Review; Clif Shot and Shot Turbo

One of the benefits of blogging for any period of time is that you start to develop some credibility ability to construct a really good begging letter and when you approach a company they are more inclined to send you something to review, way back in the summer I did this with Clif Shot drink. Somehow I have ended up on a very cool list and so now and then I get fantastic boxes of goodies from Clif, most recently it was their new and very yummy Clif Crunch, reviewed here.

More recently I received a box of the new and improved Clif Shot and Shot Turbo gels. I have been slowly using them up and finally had the last of the eight flavors at the PCTR 30k last month.

So on with the review;

From their website; “CLIF SHOT® Energy Gel provides quick energy to athletes while racing and training. With our new formula and flavors getting energized between breaths has never been easier. Athletes and foodies in the CLIF Kitchen created six base flavors: new Citrus (25mg caffeine), plus Razz®, Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry (25mg caffeine), Mocha (50mg caffeine) and two TURBO flavors in Double Espresso (100mg caffeine) and Chocolate Cherry (100mg caffeine) that contain the highest level of caffeine of any gel. The flavors are made with organic fruit and chocolate — tasting like delicious real food, not a science project”.

All sound pretty good right, well let’s get into the nuts and bolts…the taste!

• Citrus – not too sharp and not too sweet, surprisingly quenching aand doesn’t line the inside of you mouth, a little reminiscent of Lemon Curd!
• Razz – this is your basic berry flavor, and it is exactly that; berry, a little tart but very palatable and always a good standby as it is always easy to eat
• Vanilla – zero chemical taste here (which I have found to be an issue with other Vanilla gels), you can almost taste the vanilla bean, I am a Vanilla fuss pot and this passes muster
• Chocolate – a little thicker than the other gels, it comes out in a ‘plug’ which lets it dissolve in your mouth, doesn’t get too melty – another real word, on hot days!
• Strawberry – a little sweeter than the Razz flavor but it is very Strawberryey – is that a word? A little taste of summer in a pouch, would go well on a scone!
• Mocha – my least favorite flavor but I generally don’t like mocha anything and that ‘s exactly what this is!

Now the Shot Turbos are boosted with extra caffeine 100mg each and come in two flavors;

• Chocolate Cherry – luxurious and rich, think fresh cherries covered in rich dark chocolate, I could pour this all over vanilla ice cream!
• Double Espresso – coffee thick and strong enough to melt the spoon! Take only in need of extreme boost, do not get it on your fingers and hide from children!

Now consistency does vary between the gels; at the thin end are the Cirtrus and Berry flavors, then Vanilla, thickening through Mocha, Chocolate(s) and then at the other end of the spectrum is Espresso; why do I mention this well I prefer something a little thicker, not thick enough to chew but I really like the way the chocolate ones come out as a plug (the best analogy I can think of is chewing tobacco which I am sure you have all used!) and you can pop it into the side of your mouth or under your tongue and let it dissolve, this can avoid consuming the gel too fast and getting GI issues. I have found recently that I can take up to 15 minutes to get through a pack and I am taking one every 45 minutes on runs of 90 minutes and longer.

The packaging has the innovative “litter leash” stops the top of the packet messing up the road or worse the trail, I use it to wrap the packet to stop it oozing out in your pocket! Ingredients –wise Clif has made a change too organic maltodextrin replaces the brown rice syrup and the gels contain at least 85% organic ingredients as well as being suitable for Vegans! The gels do contain electrolytes; with 50% more electrolytes than the previous formulation and calories wise they vary between 100-110 per pack, it’s worthe checking the labels to note the variables.

As mentioned I used them up over several runs but I had the most in one go during the PCTR 30K a couple of weeks ago, one every 45 minutes and taking about 10-15 minutes to eat it, did it work, well I think so, no signs of bonking and no hunger.

Now for the giveaway, well as mentioned I am the recipient of these super Clif boxes and this week I got another, now I want to share in my good fortune and to that end I am going to regift it!

In case you are wondering; it has basically some of everything that Clif makes; Mojo, Bar, Kid, Crunch, C and Builders, there are Clif ShotBloks, Roks and of course Gels!

So here’s the competition, much along the lines of my others…

Like, follow, become a fan of or whatever they’re calling it this week on Facebook of Clif Bar

Follow them on Twitter gets you one entry

Post about it on your blog and you will get another entry

Leave a comment on this post telling me you have done the above gets you your possible fourth entry!

Finally all you folks on Twitter tweet the following will get you one more entry per day, this contest runs for a week so between now and next Wednesday, that’s six more for a possible total of eleven ten! Hey this is an excellent box of goodies so you need to work for it!

I just entered the win a free @clifbar giveaway on the @quadrathon blog

Pretty simple really, watcha waiting for? Oh and if you win, why not write a review…that seems only fair right?!?

This products was provided free of charge by Clif Bar. See previous gear reviews in the sidebar on the right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.