bought some SIS energy gels from Amazon and apart from the flavour selection not being what was on the website the best before is September 2023... one presumes that these things last for *years*
the link is / was https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PDHV3HB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
where do people get bulk buys of energy gels from ? ( more for running than mtn biking) - need the SIS low sugar ones
Yes.
Though I hate SIS.
Yes I would and often do, I wouldn't buy them out of date unless they were heavily discounted though, like pennies each.
that was my thought - these were full price and werent listed as out of date. Amazon have instantly refunded which is great.
Anyone got any idea of where to get bulk boxes from ? every time i go for a long run i get through 6 ( refuelling at 10km and then every 5) so it doesnt take long to get through a box and i would prefer not to have an issue with an out of date gel 3/4 the way through a marathon - would prefer not to do a Paula Radcliffe as its a long way to drive home
Yes, just had a 3-4 year out of date one today. If it's not 'expanded' they are ok.
I use to buy from wiggle 🙁
You can order direct from SIS, I'd assume maybe incorrectly that they are not about to go OOD
SiS | Endurance Sports Nutrition | Science In Sport | Science In Sport
Home Bargains often have boxes of them too.
I rarely use them but always have a box ready just in case, so in the rare instance of me using one, it' generally out of date.
"Best before" is an advisory. They're out of date if they pass a "use by" date.
where do people get bulk buys of energy gels from ?
Home Bargains (or at least, the store near me) stock them for a fraction of the price I've seen anywhere else. I don't use the gels but I like to chuck a tablet in a water bottle, if nothing else it's flavoured water that isn't £2/litre for a bottle of Volvic that's been shown a picture of a lemon once.
Yeah I do this all the time and seems fine
I think I probably use more out of date ones than in date ones.
Ive bought boxes of 20-odd from Torq (not SIS, granted) before now, and kept them in the cupboard for years. So long as Mrs Lawman doesnt find them and have a clearout, they're fine for literally years, as you say. They dont really go 'off' as such for a very very long time.
No, but then I wouldn't consume energy gels at all
need the SIS low sugar ones
Genuine question - What's the point of a low sugar energy gel? Wouldn't that be a low energy energy gel?
I’ve had High5 gels, hydration tablets, etc from Sport Pursuit. Normally with decent discounts and plenty of shelf life.
To offer a counter view, I had an out of date SIS gel on a long run a couple of days ago and it was like lumpy custard and definitely not the usual smooth consistency! Still gulped it down, but on that basis I chucked the few out of date ones I had in the cupboard and bought some new ones!
Yes.
I bought 3 boxes of the chewy cliff Bloks when some store was clearing them out just before the best before date and ate them over 6 months.
They were fine
IHN
Full MemberGenuine question – What’s the point of a low sugar energy gel? Wouldn’t that be a low energy energy gel?
Some people are very insulin-spikey. Also I think most of the low sugar gels have roughly the same amount of carbs, they're just a bit slower release/longer lasting which could make a lot of sense. I want mine to be essentially a shot of nitrous though.
I suspect almost all the gels I consume are out of date - tend to buy them as a precaution, and not use them for months/years. Fermentation can only make them better anyway.
Used to have Torq as our event sponsor. I banned Torq from handing out gels. Folks don't like putting the spent items back in their pockets and I didn't want to walk 47 miles cleaning up behind riders. It was that or never get permission to use certain moorlands ever again. John Lloyd Events had trespassed on the same moors and I'd noticed the debris.
yes i used to quite often. then i had one which made me pretty sick, so no more. i dont like vomiting everywhere!
I’d assume maybe incorrectly that they are not about to go OOD
There's a maybe there. They don't sell stuff that's out of date, but there are bargains to be had from them on stuff that's short dated.
Always
I'm using ones that must be a minimum of 5 years out of date with no issues
High5 have the unit next door and they'd skipped a hundred or more. Speaking to them they reckoned they'd probably be good for decades but no one had the data to prove it so they can only go with what they have been tested for
I wouldn't use SIS gels even if they were in date 🤮
Torq gels then yes, no problem.
Used to have Torq as our event sponsor. I banned Torq from handing out gels. Folks don’t like putting the spent items back in their pockets and I didn’t want to walk 47 miles cleaning up behind riders. It was that or never get permission to use certain moorlands ever again. John Lloyd Events had trespassed on the same moors and I’d noticed the debris.
