Neversecond C30 Energy Gel Trial Pack Review

Flavor
 
Of course, flavor is a personal preference. As you read the following list, keep in mind that my favorite flavors in other sports fuel brands are lemon, lime and grapefruit (Skratch, Precision and Tailwind); neutral (Maurten and Precision); and mint (Precision Chews). I rarely enjoy berry or fruit flavors other than citrus. I LOVE chocolate and coffee.

Flavor Ranking in Order from Favorites (#1) to Least Favorite (#4):
 1. Espresso (75mg caffeine); Cola (75mg caffeine); and Citrus all tied for first- Predictably, based on my fuel flavor history, these three won the taste test.
2.  Orange - This one was refreshing and bright, like a cold cup of morning orange juice.

(The ones listed above I would buy again. The ones listed below I would not purchase.)

3. Berry (one with caffeine and one without) and Passion Fruit - three out of five stars 4. Fruit Punch - I couldn't finish this one - it tasted like artificially flavored cherry cough syrup with a hint of fake apple and left a bad aftertaste

The number one thing I liked about the flavors was that you could really taste the salt (they contain 200mg sodium). I add salt to almost all of my food and love the sweet/ salty combo.

The 75mg of caffeine was a welcome cutback of the 100mg of caffeine found in my favorite Precision gels. I have to consume this much caffeine prior to 10 a.m. in training runs, otherwise my sleep is disturbed. For races, I love caffeine, but it is always to the detriment of having quality sleep afterward. Could more companies offer gels in lower doses, say 20, 30 or 50 mg? This is why I rely on liquid high carbohydrate fueling - it is easier to control caffeine consumption and employ the "trickle in" method.

Temperature
The trial pack arrived on a single-digit Fahrenheit day. When I opened the box, they were nearly frozen. So I got the idea to store them in the refrigerator to keep them cold. I've never stored gels that way before, but I think I might do so more often. The cold, thin gel was refreshing even when most of my runs in January and February have been during or after snowstorms on zero to 20-degree days.

Packaging
 The thickness and durability of the packaging gets five out of five stars.

However, they were difficult to open. When I tore the top off of one during a trail run, it did not tear at the perforation. So, in temperatures in the teens, I got out the knife I always carry and cut into it. In a race, this would be annoying.

After this, I began exaggerating my downward tear off. Usually it worked. Two other times, it did not. So that was three out of eight gels not opening at all and requiring additional time wasted on tearing into them.

The durable packaging is good for storing in pockets and packs on a long run. On the downside, in freezing cold runs, sometimes my hands were too stiff, unable to recruit fine motor skills to easily tear these off. For this reason alone, I would not use these in the wintertime again.

Another gripe is that I prefer a gel where you can tear it off, and the tab remains hooked to the package, rather than having to stash that tiny piece of garbage and try not to drop it or dig it out of your gear later, if you ever get to it.

Performance

January and February are usually my cut-back months for running, with low running mileage and runs replaced by lots skiing, swimming, weight lifting, cycling when weather permits and yoga. 

Thus, I can't speak to how the gels affect long-run performance.

For 40-60-minute runs, the 120 calories and 30mg of carbohydrates was perfect, especially when I weight lifted post-run or hadn't consumed a meal in more than two hours. I used one gel before a 20-minute weight lifting session + one-mile swim and felt amazing, as if I could have kept on going if I didn't have to return to work. 

Final Thoughts
These are a good high carbohydrate, 120-calorie, salted gel option for endurance athletes. Requiring little water to wash them down, it makes them ideal for runs where you're carrying a small handheld of water with gels stashed in pockets. 

With improved packaging, the Citrus, Espresso or Cola could become one of my go-to's for mid-distance trail runs, cross training (swimming/ mountain or gravel biking) or short trail runs followed by heavy-weight strength sessions. 

I gave them three out of five stars overall - one taken away for the packaging, and one deducted for the majority of the flavors. If I were to rank them based on Espresso only, I would give them four stars. 

Trial packets are always a fun way to try new fuel. I always looked forward to my next session for the mere joy of trying the next Neversecond Gel.