I have used various products and began to use Hammer products last summer. This Spring I decided to go to EFS exclusively while still using up my remained Hammer products. I have found it to be beneficial to use the EFS products, and I have all of them, in my arsenal and are getting faster in every race that I do and recovery seems quicker also. I would recommend the switch.

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Mark E. Goldstein, FACHE, FLEXR Sports sponsored, Brittons Tri Force Member, 7x Ironman finisher (10:37:12 PR exact time on 2x IMs), 20x Half Ironman finisher (4:43 PR), 11x Marathon finisher (2:57 PR)

That's exactly the boat I'm in..still have two large tubs of Sustained Energy but am really falling on the side of EFS. Did you switch from Recoverite to Ultragen too? Do you still need to take Endurolytes or does EFS take care of that for you as well? I usually take a 4 Endurolytes per hour during IM races.

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Citius, Altius, Fortius

I really like the EFS electrolyte drink mix, the gel (or Liquid Shot as they call it), and the bars (which are gluten free).

I was a little disappointed to find out a few of the flavors of the electrolyte drink have an artificial sweetener in them (sucralose), but grape and tangerine do not (I would recommend grape). Apparantly the other flavors are being tweaked and having the sucralose removed.

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Portside Athletics Blog

I was wondering how they compare on prices, do you feel when you converted over that you saved or spend more money?

thanks
chris

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Member HED, Cervelo, De Soto Mafia

I was wondering how they compare on prices, do you feel when you converted over that you saved or spend more money?

thanks
chris

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Member HED, Cervelo, De Soto Mafia

So you don't need to take additional electrolytes while taking EFS? What about hot days. From Hammer I use 4/hour. How does EFS work with electrylytes work? Calories vs. electrolytes ratio?

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Citius, Altius, Fortius

I did the same thing. I was a huge Hammer user for about two years. I like their products overall and still use Perpetuem as my pre-race nutrition drink.

I made the switch to EFS for one main reason....SALT.

I sweat like a hooker in church and the Hammer products do not provide enough sodium and electrolytes to keep me from cramping. I also switched from Endurolytes to Salt Stick tabs for the same reason.

It has made a big difference this season with no cramps during long races and training. I'm very impressed with everything First Endurance has put out - but they are a little more expensive than Hammer.

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http://twitter.com/tridave

| Bonzai Sports | Blue Seventy | First Endurance |

I was a big PowerBar Gel user on the run, and used TwinLab's UltraFuel drink mix on the bike (incidentally has a very similar ingredient list to the EFS drink mix but more enery and no amino acids). This year, I switched completely, and I carry a single cannister of the gel for sprint races, and 2 for the Oly's (moreso just in case I drop one) for both the bike and run. It tastes good, is much thinner than the Powerbar, Gu, and Hammer, and is very easy on the stomach. I have not had any nutrition issues on the Oly's (sprints are tough to gauge) and the only problem I have had was big cramping in my quads in DC on the run this past weekend, and I think that was because I pushed the bike too hard (20 mph for the 40K). I usually eat an EFS bar on race day before I stretch, just to have something solid in my stomach, and for a sprint, will carry the one cannister. Incidentally, I think the little bottles are supplied by FuelBelt. It's a great product, I haven't used the drink mix much, but plan to utilize it during long training runs once I run out of UltraFuel.

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Lead, follow, or get out of the way...

Part of me says if it a'int broke....., but you may test a bit. I agree with many here that the Hammer stance is a bit too strong, and with their Endurolytes, and having to take so damn many pills is insane! The first switch I made is back to other electrolytes, as I only take a few now. Why carry and juggle with 3-4 per hour, is what everyone seems to advocate? I also feel their take on only their sugars is off-base. And the artificial sugar (after)taste simply get hard to tolerate. Another choice may be to check with Michael and take a shot with Infinite. I now use whatever works, ignoring the crazy claims. Remember your needs will be totally different, so take the time now to try a lot. I love the new Roctane as well, so there's a lot of good stuff, a lot of hype, and some total crap out there. Weed it out, and use your head.

Thanks for the posts, really appreciate the feedback. Just hate the nasty H2O bottles and taste. Works ...but always looking for soemething better if it's out there. Nutrition is such a fickle thing with athletes and hard to change...least for me. Rather thick headed, but for 2010 looking at other options. Learning about Proteins vs. Amino Acids makes a lot of sense and quicker absorbtion of AA's rather than breaking down Proteins. Also, hate holding onto a bag of 20 electrolytes for the bike and popping two every half hour. Rather have an 'all in one' solution.

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Citius, Altius, Fortius

PersonalBestNutrition.com has some nice FE bundles, which are sold at a discount. Plus there is the further 10% STWITCH discount coupon. If you want to build a bundle that isn't there, just ask Brian Shea (who also posts here) for a package that has the things you want (and nothing you don't). All FE products come with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there's no real risk.

I think it's the best stuff out there. I used it for quite a long time before I ever approached them for sponsorship.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

I would not necessarily try a "all in one", though. Even Infinite is great, but if conditions change, one needs to be able to get what you need. Stay flexible. As I said, I love the Roctane, as it seems to work very well for me. Even when i used Hammer, the taste was pathetic, so a bit of something else for flavor is nice. I use a lot of Carbopro as well for calories without distress, and add what flavor you like. Just Friday I was talking with a few of the former greats of the sport on fueling, and the stuff they did was very interesting too, as they got it right without a lot that we have. I'd just caution you to keep it fairly simple, as I fell into the trap of carrying so much crap that it became a real PIA. As simple and effective as you can is the way to go, yet allow for some flexibility as the conditions change race day.