I stopped riding with energy gels years ago and they’d been sitting on the shelf. This winter I started having one when I was on the Wattbike. Up to 10+ years out of code and no ill effects. Some had crystallised a bit but theyre basically just sugar - there’s nothing to go “off”. They’ve dug honey out of Egyptian tombs that was edible.
What I do use on rides now are jellie babies. I bought 3 cases of out of code bassets last year that are still going strong. They are in far worse condition a week after opening a packet that a year out of code.
All gels are 'not nice'. I don't use them often, but got a pack of 48 years ago, and still using them. Like today, I decided to ride much further, and much more vertically than I planned - one bottle of Hi5 mix, then realised after two hours I'd nearly run out, so tested one of the old gels - was OK, did the job. 3 hour road ride, stupid elevation gain in the middle, but all fine.
For my Cycling I would agree. I don't believe that energy gels are needed. But for running, I can run up to about 25 km without anything. Past 25 km. I do need to be not only hydrating but also consuming something to put energy back into my muscles..
When I'm running I don't like to stop, getting started again after about 25 km hurts. So the gel packs are great to consume as you are running.
Regarding infinite shelf life, if they were the pure sugar ones I would agree. However, these are the very low sugar mainly carbohydrate based. Hence my question about how safe they are to consume once the sell by date has passed. Getting an upset stomach or at worse diarrhoea in the middle of a very long run is something I would really like to avoid.
Amazon were actually very good and refunded immediately, so I've ordered directly from the manufacturers website. To be honest, I now realise I didn't make a huge saving buying on Amazon
Q
Wouldn't bother me, if they taste ok, I'm fairly sure I wouldn't regret it. Got a few out of date (SIS?) ones in the cupboard from '22 that will hopefully get used this coming spring.
If they weren’t SIS ones I’d consume them. ‘Best before’ makes a difference with things that go stale like crisps. With sugary gloop, not so much.
‘Snot gels’ is what we called them on family walks. Torq are nicer, if ridiculously sweet.
Like a few posters already I seem to end up consuming more out of date ones than in date ones. Same goes for energy bars and Clif bars.
Yes. They make me shit brown laser beams whether they're out of date or fresh.
All gels are ‘not nice’.
Correction - all gels are 'not nice' except Torq, which are genuinely delicious. Especially the Rhubarb and Custard and Banoffee ones.
You can buy in date ones? I suppose I must've done once, but I'm still working through some I bought well before COVID times
On the topic of SIS gels for some reason I felt mildly disappointed when I realised that they are all a transparent colour and the strawberry ones don't contain red gloop, the apple ones green gloop...etc. They're all transparent colourless gloop and it never felt quite the same after that.
SIS gels are great, take them all the time with a little water to speed absorption. Some post COVID were two years out of date. It's sugar in a sealed vessel. What's the issue?
Also, 2019 was a great vintage year for the cola flavour with caffeine. Smooth on the palate, delicate nose. (Rough on the guts but that's later.)
My backpack can confirm a burst get is like concrete. Stuck zip that nothing will shift !
@b33k34 I’m sure SiS did some rhubarb and custard ones. The Bakewell ones were quite nice as these things go.
I've tried to post the ingredients list for SIS gels a few times now, but the site won't let me, I have no idea why. I'd just say that they contain various things I don't really want to consume. Not the worst things in the food world I'm sure, but various preservatives and artificial sweetener. I read the list a while back and stopped using them, I find artificial sweeteners in particular tend to mess with my guts.
Gels are full of rubbish, and I only use them as a backup. Wouldn't use them normally. Carried for emergencies (like running out of water).
Yes, it says something that the site software rejects the SIS ingredients list, probably because it believes it contains malicious code rather than too many additives, but there you go, it seems apt.
People seem bewilderingly blasé about what they're prepared to consume in the name of 'sports nutrition'. See also chamois cream, which generally includes a whole bunch of quite unpleasant sounding chemicals in the name of comfort.
When I first read that post I genuinely thought for people were consuming chamois leather cream !
When I first read that post I genuinely thought for people were consuming chamois leather cream !
No way! Have you see the additives in that stuff? 😉
I consumed many an out-of-date SIS gel back in the day, and the consensus on here when I asked was that they'd be fine. I never noticed any post-consumption digestive issues, so I assume they were fine. Only issue was, they were sometimes a bit 'clumpy'.
I regard sell by dates as pure marketing twaddle slapped on things to con dimwits. Gels or otherwise. If it tastes foul don't eat it, if not it will be fine.
