Comments on: Running Gear: Cheap, Homemade Energy Gel Flask

By: Tripp Knightly

Tripp Knightly — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:28:25 +0000

Maybe I’m a lot late to the party on this discussion … but why would you use a cheap dispenser like this designed for non-ingested chemicals with all the BPA toxins they’ll have? I find it ironic all this talk here about saving money making your own healthy gels … and dispensed from a toxic dispenser. Penny wise and pound foolish?

By: jennifer

jennifer — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 19:47:50 +0000

I make my own gel with tart cherries and chia seeds but the pull tops sometimes are hard for the seeds to filter through. Looking for flip top bottles. Thanks for the awesome idea!

By: Michelle McBurney

Michelle McBurney — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for ths. I use Brendan Braziers gel recipes for my Marathons. I am going to try the chia seed with agave as I am intolerant of honey.

By: Koob

Koob — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I really enjoy your posts and I am glad I saw this before I went out and bought some expensive gel flasks. I am tired of putting my gels in snack bags and cleaning my spibelt (it's messy). Not only that hard to take a gel with snack bag while running. :)

By: Brian Fancher

Brian Fancher — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Fantastic idea!!!!!!!

By: Pete Larson

Pete Larson — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to Shauna.

No problem, glad I could help.

By: Pete Larson

Pete Larson — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to Josh.

I haven't tried that specific combo, but I have used chia seeds mixed
with juice. Good stuff!
Pete

By: kazda2

kazda2 — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

thanks for the post-i will try this for my agave gel!

By: antibacterial_hand_sanitizers

antibacterial_hand_sanitizers — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This is so interested! Where can I find more like this?

By: Satorical

Satorical — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hammer Gels are less loathesome than most. My favorite is pretty yummy, but hard to find in stores: Carb-boom! The Apple Cinnamon ones are like an apple pie in your mouth.

By: Shauna

Shauna — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hey great tips! I too have found that mixing the gel is way easier! I'm not coordinated enough to run while trying to rip open a gel packet with my teeth and squish the gel and water in my mouth all simultaneously. lol. My water belt has 4 small plastic bottles in it so I use 2 with a gel/water mix and 2 with just water, or sometimes Gatorade. I really like your idea of inexpensive disposable containers too, good idea! Those squirt bottles with the weight pack are ridiculously expensive and i always end up losing one or worse yet, dropping one on the floor of the portable pre-race outhouse! Yuck, those are tossed without a doubt! Thanks for the tip!

By: mel

mel — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

i just made my own energy gels: 80% maltodextrin powder (from chemist – very cheap) + 20% fructose with a pinch of low sodium table salt (contains both sodium and potassium), lemon and lime juice. Delicious (much less sickly than most commercial gels) and cheap. Also good is maltodextrin powder, mix with milo (a malted chocolate drink in australia) and boiling water – the milo adds a bit of salt, B vitamins and glucose. Make up large amounts and store in the fridge, empty into your gel flasks on the day. They cost about 20 cents per gel and taste heaps better!