I only had a few packets of Recoverite so I switched from Cytomax recovery drink to Ultragen. I have a full bottle of Endurolytes but the EFS bar, shot and electrolyte drink has worked for me in three Oly and one HIM so far. I am going to do my first IM next year so will see how it goes. I used two bottles of EFS drink on the bike with a bar and then the shot on the run during the Oly races. On the half, I did three bottles of EFS on the bike, a bar and shot on the run. So caps what so ever and did not have any problems with GI issues or cramping.

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Mark E. Goldstein, FACHE, FLEXR Sports sponsored, Brittons Tri Force Member, 7x Ironman finisher (10:37:12 PR exact time on 2x IMs), 20x Half Ironman finisher (4:43 PR), 11x Marathon finisher (2:57 PR)

there are quite a few differences, I used to use Hammer stuff but now loving the EFS stuff, the grape is great and the lquidshot works better than any gel I have used and eliminated the need of salt pills for me! The carbo profile and the electrolyte profile between the 2 companys are very different, for hammer seems like there is no choice but to add the endurolytes unless your a lucky one who doesnt need it.. But for hammers the only use malto and I find a mix of CHO to work alot better for me, with just one it limits the amount you can absorb.

Like Jordan said, brian at PBN knows his stuff and has alot of knowledge to help with your questions as well as has a ST discount. Brian has assisted me in getting my race day nutrition down as well as my training. Send him and email, he will help ya!!

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Citius, Altius, Fortius

I switched from Hammer's Sustained Energy to EFS (liquid shot & their sports drink) for IM Louisville this year. Was more than pleased with EFS in terms of fueling, taste and convenience. I will stick with EFS for next season. Though the EFS liquid shot comes in a handy gel flask, which I thought I closed properly, I did experience some leakage that made a minor mess in the back of my cycling jersey. Most likely self induced problem - so know that I'm not blaming EFS but just a "heads up."

I made the switch from Hammer to First Endurance products this year and have been very happy with the result. I used to have bloating issues on the bike and run - now they are gone. I used EFS drink and liquid shots at IM Canada this year and had a great day. I like that I don't need salt tablets or other electrolyte supplements when using EFS.
On a side note, I use Optygen and Multi-V too and have been very happy with those results.

Quick addendum to answer/address some of the things I missed in my first post.

FirstEndurance is currently revising all of the EFS formulas with new amino acids (by Ajinomoto, the company behind Amino Vital), new flavors (still all natural), and NO artificial sweeteners. None of the new formulas use sucralose. There is one flavor that is currently prototyped with stevia (all natural) - fruit punch, but it's not clear if stevia will be in the final version. The other three flavors - which will be lemon-lime, grape, and orange - are all sweetener free (grape always was and orange replaces tangerine, which also was always sweetener free). The new versions will be out relatively soon, but no final date yet as they are still making some changes based on feedback. I've used all the flavors (first round of athlete testing), and overall it's a marked improvement across the board. The flavors are better and so is the taste - much less "starchy" - and it also dissolves more quickly. It also has increased electrolytes, adding to an formula that already leads pretty much everything else in terms of electrolyte content.

For comparison of total electrolytes per serving (this is off the current formulations):
Total Electrolytes (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl)
HEED= 162mg
Sustained Energy= 112mg
EFS= 1,060mg

EFS breakdown:
Calcium (as calcium carbonate)100mg
Magnesium (as magnesium oxide)150mg
Chloride (as sodium chloride)380mg
Sodium (from sodium chloride)270mg
Potassium (as di-potassium phosphate)160mg

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

any one switch over and much difference in price from hammer to FE

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Member HED, Cervelo, De Soto Mafia

EFS retails for $21.95 for 25 servings. HEED retails for $21.95 for 30 servings and Endurolytes $24 for 24 servings. Now add the fact that EFS contains more electrolytes than HEED + Endurolytes combined you'll find EFS is considerably better priced. Furthermore EFS is also fortified with 2,000 mg of amino acids.

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Robert Kunz / Founder and VP of Science for First Endurance

Trust me, as a person that was on Hammer for a while, you wont make a better decision than to switch to First Endurance.

I sweat a lot and the sole reason I was interested in First Endurance was because of the high electrolyte contents. I have had a lot of races and training days wrecked because I couldnt keep up with my sweat loss. The added electrolyte content of the EFS stuff has helped greatly. I have had better results and better training days because I can control my salt loss.

The recently did IMCDA on First Endurance and for the first time in 3 attempts I was able to run the entire run. I was able to load up on electrolytes on the bike through the drink mix and supplement that with their shots and felt great heading on the run. At the half way mark, I had a First Endurance flask in my special needs bag that got me through the end of the race.

Take it from me, I have learned the hard way that it is a long day when you get to fight dehydration. I haven't had an issue with that since I switched.

PM me if you have more questions!

I used Sustained a few years ago and HEED a fair amount within the last couple of years. But, last year I switched to the EFS drink and have been very pleased. The new/revised EFS prototype flavors are very good. They dissolve well, taste very light, and are relatively low sweetness even when mixed very concentrated.

Jordan pretty much covered the more scientific aspects of the drinks, but the folks at First Endurance have really done their homework in the lab and with their athletes to find the best mix of carbs, electrolytes, and aminos to work for endurance athletics. I'd recommend trying the products. We are big fans of the bars for a pre workout snack, or even as some solid food during long workouts or IMs if that's what you want. They pretty much taste like a candy bar.

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Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

Seems like all of their products have a whole lots of sugar in them (compared to maltodextrin). Drink is 16g sugars out of 24g carbs, and liquid shot is 50 of 100. Has anyone had problems with that?

-Colin

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

Never had a problem, digests easily and quickly, and definitely is available for use quickly enough.

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Lead, follow, or get out of the way...