The funny thing about OSMO is that they’ve barely changed since their launch in 2012. Through the years, and perhaps because they didn’t keep dropping flashy new flavors and seasonal editions, their business and the attention they garnered has ebbed and flowed.
But their quality and performance has remained a constant, which is why it’s one of my go-to products when I have something big planned.
The latest such adventure was 2+ weeks of cycling in Japan, first on an organized tour with Ride & Seek (read about that here), then on a loosely organized bikepacking trip with my son where plans changed hourly. For that, I packed a suitcase full of OSMO’s catalog, hauled it halfway around the world, and proceeded to crush it with zero bonks and zero cramps for the entire trip.
If you’re looking for solid ride nutrition and recovery, here’s what you need to know about OSMO…
OSMO Rapid Recovery
I don’t start rides with a recovery drink, but I’m starting this review with Rapid Recovery because it’s one of my favorite products. Here’s why: Their Vanilla recovery mix is hands down the best thing to add to iced coffee with a little milk for a killer hot-weather recovery drink. (watch me make it here)
Each serving has 17g-18g of protein from whey protein isolate, and that’s important. Whey Isolate is a much higher quality version than Whey Concentrate, which is common in a lot of other products (not all, to be fair, but a lot) because it’s cheaper. But, Isolate digests cleaner with fewer issues (less bloating, fewer farts). Despite guzzling down 1-2 servings after each day’s ride, I never had any bloating or gastrointestinal stress.
The chocolate flavor blends in more Micellar Casein, which I don’t have a problem with, but I prefer the vanilla by a large margin.
For the bikepacking segment, I dumped a couple tins of it into a Gallon Ziploc and shoved it in our trunk bag. Japan has lots of spots to get water, so it was easy to mix after each day’s ride. And, Rapid Recovery rinses clean, so it didn’t build up any film in my shaker cup over two weeks of just rinsing it with water after each use…no scrubbing necessary.
I finished every day’s ride with 1-2 servings (and sometimes a half to full serving again before bed). This strategy worked as I felt surprisingly strong and fresh each day for the entire duration, and wasn’t completely wrecked after 16 days of hard riding.
OSMO Hydration & Power Fuel
OSMO’s original message was simple – drink to hydrate, eat to fuel. So, if there’s been one big change for the brand over the years, it’s that they’ve finally introduced a drink mix that’s designed to fuel you, too. Sort of.
Their original Hydration mix is the same as it ever was, and both berry flavors are awesome. Highly recommend. Orange is pretty good, too, and Lemon Lime is among the better Lemon Lime’s out there, but it’s still just a Lemon Lime. All of the flavors do an excellent job of keeping me (and, presumably, you) hydrated. We hammered day after day, and once bikepacking, were doing it with loaded bikes up lots and lots of long climbs. Sooo many climbs.
Yet we never cramped, and Steve (my partner on the Ride & Seek tour) decided it would be fun to not shift into the little ring for the entire week, so he was definitely pushing big gears on the climbs. No cramps or bonks for him either.
It comes in 20 serving canisters, which we used for the cycling tour while they shepherded our bags around for us. Then we switched to their single-serve packets for the bikepacking leg since they’ve take up less and less space as we used them. I like bags and pouches of product for that reason…they pack down smaller, and keep getting smaller throughout a trip. I’m guessing they also use less plastic?
Some days we added OSMO’s newer Power Fuel mix to the Hydration mix, which is how you use it. It’s an additive if you’re looking to get more carbs in your carbs. It’s a Cluster Dextrin (highly branched cyclic dextrin) blended with Fructose and Sodium Citrate, with no flavor. It’s designed to add a meaningful dose of carbs (39g) to your current sports drink mix, but remain easily digestible. It makes the drink a bit sweeter, and it’s a little sticky, but seems to work well. Available in 16-serving pouches and single-serve packets, with or without caffeine.
OSMO Preload
OSMO’s Preload pre-sport hydration mix is one of my favorite things and I don’t think it gets the love it deserves. It has a very slight pool water taste, as does anything with a lot of sodium bicarbonate, but the pineapple margarita flavor makes the most of it. I actually kinda like it. There’s also potassium (83mg) and magnesium (14mg), but the main thing is pumping 1,430g to 1,850mg of sodium in you to help you hold water before heading out to ride.
If it ain’t broke…
Would I like to see more flavors from OSMO? Sure. But there’s something to be said for consistency and predictability. I know that OSMO’s products work well for me, the flavors are palatable all day, every day, for weeks at a time, and that they do what they say they will. Recently, they’ve added single-serve packaging for all of their products, which is great for travel. If you haven’t found what you’re looking for in a sports nutrition product, I’d say give these a try. They’re relatively simple, without any gimmicky ingredients or promises, but they taste great and they work.
Full disclosure: OSMO provided a small travel stipend to support our trip to Japan. In no way did that influence this review or my opinion their products – I liked them before, and I like them now.