working out, without offending your palette or gut'. To achieve this, Skratch Labs uses ingredients you can mostly recognise, but apart from that there isn't much that sets this hydration product apart from what's already out there, and I found the powder didn't dissolve that well in water either.

> Buy now: Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Drink Mix – Box of 20 Servings for £23.76 from Tweeks Cycles

As with every nutrition product, they really only work if you actually enjoy the taste of them and to me, the Lemon+Lime flavour wasn't quite the one. I found the flavour, which comes from real fruit, a little too tangy and almost 'dish soapy'.

I also tasted the orange flavour, another one of the six options available, and I much preferred that, so it might be that I'm just not a fan of the tanginess of the lemon and lime, and tasting the 'fruit punch' mix could've totally been a different experience. On the other hand, if you don't like sweetness, this might be ideal for you.

> Cycling hydration: Is 1 water bottle or 2 best on long rides?

Tastes aside, the Skratch Labs Sport Hydration mix isn't just lemon juice blended with water – it also comes with a 4g per 100ml ratio of sugar (glucose + fructose) and electrolytes mix that should match the sweat you've lost (800mg sodium, 80mg potassium, 100mg calcium and 80mg of magnesium per litre). This means that each sachet contains 20g of carbs, which by modern-day standards isn't a lot if you consider carb mixes – and means you'd be better off complementing that with a carbohydrate mix - but it is more than a regular hydration tablet gives you. 

Value

You're paying £27.95 for 20 servings, which means £1.40 per sachet. In comparison, the Rawvelo Organic Hydration Drink Mix costs you £1.62 per serving, but then again more traditional hydration tabs such as OTE Orange Hydro Tabs only cost less than £40p per tab. 

By contrast, the more carb-filled drinks such as OTE Super Carbs Energy Drink come in at £2.85 per serving, and the SiS Beta Fuel £2.50 per serving. 

But along with electrolytes both of those also provide 80g of carbs per 500ml of liquid you've dissolved the powder into, which is four times more than the Skratch Labs offers.

Conclusion

I'd say this Skratch Labs product is a good option to keep you hydrated on easy rides – if you like the flavour and want a tiny carb boost.

Verdict

A good choice if you like a sachet that provides a mild-tasting sports drink, but it doesn't mix that easily with water

road.cc test report

Make and model: Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Mix – Box of 20 Servings

Size tested: 22g

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it?

Skratch labs says: "Our Hydration Sport Drink Mix was created for a simple purpose – to replace the electrolytes lost in sweat and to provide a little bit of energy when working out, without offending your palate or gut.

We initially created this drink because some of the world's best athletes needed better. Conventional sports drinks made them sick. They were undrinkable – too sweet, over-flavored, and didn't even replace what was lost in sweat – which defeated the whole purpose, like fighting thirst with more thirst."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product

Ingredients: Lemon + Lime: Cane Sugar, Dextrose, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Magnesium Carbonate, Calcium Citrate, Potassium Citrate, Lemon Oil, Lime Oil, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).

Verified Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan and Kosher

Rate the product for quality:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
6/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The powder doesn't mix too well in water and required a LOT of shaking. The taste isn't sickly sweet, but I found the lemon+lime too tangy and combined with the electrolytes, the drink wasn't to my taste.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The sachets are very easy to carry round on longer rides.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Hard to mix and quite low on the carbs.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

You're paying £27.95 for 20 servings, which means £1.40 per sachet. In comparison, the Rawvelo Organic Hydration Drink Mix costs you £1.62 per serving, but then again more traditional hydration tabs such as OTE Orange Hydro Tabs only cost less than £40p per tab. 

By contrast, the OTE Super Carbs Energy Drink comes in at £2.85 per serving, and the SiS Beta Fuel £2.50 per serving.  But along with electrolytes both of those also provide 80g of carbs per 500ml of liquid you've dissolved the powder into, which is four times more than the Skratch Labs offers.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes – but only for hydration.

Would you consider buying the product? No

Would you recommend the product to a friend? No

Use this box to explain your overall score

Good for on-the-go hydration in the sachet packacing

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 30  Height: 164cm  Weight: 52kg

I usually ride: Specialized Tarmac Sl6  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 5-10 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb, Ultra-distances

Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Mix - Box of 20 Servings 2024
Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Mix - Box of 20 Servings
Skratch Labs 2024
Skratch Labs
Suvi Loponen

Suvi joined F-At in 2022, first writing for off-road.cc and then road.cc and ebiketips too until August 2024. She contributed to all of the sites covering tech news, features, reviews and women's cycling content. A lover of long-distance cycling, Suvi is easily convinced to join any rides and events that cover over 100km, and ideally, plenty of cake and coffee stops. 

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