What is one thing that seems to get associated with gaming in a way that is neither healthy nor flattering?
Pizza and Energy Drinks.
Both of which I’ve had my fair share of but not because “that’s what gamers do” and more because they’re just really delicious.
I’m not here to debunk the myths around pizza (By the way – pineapple does belong on a pizza) but the stigma of energy drinks especially is one that is quite well deserved as gamers usually push sleep out the way to game because of other real-life commitments forcing most of us to become creatures of the night. I know that this was true to me as I used to consume copious amounts of various energy drinks – partially because they were so tasty but mostly because I’d probably developed an addiction to them.
One thing I’m sure we’ve all experienced from these drinks (unless I’m just soft) is that it spikes us to a point, but the inevitable crash is always lurking not too far away, where we then need another drink to spike us again. This can often lead to jitters and strange sensations as our bodies go through a sugar, caffeine and other energy ingredient induced high.
So why then review an energy drink?
Most of us have heard of these new energy supplements targeted at gamers coming onto the market and promising us to the moon and back that they are healthier and better for you in the long run and also help you to focus, react and just stay awake generally (I write as I sip on my Pineapple/Lemon mix).
But for us South Africans, most of these products are imported and come at a very hefty price tag!
But there is hope – and that hope comes in the form of EnerGhack Energy supplements.
The guys over at EnerGhack were super generous in sending some my way for me to test and try. And test it I did, as you’ll soon see, as I put it through the paces as I used it through a very busy time of my life and pushed EnerGhack to its limits, as well as my own, as I experimented with it in other areas of my life that fall outside of gaming.
The Specs
Now for those of you in the world who like to know all the nitty-gritty about food and read the labels and other information, this next section is for you.
The following information is directly from EnerGhack.
Benefits of EnerGhack;
- very low caffeine content to ensure no jitters.
- contains Stevia, a natural sweetener, instead of synthetic sweetener to ensure a healthier, great-tasting drink and no energy slump.
- safe to use from age of 12 and up.
For more information on the make-up of EnerGhack and how this helps you, follow the link below.
https://www.energhack.co.za/pages/nutrition
My Experience
Straight out the gate – I just want to take a second or three to applaud EnerGhack with their customer service and presentation of their product.
When I originally got my first batch of EnerGhack, it product was well packaged and came with some freebies like 2 samples of the other flavours, stickers, a small bag and a few other things all wrapped up in a branded tube to make sure everything is safe and sound in the shipping process.
I have since received two more packages from EnerGhack and every time their service was swift and professional and there are always a few extra goodies to sweeten the deal.
This wasn’t a test – but if it was, they’d have passed with absolute flying colours!
While most energy supplements claim to help you with reactions, focus, endurance, energy and hydration while gaming, EnerGhack takes it a step further and out of the realm of gaming and makes the claim that it will help you with studying, gym and other high energy activities.
So, I took this statement are really put it to the test.
Luckily this drink came at a very busy time in my life (as you will see in a bit) even though lockdown started in South Africa and things were meant to quieten down a bit, in my life – it was the opposite.
So, I used the product in the following scenarios to see how it would help;
Gaming (of course)
Being a family man who holds a rather busy job in the education industry, Gaming for me is usually a late-night thing once family time and other priorities are sorted. Thus, fueling my need for some kind of energy-boosting thing – which lead to a rather unhealthy addiction to energy drinks (thanks for nothing Much Loco).
I started using EnerGhack as soon as it arrived and tried it instead of my usual coffee to kick off a session. I first sipped on it slowly throughout extended gaming sessions as well as downing a full serving in one go. Both times no jitters and sugar rushes were experienced and I did feel like I could go a little bit longer before feeling the inevitable fatigue of a long day.
Disclaimer – don’t down a full serving in one go because the flavours really are good and you’ll want to enjoy it over a long period of time.
Review writing.
This is not the only review I’ve written in the period of having EnerGhack and the product really did help fuel me through the long writing process. I’m generally a coffee drinker for this as the “sipping process” helps me to pause and gather my thoughts before moving on. Also, I just really enjoy a good cup of coffee and I don’t think any energy drink or energy alternative would change that as I drink it for the enjoyment more than the caffeine (sorry EnerGhack – I still love your product).
Substituting this other little joy in my life for the time being with EnerGhack, I felt that the sipping process was much the same and did allow me to pause and gather my thoughts. But I do acknowledge that that is more due to my routine than the product itself but EnerGhack did fill that purpose so it’s a winner in my eyes.
