Gear Review: Nuun Active Hydration Tabs – Arizona Hikers Guide

After crossing the finish line of a local running race, my wife was given this cute little tube of hydration tabs that looked a lot like the Airborne tablets used to fight colds and whatnot.  In fact, when she brought them home I asked her why a race would give her cold medicine to which she quickly made fun of me and told me that they were some sort of health drink supplement.  My interest was piqued and I decided to try the Nuun tablets she brought home.

Photo taken from Nuun.com

What is Nuun?

Pronounced “noon” this company proudly offers an electrolyte replenishing drink tablet without adding more unwanted sugar into your diet.  On their website they claim they are, “the first company to separate electrolyte replacement from carbohydrates. Before Nuun, if you wanted electrolytes, the result was a bottle full of sugar. With our simple, self-dissolving, sugar-free electrolyte tab, we revolutionized the sports drink forever.”  Nuun and Company is based in Seattle, WA and is sold in over 5000 outlets in the U.S. and available in over 30 countries.

What You Get

These sleek tubes gives consumers 12 tablets for under $7 bucks or so. They come in several flavors and three different lines of products. I will only mention their Active Hydration Tablets in this review.

Nuun Active Hydration comes in 12 flavors: Orange, Lemon Lime, Strawberry Lemonade, Fruit Punch, Kona Cola, Lemon Tea, Tri-Berry, Grape, Tropical, Citrus Fruit, Watermelon, and Lemonade. They are super easy to make; you simply pop one of the tablets into 16 oz. of water and watch it fizz.

Here is what the company has to say about it’s product:

  • Packed with electrolytes, light flavor, no sugars or carbs, and portable, Nuun Active Hydration is the perfect sports drink.
  • The electrolytes found in Nuun will help alleviate cramps, help muscles function, communicate and burn energy efficient

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION & INGREDIENTS

NUUN ACTIVE HYDRATION CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING PER TABLET (16 OUNCE DRINK):

Active Ingredients Sodium (carbonates) Potassium (bicarbonate) Magnesium (sulfate) Calcium (carbonate) Vitamin C Vitamin B2Level 360.0 mg 100.0 mg 25.0 mg 12.5 mg 19.0 mg

500 mcg

Other ingredients: citric acid, sorbitol, sodium carbonate, natural colors flavors, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, polyethylene glycol, magnesium sulfate, sodium benzoate, calcium carbonate, acesulfame potassium, riboflavin-5-phosphate.

What I Like

  1. It’s cool.  The whole company has this hip, clean look which makes you want to buy their product.  Kudos to their marketing department for making your products so dang irresistible.
  2. It’s a pretty good value.  They give you 12 drinks for under $7 bucks.  I think that is fair.
  3. They offer 12 flavors.
  4. The elimination of carbohydrates (less than 1 gram) and their claim of fast absorption.
  5. No sugar.
  6. It apparently cures hangovers.

What I Didn’t Like

  1. The taste.  I have only tried the Strawberry Lemonade but I imagine that every flavor has the same “fake sugar” taste.  Not a huge fan.
  2. It’s bulky.  There are other types of electrolyte replenishing drinks that come in a more packable container.  I could see myself carrying one or two tablets on a hike but I wouldn’t want to take all twelve and since they are not individually wrapped I would have to find a bag or separate container.
  3. It has a lot of ingredients.  That may be due to the effervescent nature of the tablet but either way there are a ton of ingredients I can’t pronounce.

Conclusion

I would recommend these for anyone seeking an alternative to the sticky, unnatural, sugar filled electrolyte drinks on the market today.  I could see myself purchasing these in the future and prefer these over sugar drinks.

Get your Nuun Active Hydration Tabs Here!