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review
2023 Skratch Labs Super High-Carb Sport Drink Mix - Lemon and Lime£41.95
VERDICT:
Natural tasting, effective carb mix but requires vigorous shaking
Natural ingredients
Flavour not too overpowering
On the expensive side
Weight:
840g
Contact:
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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Skratch Labs Super High-Carb, its take on the ever more popular carb drink mix product, is certainly easy to consume, but its tangy flavour might not tickle everyone's fancy, and its consistency takes some effort to dissolve.
> Buy now: Skratch Labs Super High-Carb for £38.95 from Biketart
At the core of any carb sports drink is, obviously, carbs, and this Super High-Carb Sport Drink Mix features what Skratch Labs calls a "better carbohydrate", named Cluster Dextrin, that "digests steadily as real food does". It's hard to measure the truthfulness of this claim without scientific lab conditions, but for the purposes of this review, I've relied on empirical testing and concluded that the mix provided great fuel for long rides, and didn't cause me any stomach distress. The mix also includes electrolytes to replace those you've lost through sweating.
> How to eat right for sportives and long rides
It was, however, a task to get this mixed into the water. Adding it to a half-filled bottle, shaking and then topping up helps with the process, but at times some residue lingered at the bottom of the bottle. It might be that this is just a grainier texture than the powders I'm used to, and if I sometimes mixed the powder the night before the ride, that certainly helped.
This lemon and lime flavour has quite a tangy taste, but I like it. Admirably, Skratch Labs has used natural flavouring to achieve this, and it is relatively subtle in the recommended dosage. It also comes in raspberry.
In terms of value, you get 100g of carbs per (recommended portion) 105g of the mix, meaning if you buy the 840g resealable pouch you get about eight portions out of each bag, at £5.24 a pop. Compared with some other carb drinks, that's quite expensive, but I do think it does its job.
> Buy now: Skratch Labs Super High-Carb for £38.95 from Biketart
Verdict
Natural tasting, effective carb mix but requires vigorous shaking
road.cc test report
Make and model: Skratch Labs Super High-Carb Sport Drink Mix
Size tested: 840g
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it?
Skratch Labs says: "Our Super High-Carb Sport Drink Mix (formerly Superfuel) was created for athletes who push so hard that they can't easily take in enough calories to perform at their best.
For years, we've preached fueling with real food, like our famous rice cakes or Energy Bars. Why? Because traditional fueling gels and drinks use carbohydrates that break down too fast to tolerate, causing gastrointestinal distress. But we get it -- you can't always make or carry real food -- you want power in a bottle.
We've discovered the answer in a better carbohydrate (with a funny name) that digests steadily, like real food does: Cluster Dextrin™.
Super High-Carb gives you up to 400 calories, powered by Cluster Dextrin™, plus the electrolytes lost in sweat to fuel and hydrate your biggest days."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product
The ingredients for the Lemon + Lime flavour are: Cluster Dextrin™ (Highly-Branched Cyclic Dextrin), Fructose, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Lemon Oil, Lime Oil, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice. Provides up to 400 Kcals in a bottle.
Rate the product for quality:
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
Rate the product for value:
4/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It works well in providing energy for long, steady efforts or even for harder sessions where getting enough carbs easily is crucial.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Mild taste.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Can clump up, requires proper shaking, and expensive compared with other similar products in the market.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
For comparison purposes, the 840g pouch of the drink mix provides you with 800g of carbs in total, and that means that each 100g of carbs costs £5.24.
OTE Super Carbs Energy Drink, though it comes in 80g of carbs portions, would cost £3.56 for the same, and SiS Beta Fuel would set you back £3.13 if you look at the price for 100g of carbs. This makes the Skratch Labs quite a lot more expensive.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes, once it mixed.
Would you consider buying the product? Perhaps, if discounted.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Possibly
Use this box to explain your overall score
Its relatively neutral, citrusy taste and natural ingredients work well without upsetting the stomach, but there are cheaper options available.
About the tester
Age: 30
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
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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6 comments
Pretty insane pricing on this considering it's essentially glucose+fructose (sugar) + citrus. as other have said you could make your own version of this for pennies per bottle.
I just cannot fathom spending that much on 850g of carbs. You could get a bag of sugar for £1. I make my own from maltodextrin and fructose with a bit of salt and that costs me about £2/kg. How on earth can people spend this much on something which is functionally the same. I would go through 840g in about 5 rides if they were 3 hours long.
Mad isn't it, the testing of all sorts of things, not just here, like bikes, components, gadget, clothing and nutrition is just so far beyond what I can afford it's a joke
Honestly, I don't mind spending money on components and gadgets. This is a consumable item though. Instantly consumable.
Maybe they're going for some kind of placebo effect - people who buy more expensive drinks are likely to believe that they provide nutrition and they might go faster because of that belief. It's like when people pay more for a bottle of wine - their enjoyment is likely higher just because they've paid more for it.
Just eat some real food, you've probably got some in the kitchen cupboards. If you really must have a super-carb drink try GCN's "big ride energy drink'; there's a video on YouTube and at least you'll know where the ingredients came from. Better still get their cyclists cook book and be surprised to learn just how much actual proper food professional cyclists eat while racing and training. In fact you would still be quids in if you bought the GCN book, 'good to go' by Christine Aschwanden and some ingredients for you own in-ride snacks and drinks rather than a £41 bag of chemicals.