Exams and studying
On top of all of the other things going on in my life, I am currently studying, and June is always an exam season. EnerGhack was once again used in place of my usual study coping methods during this stressful time and I do believe that the product was effective as I could go for extended periods of time without feeling distracted or drowsy. With COVID-19 being around, my exams took the form of online assessments this year and so I was able to drink that during the exams themselves – results still pending so I’ll leave my comment on this one till I see the marks.
Mountain biking
Being very fortunate to live in an area with vast open spaces, I am an avid mountain biker and regularly go on rides that range from short and quick 5km rides to longer rides stretching into the 40km plus categories.
I used EnerGhack, as well as giving some to my riding partner, to keep in a bottle as an addition to our 2L of water in our hydration packs. We agreed before setting out that we’d only use it when we felt we needed a bit more of a boost and not when we felt thirsty (that’s what the 2L of water is for). After trying this across a broad spectrum of trails and rides, both my riding partner and I did feel that EnerGhack come in for the save when we needed that extra boost and we both felt less lethargic after our long rides. Granted – that could be a placebo effect but it’s only while using the product that it was noticed so I’m going to say it’s because of it.
Obstacle and Trail Building
Another one of my hobbies, which is a spin-out of my love of Mountain Biking, is MTB trail and obstacle building. These builds can sometimes take hours at a time and obstacles require focus and precision in the build process, while the trail building and installing the obstacles requires some serious endurance as you move vast amounts of dirt or dig deep holes to secure the posts of the obstacle.
Once again, I shared some EnerGhack with my riding partner, who is also a big fan of building, and we got stuck into the tasks. With the aid of EnerGhack, we both felt that it kept us hydrated and gave us that little extra “go” during long and very labour intensive build processes. So again – EnerGhack come through for us here.
Labour… yes, Labour
Yes – that is what you think it is.
During this test and review period, my wife and I welcomed our second child into the world.
My wife entered labour in the evening and was admitted to the maternity ward at hospital, but because of this not so little thing known as COVID-19, I was told I wasn’t allowed to be with her until she was in “active labour” (the medical boffs amongst us will know what that is I guess) and had been moved to the labour ward. Now, if you know anything about labour, this could be 5 minutes, 5 hours or more.
I then spent the night in a hospital lobby staying awake with the help of EnerGhack and a good old PSP until I was finally admitted to the labour ward around 7am the following morning.
With all coffee shops and that being closed at this stage of our lockdown in SA (not that any would be open at 2am), the only source of extra energy I had was the EnerGhack that I brought along with me – and it REALLY did help. The minute I felt the drowsiness of a long day kicking in in the early hours of the morning, a few sips of EnerGhack really snapped me out of it and kept me going for an extra hour or so.
Overall, EnerGhack really did deliver on what they said they would and in all of the scenarios and times that I used the product, no jitters or slumps were experienced and I wasn’t left with that weird artificial sweetener taste in my mouth.
While we’re on the topic of taste – the flavours of EnerGhack are all incredible in their own way but mixing them literally blew my mind as the flavours merged and worked in ways my brain could not even comprehend. I even let my wife have a few sips and her exact words were “you can taste that it’s an energy drink but its not gross at all,” which is all the proof you need knowing that my wife absolutely hates the taste of other energy drinks.
Currently, EnerGhack comes in four flavours. These are Raging Raspberry, Blueberry Bomber, Tropical Pineapple and Cosmic Lemon.
Of all the individual flavours, Raspberry and Pineapple definitely came out on tops in my books, and the mix of the two is very high up on my list of favourite mixes.
Being fortunate enough to have access to the full flavour range, I experimented with various different flavour combos and my favourite mix is definitely Lemon/Pineapple, followed closely by Raspberry/Pineapple. I even went as far as to mix all 4 flavours into one and, while not bad at all, it just turned into a “just fruity” flavour and definitely didn’t feature on my list of need to try again combos.
I do hope that new flavours will be added to the menu soon like hint hint mango, litchi and guava.
Final Thoughts.
As you’ve probably guessed it from reading this review, I absolutely LOVED EnerGhack and do feel that they deliver on their promises of assisting with reactions, focus, endurance, energy and hydration. Their flavours taste great and the product is actually really cost effective.
One tub of EnerGhack will set you back R289 and will give you 30 servings, you can do the maths on the exact amount but that’s less than R10 a serving. And if you buy their combo deals, that price reduces even further, making it more cost effective.
They also often run specials – so, if you watch their social media accounts closely, you can get an even sweeter deal.
I do love that they are a local product and that does always make me happy to support local industries.
Overall, I give this product a VERY solid 9 out of 10 stars.
Thank you so much to Jan and the guys over at EnerGhack for giving me the opportunity to review this awesome product.
