Precision Hydration PF 90 Energy Gels – 3 Gels

Precision Hydration PF 90 Gels pack a whopping 90g of carbs into each little baby-food-like pouch. The gels, also titled 'the jumbo gel' by the manufacturer, are made with long-duration (over 60 minutes) exercise in mind, with a simple ingredients list, and I found them easy to consume because of their neutral taste.

This is a jumbo version of the PF 30 energy gels Jamie reviewed last year, each of which contains 30g of carbohydrates. As the name suggests, each of these big pouches contains 90g of carbohydrates, making them a specific product for long rides – in essence, each pouch will fuel you for up to three hours if you aim for a ratio of about a 30g/carbs per hour.

> Buy now: Precision Hydration PF 90 Gels for £14.99 from Precision Hydration

Of course, you can use them for shorter efforts – but then you're left with the product in the pouch, and the manufacturer hasn't specified how long it lasts once opened.

Consistency

When I first opened the pouch, I wasn't sure what to expect. Was this going to be a Caprisun kind of burst of liquid or a more baby-food-like consistency? The latter (I will park that baby food reference now) is true.

The gel is thick, and doesn't escape the pouch without a gentle squeeze, which is something I really love about it. Maybe it's a personal preference but I hate runny liquid gels that you have to consume at once, and often you are left with sticky hands, bars, and back pockets in the process.

Because of the thicker consistency, the PF 90 gel comes out of the pouch when you want it to, making it easy to have it in small portions. However, this does leave you with the problem of figuring out how much of the gel you've actually consumed.

I would seldom consume 90g of carbs per hour unless it's a race situation, and mainly tested the gels on endurance rides of up to 200km, where 90g in one hour would be a bit overkill – so I tried my best to split the gel into two or, on some rides, three portions. How successful I was, I have no idea – but does it really matter if you take 30g or 45g if you are not in a race? Not much, I'd say, as long as you get enough fuel in.

> How to eat right for sportives and long rides

Getting the fuel in is – or rather, was – the one negative thought I had about this gel. I say was, because there is a solution. Precision makes a PF 90 Gel Bite Valve, which unfortunately didn't make its way to me for testing. It costs £2.99 and will essentially eliminate the struggles I experienced.

Without the Bite Valve, opening and closing the pouch requires a little consideration. The first opening is a little harder because the cap has a safety feature ensuring it hasn't been opened before, so I learned it's best to 'crack open' the pouch at home before the ride. Then, once I found a way to open the screw top on my bike, I was left with the dilemma of what to do with the cap. I mostly tried to stuff the lid lightly into my back pocket while I consumed the gel, then had a little search for it and needed two hands to close the package again.

As I said, though, spend £3 on the bite valve and that's those problems sorted.

The gels offer a rather traditional mixed ratio of carbs (2:1 maltodextrin to fructose), and the neutral taste – which reminds me of Maurten, but maybe slightly less sweet – is easy to palate even on multi-hour rides. They are also vegan.

Value

This box of three costs £14.99, so £5 per gel. That's not exactly cheap, but you need to bear in mind the number of carbs you're getting – a typical SiS gel contains 22g of carbs and costs about £1.75 as part of a multipack. So if you wanted the same amount as in the jumbo gel, you'd be paying about £7.

Comparing it with more advanced gels, again looking at the number of carbs each delivers, it works out slightly cheaper than Maurten Gel100, which has 40g of carbs per gel and costs about £2.70.

SiS Beta Fuel also has 40g of carbs per serving and is a little cheaper than the Maurten at £2.20 a go, so still very slightly more than the PF 90.

If you're happy with the larger serving, the PF 90 also works out a fair bit cheaper than buying the smaller PF 30 gels Jamie reviewed.

Conclusion

I don't see these gels working well in hectic race situations, unless you want to chuck down 90g of carbs in one go, but for the purpose of fuelling long efforts, I think they are pretty near perfect. They taste pleasantly neutral and have a good consistency and an easily stomached carb mix ratio. The innovative way of packing lots of carbs into one pouch also saves the environment as you only need one pouch for that long ride – and the packaging is recyclable. I'd advise that you factor in the Bite Valve to your purchase though.

Verdict

Great gel for long rides, environmentally-friendly packaging, not so ideal for hectic races