Stay Hydrated with Nuun

I've never been a fan of water. I force myself to drink enough, but I don't particularly enjoy it. Flavored waters and additives can help motivate me. Nuun (pronounced "noon") sells tablets which dissolve in water adding flavor and electrolytes without the sugar found in most sports drinks. 

*C/O Nuun. Full disclosure here. 

Admittedly, what drew me too nuun in the first place was their packaging. You all know I'm a sucker when it comes to design. I always hated buying sports drinks in individual, disposable bottles, which means I nearly never purchased sports drinks. I've used a few different drink mix packets on occasion but always hated carrying the trash around, especially if some of the mix would spill in your bag/pocket. Nuun seemed like the perfect alternative. The tablets come in a small tube that survived being knocked around in my Osprey pack for a week of road trips and camping as well as in my overfilled purse and the backpack I take to class. Any container that can survive my torture and come out looking as good as new with no spills or damage is already on the right track. (It doesn't hurt that they use a simple design with cute flavor-coordinating colors!) I had the opportunity to review flavors from two of the three product types, grapefruit orange from nuun's All Day Hydration line, and tropical from the Active Hydration line. There is also a third line, U Natural Hydration, which I did not try. 

Nuun's flavors are good, but mild. If you're looking for a sugary drink or a strong flavor, this isn't for you. I found during a normal day they left me wanting something more, but the amount of flavor was perfect for post exercise, snowshoeing, hiking, and the week I was sick when strong flavors and sugars either aren't what I'm looking for or don't matter. The flavor did seem stronger though the more I had hiked!

The three types of Nuun each serve a different purpose. Nuun active is their sport's drink. It helps to replenish lost electrolytes after a workout or activity without the sugar (which you don't need or want, especially after working your butt off!). I could throw the tube in my backpack or gym bag without any extra weight. Nuun active contains twelve tablets. Nuun All Day would be more like a vitamin water. It has electrolytes, but also provides you with some key vitamins. I loved nuun active when Anthony got me sick over spring break. It's great for travel, and we were on a road trip. It was a big help in being able to drink my vitamins and carry enough vitamins/hydration for the trip without crowding the car with disposable bottles. The only downfall to that use is you do have to carry with you or stop for extra water. On road trips we usually carry a large jug (sometimes as much as five gallons) and refill our bottles from that. Nuun all day contains fifteen tablets. 

The tablets are pretty large and are meant to be dissolved in sixteen ounces of water. This would be have a nalgene bottle (my favorite!). Now, I have the patience of a puppy, so I was a little concerned when I saw the large size of the tablets that they would take a while to dissolve. Turns out they dissolve pretty quickly, but with a catch. 

Once these little guys dissolve you're left with what feels like sparkling water. It's not bubbly like a full on carbonated drink, but there's a tingle. I'm not one for sparkling anything, so this was a turn off. I found, however, that if you leave the top of your water bottle the fizz disappears pretty quickly (I'd say five or so minutes). This was quite the wait for me, but nothing to cry about. If you like the slight fizz, using the water bottle regularly (opening to drink and closing) maintained the sensation. 

The Short Story: 

-Both are tablets which come in travel friendly, durable packaging meant to be used in conjunction with a reusable water bottle. 

-Nuun All Day was great to use when traveling or sick to get some extra vitamins and utilize it's portability

-For day to day use the mild flavor left something to be desired

-Nuun Active is a great post workout or during/post activity (hiking,biking,get outside people!) alternative to traditional sports drinks

-The flavors are mild

-Once dissolved, it is a little fizzy, this disappears if the bottle is left open, stays if you drink normally (open drink close) 

Nuun is available in a ton of different flavors (I'm eyeing kona cola, citrus fruit, and lemon tea!). I've seen them sold at a outdoor and athletic shops all around my town and others, but if you can't find them you can get them online here. Other than the tubes you've seen in this post, the tablets can be purchased in a box of individual packages like these.

*(something to keep in mind: if you purchase one of the two flavors with pink caps- strawberry lemonade and gogi berry green tea- nuun will donate 50 cents to susan g komen. Purchasing the flavor with the purple cap-grape- provides a donation to leukemia and lymphoma society.)