Elete Water

We've all had it. Many of us remember our first time but… not with fond memories.

It is, of course, cramp that I'm talking about. 

I can remember the first time that I had proper silly-face inducing, leg searing cramp. It's not funny. Over the years I've suffered with it like many riders, and over the years I've tried all sorts of different and various 'cures'. I've tried tonic water the stuff with quinine in; the drink that colonials used to quaff out in India to counter the effects of malaria. If only Oliver Cromwell had known this. I've tried eating all sorts of salty comestibles, pretzels being the favourite. I've even tried training. 

The causes of cramp seem to be -to someone with very little scientific training- pretty straightforward (see the front page of xcracer.com for some proper descriptions and ways to combat cramp). The sort of cramps that we, as cyclists, get can be attributed to muscle fatigue, and more often than not serious dehydration, and a loss of sodium and other electrolytes, hence my salty comestibles. 

Fairly ironic then that a package should be sent from none other than Mr Salt himself containing a product that I'd never heard of before: Elete.

 

These sorts of reviews are difficult to write since testing any product is so subjective but testing an energy drink that you pour over your taste buds becomes even more a matter of personal taste. I probably shouldn't even call this product an energy drink since it doesn't really claim to be one! Its main function is to ensure that the user keeps hydrated and that the balance of electrolytes is maintained. You know those vital salts and minerals that you have flowing around in your veins.

 

I should state now that I am in no way sponsored by these guys. I just offered to give them a go and see how they work. I received the products way back last winter when dehydration and excessive sweating seemed seasons away. We all know though that regardless of the weather, we still as cyclists sweat buckets of the stuff. Lovely image eh? We all know how to check our pee to see if we are dehydrated don't we? Good, I don't need to go into any further detail. 

It was a busy off-season for me so I spent a disproportionate amount time on a turbo trainer. I hate these things but they do seem to work. I even splashed out (or sweated out) on one with a power meter.

I've been using Elete over the course of the season. Not in a particularly structured way but at times of bigger volumes of training and racing during that very small window of hot weather we had way back in May and June. I've almost come to the end of my limited stash so thought it now the right time to share my opinions of Elete with the wider mtb community!

The first thing that struck me about Elete is just how cheap it is compared to all the other products on the market but when you look at the ingredients you soon see why it is so cheap. 

 

It really is salt but salt from Utah no less. You can get it in 24.6ml for £6.49 or a massive 120ml bottle that retails for £11.99 and both bottles make 10 and 48 litres respectively. It is pretty simple stuff and all you do is simply add it to your water bottle and shake. It is possible, and the manufacturers do claim, that you can add Elete to any other drink. I've tried this with some other well-known sports supplements and there have been no nasty tastes or Jekyll and Hyde fizzing, evil concocting, transforming moments. It has, though, been difficult to quantify what product has been doing what! 

You can also, if you so chose, mix it with your food. I've tried this but I can't be sure how much of the Elete I've ingested so I've always opted to mix it straight into my water bottle. I could lick the plate I suppose to ensure that I've hovered up all of the stuff but my mum wouldn't think too much of my manners. The manufacturers of Elete claim that there is no taste to their product so you can add it to anything you want. My personal mixture of choice is to mix it with fresh orange juice, the juice that has the fleshy bits still left in. In fact talking of taste and whether or not there is a discernible difference I can certainly detect a different flavour in my drink. I wouldn't say that it is a strong or off-putting taste but your drink of choice definitely takes on an ever so slightly saltyish flavour. I personally find the fact that you can taste the product to be reassuring since you know it's in their and working it's magic.

The 24.6ml is a pretty handy size to stash in your jersey pocket but I've always found the smaller 1.25ml packs really useful. I've carried them on a few long road rides over the spring/summer and found them really easy to throw in a saddle bag and use them when filling up and it's these little fellows that were of use in the longer enduros where you fill up a couple of times at feed stations and still simply want to use your own product. The 1.25ml sachets should be added to a litre of your drink for it to have the recommended desired effect. The ease of this as well is that you don't need any fiddly measuring spoons to dish out the recommended dosage of Elete. I can't really be bothered with rummaging around the cutlery drawer looking for one of those plastic spoons with the measurements minutely etched into it. I just want to hydrate and go! When using the 24.6ml bottle out on the trail I did just roughly guess the dosage and probably at times over filled my bottle with the stuff but there were no adverse side effects apart from a stronger slightly saltyish taste. In fact I wish that the manufacturers would incorporate some sort of measuring device into the lid for convenience. A small point I know but one I want to make! 

I've been using Elete over the course of the season and cramp hasn't been the problem it once was. Having said this, I've almost run out of the product and I'm not entirely sure whether I'd opt for another batch. It has seemed to work and it has staved off cramp but I can't really determine whether this has been from a little more training or simply the product or a hugely conscious effort to stay hydrated. When I do put my hand into my wallet to buy an energy drink or food I do like it to offer a bit more bang for the buck and include some form of carbohydrate and/or protein. This is just personal preference though and if you read the information that comes with Elete it states that one of the benefits of the product is that you can consume enough of this product as you need and at the same not have to worry about the quantity of carbs that you're taking on board. I've never really been any good at keeping tabs of such things and maybe this is where I'm going wrong but to tot up all of your carbohydrate intake seems time consuming and for someone like me is it really that necessary?

I can't help feeling that with the right diet, preparation and training you can tackle the evil cramp to a point. Having said that on the really hot days (there haven't been many mind) when you don't want to chow down on a bag of giant pretzels the stuff is useful and does give you a little psychological boost. Don't all of these drinks/foods do this though? Or is it just me?

Ultimately, for me, this product is of some use in the days leading up to an event, whether it be a round of the BMBS, a 6 hour enduro or even a particularly dreaded session on the turbo in the gym. I became quite organised and efficient with filling up a water bottle of the stuff and taking it into work with me. I did drink an awful lot of it and cramp wasn't a problem or at least not half as bad as it has been in previous years. So for me the strength of Elete lies in its ability to hydrate you before AND after the event itself. Since I guess we all know that when you feel yourself getting thirsty then the effects of dehydration have already set in and it's no good drinking any product and expecting it to magically hydrate you during the activity. 

I would use it again without doubt but for me its use is best before and after exercise as opposed to during but that again has seemed to suit me best. During exercise I personally prefer to ingest something with a bit more carbohydrate thrown in but as a tool to keep on top of hydration then its ideal. In terms of cost then it is definitely worth giving a go especially if you struggle with keeping hydrated by just simply drinking. I know that some people forget to drink the necessary amount of water and of course as cyclists we need a lot more than the average individual. I'm also aware that some people just don't like huge quantities of H2O and so they should really give this stuff a go. For me, it's been of most use as a tool to top up on days when I know that I haven't drank as much as I should've and I know that some big race is looming in the calendar. For the price of Elete it is certainly something that is worth trying. 

A few years back I tried drinking galloons of tonic water (without the gin) in the days leading up to a big race to counter the effects of cramp. I became convinced that this worked for me. In very much the same way that drinking Elete mixed water with good old ordinary squash/orange juice worked for me.  In fact this is where I found the product to be useful the 120ml bottle is very good value for money and buying 48 litres of tonic water isn't but you'd also look a bit odd turning up at the supermarket till with 48 litres of tonic water and no gin.

If you struggle with water intake give it a go but don't expect it to behave in the way of an energy drink since it isn't one and it would be unfair to think of it as so. It simply is a useful product to keep your self fully hydrated. I've got to go I need the loo again.

Score: Just off the podium

Reviewed by Matt Lewis

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