OTE Orange Hydro Tabs

OTE's Orange Hydro Tabs taste good and have a diverse mix and concentrations of different salts to keep you hydrated. As far as hydration tablets go, they offer pretty much everything you really need, though there are better value options out there.

The thing about hydration tabs is that, broadly speaking, they all do very similar things and have very similar contents. You get a blend of salts – usually sodium, potassium, magnesium and a few others besides – in a low-carbohydrate formula that dissolves into water to create a solution that more closely matches the body's water-salt balance.

It's better to take on this blend of salts along with water, because they both play a key role in hydration – too much water and not enough salt and you (ironically) dehydrate, while too much salt and not enough water also results in dehydration.

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Every hydration tab is a little different in the search for a balance that delivers optimal performance to 'most' people (of course, everyone sweats differently, losing water and salt and different rates in different conditions, which makes finding a generally optimal blend without having been through extensive testing practically impossible). That said, OTE has a tablet that on paper looks like it covers the major bases that will serve the majority of us!

A quick check of the ingredients shows that it delivers 0.66g of salt per tablet (mixed with 500ml water), incorporating a blend of potassium (22mg), magnesium (7mg) and calcium (30mg) alongside the usual sodium, plus 1.5mg of zinc too. You also get some low doses of vitamins B1 (0.2mg, 18% RDA), B2 (0.3mg, 21% RDA) and B6 (0.4mg, 15% RDA) to support the body's efficient release of energy.

This is alongside the usual sweeteners and stabilisers, although there are no horror ingredients – OTE sticks to using natural flavourings, and I can report that the orange flavour is tasty without being cloying or lingering. I generally ride with plain water to swig after a flavoured drink, but here it isn't actually necessary. I could carry two bottles of solution quite happily, if I wanted to.

More flavours

OTE also kindly provided its lemon and blackcurrant flavours for a try – they carry a practically identical nutrition profile, so it's the flavours we're sampling here – and these are nice variations. Everyone will have their personal preference, but I'd be quite happy to change up the flavours with each ride. If I had to pick only one, I'd say the orange flavour just wins out because it tasted slightly better when the solution had warmed up in the sun. But again, it really is down to personal preference.

Do they work? Well, yes. Like any other hydration tablets that I've used from numerous brands over the years, I felt fresher and more alert as the ride wore on than I would normally carrying just plain water, with salt deposits on my skin, jersey and shorts by ride's end showing that my body is processing what I'm putting in it.

One real upside of OTE's Hydro Tabs is the InformedSport batch testing, the industry standard test that protects elite athletes from accidentally picking up products outside of doping regulations. If nothing else, it's a strong reassurance for them, while for less competitive folk it's an extra sign of quality whether we strictly need it or not.

Value

A tube of 20 4g tabs costs you £7.50. That's better value than Nuun's Active tabs given you get 10 tabs with Nuun for £6.99, but worse than Wiggle's own brand tabs which are currently nearly half the price at £3.99 for 20.

I've actually used both of those products in the past few years, and given the practically negligible difference in performance and effectiveness that I can detect, it's hard to look past the Wiggle tabs if you don't mind going for a product marketed by a non-specialist brand, and the InformedSport tag really doesn't bother you.

That said, if you prefer the comfort of an established nutrition brand and any perceived and real expertise that could deliver, plus the InformedSport seal of approval, OTE's Hydro Tabs are a solid option.

Conclusion

OTE's Hydro Tabs are pleasant tasting, well-profiled hydration tablets that do a good job with few (if any) drawbacks. There are plenty of products out there that do a very similar job, and value could arguably be slightly better, but these hydration tablets can work well for the vast majority of riders.

Verdict

Very good hydration tablets, with InformedSport batch testing for peace of mind