Napalm - Infinit Nutrition - ONGOING REVIEW

Recently I was given the incredible opportunity to review Infinit's new Napalm - their answer to gels.  They asked several specific questions, and asked that reviewers give ratings from 1-5 when answering those questions.

Hooray! It's here!

So, on to my review.
First the unboxing:

The Napalm

I got quite a few responses on the appearance of this bag.

Getting ready for mixing.  I was testing with a one hour run, and Infinit has me at about 156 calories per hour.  Soooo, at 50 calories per ounce, and four fluid ounces of Napalm, I made a 200 calorie bottle (a little extra for the pre-test taste-test!)  The directions are to fill it to the top, and add water.  I wasn't really impressed with these directions - they left a little to interpretation.  So, for a 1:1 ratio of Napalm to water, it makes a little more sense to add Napalm (in fluid ounces) to how many calories you think you'll need, then add water. I've since tested with a whole bunch of longer runs, same deal every time.








Just add water and run!  In this case, adding water actually caused the level of the Napalm to drop, so be careful to make sure you add all the water you're directed to.  You don't want to mess with osmolality.  Drink plenty of water when you're using this - it's ideal for supported races and training with easy access to drinkable water (whether that's water you're carrying or can access along your route).

On other things.....

Packaging - I'd give the packaging about a 3.  The handle hole needs to be lower on the side to make for easier pouring.  I got quite a few comments telling me that the bag resembled a giant frozen breast milk bag.  I'd have to agree with that assessment, too  I'm not sure if there is a fix for that - other than a transparent orange bag (it is Napalm, after all).  But, overall, it isn't something that would keep me from purchasing the product and living with it without complaining.

Name - not bad at all.  Infinit is considering Napalm and Plasma.  I like Napalm better than Plasma, personally.   So, overall, I'd give it a 5.  Had some cheezy slogans in my head that I thought of while running "Napalm - Do you have the fire inside"  Or "Napalm - Do you have the fire in you"  Like I said, cheesy.

I do want to address a comment that was posted before this review is completed.  "You like the name!! You have to be kidding. The name is associated with a chemical agent that has caused the maiming and death of thousands of people. Only a marketing moron would think such a name as catchy. Napalm causes horrid disfigurement and an unbelievably painful death. You might have some trouble selling this stuff in Vietnam."  I spent quite a bit of time considering this very thing.  Yet the human race has a tendency to name things after powerful, destructive tools.  Americans remember "Kamikazes" all to well.  But they make a popular drink on Austin's 6th street.  It's currently a compliment to call someone "the bomb." But we too often hear of bombs causing "horrid disfigurement and an unbelievably painful death."  The list of items named like this goes on and on.  So when considering the name of the product, yes, this was a concern.  Considering the tendency from all manufacturers to name workout products in a powerful manner (i.e. Monster, Burn, Amp, Venom), I didn't see this as a major problem.

Taste - Cold - 5, room temp - 5, warm - 4.  Nothing that's going to stop me from ordering it.  The real test comes when Texas hits 110 this summer, and the Napalm is hot before I get to it.  It tasted weird if you just tasted it before running, but once you got going, it was good.  I almost hated to wash it down with some fresh water. (Ever had a grape jolly rancher?)

How was the sweetness level - 5.  Hands down perfect.

How was the salt - 5.  Good.  I really didn't notice it until mentioned.

Overall performance in comparison to Gels - 4.  Gels are easier to portion out in their packets, but I was happier with being able to carry this in a flask for my long runs.  Much happier.  Squeezing out tubes of gel into a flask, then watering it down until it didn't gel up for the 50 degree runs seems kind of ridiculous to me.  This is faster, easier, and way.  less.  sticky.

Was it convenient to carry - 5  So easy a caveman could do it.

It seems that when Infinit releases the Napalm, the cost is going to be significantly less than gels.  I don't know about you guys, but the most expensive part of being an athlete for me is the nutrition for training and racing (not race fees).  Infinit has made headway in making nutrition affordable.  (Okay, we all know that we'd buy the nutrition anyway, you just don't cringe when you open your wallet for the Napalm.)

One other thing that I want to mention.  I've been getting a small bit of heartburn.  I wasn't sure what it was, but as soon as I said something, Infinit's response was to change the formula.  They said that a part of the new flavor gives a small portion of athletes heartburn, and they were going to adjust it.  I suspect this is because they're going to implement this flavor across the spectrum of products (YAY!!!), but I've never had gel companies reformulate something for me because I had a problem.

This review is ongoing, and I will complete it as I get to test in a variety of conditions.