Science In Sport Go Energy drink sachet

SiS Go Energy is easy on the taste buds and stomach, and easy to drink when you're training or racing or doing a sportive. The sachets are expensive at £1.32 a bottle compared to the more economical large containers of drink poweder, but for occasional use, or for carrying in a pocket or bag on a ride, they're very convenient.

Each 50g sachet contains 47g of carbohydrate with the instructions recommending mixing with 500ml of water, though I used the 610ml Camelbak Podium for testing and found the concentration level just fine, if anything preferable to the slightly stronger taste with 500ml of water. There is just 3.5g of sugar and 189 calories in each sachet.

Go Energy uses a carbohydrate mix of maltodextrin and fructose, and it's quickly absorbed by the body. It provides a good dose of energy for fuelling longer rides, where the energy drink is a really useful, and easy way, of topping up your reserves. A couple of bottles should see you through a ride of between two and four hours quite comfortably, depending on pace and temperatures and other factors of course. Used for longer events it provides a good steady stream of energy, and used in conjunction with food will keep you going for any long ride you have planned this spring/summer.

You have a choice of three flavours, orange, lemon and blackcurrant , and they're all equally appetising. Importantly Go Energy isn't too sweet or offensive, and that makes them easier to drink, especially important when you're riding hard, a time when it can be more difficult to stomach energy products. Even towards the end of a six-hour ride, the drink is still appetising.

The sachet is easy to open, with a perforated tear section, making it easy and mess-free to get the contents into a water bottle. Half fill the bottle with water, shake vigorously, then top up, and you're good to go. The sachet can be recycled after use, so don't just chuck it in the bin.

The sachet form is not the cheapest purchasing method, but it's ideal if you just want to occasionally use an energy drink, maybe for a targeted sportive or race. If you plan to use it more frequently, you're going to be better served by investing in one of the larger containers, either the 500g or 1.6kg, as they work out cheaper per bottle than the £1.32 an individual sachet costs.

However, where the sachet comes into it own is occasional use, if you just want to use it for the occasional sportive, and use real food for all your daily riding, or if you're travelling to an event. You can chuck a couple of sachets in your kitbag and that's certainly preferable to taking a bucket of powder to a race. They're also useful if you want to take a few reserve sachets on a really long ride, light enough to go in a jersey pocket or saddlebag.

Verdict

Really tasty energy drink that's easy on the stomach and is available in three flavours, but pricey if used regularly.