The product reviews here at Cyclocosm aim to be a bit different than on other sites. We tell you as much as possible, as quickly as possible. The testers decide what traits of a product are important to that product’s not sucking, then rate those traits 1-5, with 3 being the industry standard. No overall score is given, as different people will want different things from each product.
This lovely energy supplement is an extremely sugary liquid, billed as “nitrous for your body.” The idea is to boost your performance over the last hour of a race or hard ride.
Cost: 2. Retail is 5 bucks a pack; about twice what a PowerGel costs. Enervit claims each pack is two servings’ worth, but drinking half a pack is both difficult and impractical.
Portability: 3. Nothing fancy, same size as most energy gels, slightly thicker package size. Several fit fine in a jersey pocket.
Ease of Use: 3. Again, pretty standard. The screw-off top is a little easier to open without making a mess and allows resealing, but the consequences of an accidental swallow are much higher.
Edibility: 3. The taste is pretty neutral, but the massive amount of sugars can make it tough on the throat. Still, the fact that it’s entirely liquid makes it go down easy. Not bad, not good.
Punch: 5. As far as I can tell, this is the next best thing to 400mg of meth. The impact is immediate, like a good Coca-Cola buzz, but long-lived and without the nasty belches. I took one with 2 laps to go at the Boulder-Roubaix race, and it made me a different man. Time your usage well, though; the comedown hits hard after about an hour and 20 minutes.
Final Thoughts: Expensive, but useful. Find someone who works at a shop that imports from Veltec, and get them at cost.
As a fellow fat man, I would have to agree with Super Cos’s review of the Cheerpack (or Crackpack as we’ve taken to calling them, given the effect they seem to produce), however, as a “larger” athlete, I would say that the frequency of my Crackpack consumption is actually bolstered to a great degree by the fact that they contain almost 400 calories…now that, my friends, is damn good eatin’. Sure makes consuming some wussy-ass 90cal GU look like a damn waste of time.
I certainly recommend that you pick one up today, down it at an opportune time, try not to vomit when the massive amount of sugars hits your system, and go on to win your local town line sprint.
(Warning- diabetics and pregnant women, should not, under any circumstance, use this product as it may a.) further supress your insulin response, and b.) the jittery, full body contraction effect, may prematurely induce birth)
Levi
Why go through Veltec? Enervit North America now has it’s new official online shop, sweatguru.com. If you haven’t tryed the Cheerpack yet, take “Fellow Fat Man”‘s advice and get some. Good review.