Gear Reviews

Nuun Field Test #2

Since I’m a bit behind schedule, this Hak Field Test is a combination of several other field tests I’ve conducted on nuun over the past two weeks.

As you may recall from Nuun Field Test #1, I had established that nuun does indeed seem to more than adequately provide hydration in a non-stressed environment. I simply added a nuun tablet to a 16-oz. bottle of water and drank it while my derriere was firmly parked in my office chair.

Field Test #2A: The Mean Streets of Southern Utah called for nuun to be literally put through its paces when I took a 90-minute run in the sweltering lands of southern Utah. I started the run at 8 a.m. and chugged my way along Highway 9 toward the west entrance of Zion National Park. The temp was already in the high 80s and not a cloud in the sky. A light breeze helped keep the sweat to a minimum and I ended up with perfect conditions in which to test a hydration product.

As luck would have it, what little breeze I had on the first leg disappeared on the return leg. By this time the temp had climbed to 95 degrees, and at an altitude of 3,500 feet, and I was getting a bit basted. For this test, I dropped one of the Tri-Berry flavored tablets in a 16-oz. bottle of water and took a swallow every 10 minutes. In hindsight, I should have brought two bottles since I started conserving fluids on the last 20 minutes of the seven-mile run.

Overall, I felt great. Energy was high and no impending sense of turning into a piece hominid jerky under the baking sun. Upon my return to the camp site, I loaded another bottle of nuun and chugged it.

I drank four more bottles of water that day and did not pee once. That should tell you how much water was cycled through my body.

Yet, I felt fine. I experienced none of the lethargy that I usually associate with dehydration or heat sickness that comes on where you just want to hide in the shade for the rest of the week.

With it’s light and oh-so-slightly salty taste, nuun makes it easy to drink while on a run. Actually, it reminds me of the taste of Pedialyte, an electrolyte maintenance solution designed for the wee ones to drink when they are dehydrated from diarrhea and/or vomiting. However, we could never get either of our daughters to drink Pedialyte when they were little. I tried a sip and could see why they wouldn’t touch it. It tasted like shit.

If anyone from nuun is reading this, you may have a new market to explore. After all, nuun’s fruit flavors would be a big hit with the kiddies. Note to nuun: My royalty checks can be sent to Team Hoyt.

Field Test #2B: Extreme Landscaping was not a planned test. Actually, there’s nothing even sexy about it. No running. No cycling. No adventure racing. I simply took a nuun-loaded bottle of water with me to the back of Hak Manor for my week-long extreme landscaping project. I spent an average of 2-3 hours every day roasting my nuts in 105-degree temps with 30 percent humidity pulling grass from my back yard. Twenty minutes into each effort, my Halo II headband (seen under the cowboy hat) became overwhelmed with sweat and lost all effectiveness until I took it off and squeezed about a 1/4-cup of water out of it and put it back in service.

Needless to say, I was losing water like crazy. I had one bottle of nuun with me during my time outside and followed the same schedule of one sip every 10 minutes. When I was done, I drank another bottle of plain water and later that night, just before bedtime, mixed up another bottle of nuun and used it as a recovery drink to make sure my body was properly hydrated while I slept and the true recovery work began.

Oh yeah. I had nothing whatsoever to eat during the day. Stupid, I know. I get that way though when working in the heat. Just give me water. My food intake averaged a cup of coffee and a muffin for breakfast and then nothing until dinner that night. Just a bottle or two of nuun in between.

So, what’s the bottom line?

I like this stuff. I’m going to continue to use it and will experiment more how to incorporate nuun with other drinks that are more fuel-oriented. nuun has no carbs and no calories so it would need to be partnered with something else on longer outings.

The negative? I wish it was available locally to make it more convenienent to pick up. This, however, is easily countered by nuun’s terrific order processing and shipping. I think I received an cheeky e-mail from the folks at nuun after the order was placed; once it made it on the truck; once the truck driver stopped for a sandwhich and Diet Coke; once it got in my state; and once it made it to my cul de sac.

OK, I may have exaggerated that a bit, but you get the picture. They are very customer friendly and the shipments are quick.

So grab yourself some nuun and give it your own field test.

hak