Why I chose this
I enjoy sipping on a BCAA/EAA product with hydration support intra workout. I also enjoy the added hydration aspects even on my rest days, or if I did not drink enough water during the day (which is rare). I have been wanting to try different products from Merica 'Labz, so since I have enjoyed their Protein and energy drink, this was the next step to check out their products for me.
Ingredients
Nothing too out of the ordinary here, you get 7g BCAAs total, 3g EAAs, 2.5g Taurine, and 1g Aquamin Sea Minerals. I did not weigh the scoop, but each scoop is 18.8g as you can see from the label. I do like the extra bit of BCAAs (whether they truly work or not) versus the normal 5g you typically see. The dose of Taurine is good since you want to get anywhere from 500mg - 2,500mg daily, so it is there to reduce cramping. I wish they would disclose what type of BCAAs these are, they may be the cheap kind, but this is the first product I have seen that uses Aquamin. Overall, nothing too original in here outside of Aquamin to me.
Dosing / Taste / Mixability
Dosing - I took this intra workout and at times would take this early evening or during the day on my rest days. On average I took this once a day.
Taste - I got the Rockets Red Glare flavor. It is a very sweet version of Fruit Punch basically. The first few days I tried it I thought it was too sweet, but my taste buds adjusted and I was able to continue to take this intra workout with no stomach issues from being too sweet. One thing I have noticed about Merica Labz products is that they love to make their flavors sweet, this with no exception. I would give this a 6/10. Drinkable, but not my favorite and if I were to try this product again I would likely choose a different flavor.
Mixabililty - No issues here as you can see from the picture. I would shake this up and head to the gym, you get the foaming as expected, but did not have any foaming issues when drinking it. After the shake, I would not have any grainy residue or anything left over, so it all mixes very well in water.
Results
I look at a couple things for my Intra, did it aid my recovery and the hydration support.
Recovery - I had no issues here. Usually any product with BCAA/EAAs combined to help me out and I can get through soreness from a hard workout. I rarely get DOMS anymore anyways, but I still get sore at times since John Meadows loves to vary his workouts daily to change things up. I found this to be best when I would take 1 scoop Intra and 1 scoop end of the day. I also did not have any issues when I would just drink this intra, but second scoop at times was there to aid in my daily hydration. On rest days this product shined best for me which we will discuss in the hydration section.
Hydration - During my workouts it was just okay. Nothing ever compares to IntraBlast from NB so far in my opinion for intra hydration support. However, on my rest days I did find that this would give me a nice state of hydration and I felt this is where the product truly shined.
Overall, nothing more than your average recovery and hydration support product. It did work in both areas for me, but did not stand out in my head as something I would want to keep in my pantry for the long term.
Price
Right now the best deal I could find is $35.99 for 30 servings over at Best Price Nutrition. I know I picked this up on a sale, from tiger fitness for black Friday for $29.99. So definitely a little more expensive than comparable products outside of a good sale
Final Thoughts
If you have been wanting to give this a shot, it will do its job. I suggest waiting until this goes on sale somewhere so you can get the best deal. I did enjoy my run on this, but likely this is not something I would run again as I have had other products that work much better for me. So very average in my opinion, and realize that the flavors are a bit sweeter.