@hpyswmr said:
Any suggestions on a good replacement for Carbo Pro? Looking for something w/o flavor.. as I've
been using Carbo Pro + mix with your fav electrolyte drink mix + mix with other stuff... Nothing secretive or rocket science on my drink mix.. just been using this recipe for 15+ years and it works for me. e.g. feed every 30 min.
I mix corn starch and water with a flavoring (or not) of my choice. I use 1/4 cup of corn starch (just regular baking aisle corn starch) to 8 oz liquid. If I'm swimming in fresh water I add 1/2 teaspoon of Morton Lite Salt, which is half potassium, half sodium. You might try it, if you hate it at least it was cheap
Thank you Ruth! I will try this.
What I find interesting is soo many different nutrition options out in the market today ($30-60 a trial), but very few have trial packs. So switching nutrition gets expensive fast. I love the idea of being able to try something that already in my kitchen cabinets.
Will try this.
Thank you - again!
@Sara_Wolf said:
I use Infinit (infinitnutrition dot com).
You can customize it all sorts of ways, and they have GF options.
Message me directly if you'd like more detailed info.
S
@hpyswmr said:
Any suggestions on a good replacement for Carbo Pro? Looking for something w/o flavor.. as I've
been using Carbo Pro + mix with your fav electrolyte drink mix + mix with other stuff... Nothing secretive or rocket science on my drink mix.. just been using this recipe for 15+ years and it works for me. e.g. feed every 30 min.
Would love some ideas on what I can use to replace my beloved Carbo Pro, as you can't buy it anymore???? Love to hear your ideas and suggestions..
I have super sensitive stomach + gluten free (live a GF diet.. not by choice as my internals have made this decision for me)...
Signed
- Just smile and swim
Thank you @Sara_Wolf! Very much appreciated it! I did send you a private message with my questions. Wanted to get some advice on how to customize this Infinit (infinitnutrition dot com).
Has anyone used Perpetuem by Hammer Nutrition? I like it because it has Orange Vanilla flavor which are two of my favorite food groups. I think it's popular amongst the bike crowd.
@curly I love Hammer Perpetuem and have been using it for years - my flavor of choice is chocolate since it takes good cold or warm but I really think they make a great product - solid research - lots of years in the business. i think its worth trying a sample packet of.
abbygirlroseLos Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member
@JSwim I ordered it maybe 2 months ago from their website but I'm not seeing it now ugh
omg the "tropical buzz" flavor of tailwind... first time this morning, tastes exactly like "smarties" candy-- could be good or bad, depending on your stance toward smarties, but for me, a definite winner.
A friend recently recommended Noka superfood smoothie pouches. She used them for fruit/veggie intake when she was deployed in Africa. She said they don't need to be chilled, but taste better if they are. I've got a 5:30 swim this weekend at the lake, so will be testing them out.
I mix corn starch and water with a flavoring (or not) of my choice. I use 1/4 cup of corn starch (just regular baking aisle corn starch) to 8 oz liquid. If I'm swimming in fresh water I add 1/2 teaspoon of Morton Lite Salt, which is half potassium, half sodium. You might try it, if you hate it at least it was cheap
I've done the above as well and was my main feed on a 25 mile swim last summer, completely destroyed my GI tract. I just started using CarboRocket and its fine. I do 1/3 of a serving per feed. Its interesting that lots of folks advocate for not feeding on shorter swims, but I find its really helpful to also "train my gut"
Environment: 5:30 lake swim.
WAY warmer than I thought it would be. WAY WAY WAY.
FLavors tried: Cherry/Acai and Strawberry/pineapple
Result: meh. Not horrible. But, not quite as refreshing as I'd hoped they would be. Of the two, the Strawberry pineapple was better. They had a bit of a gritty texture, but went down fairly easily. They don't need to be refrigerated, but I'd been told that they were better if they were chilled. So, I had them on ice in a cooler.
They're about 90 calories each, so they wouldn't be a good substitute for an entire feed, but as an interest for your palate, they seem to be ok.
Will try them again, on a shorter (and hopefully cooler) swim.
New favorite feed: “French vanilla” black tea from Bigelow (2 bags for 21 ounce thermos), plus three scoops unflavored carborocket half evil. Hits the spot if you’re looking for a warm feed and a bit of caffeine
@LakeBagger said:
New favorite feed: “French vanilla” black tea from Bigelow (2 bags for 21 ounce thermos), plus three scoops unflavored carborocket half evil. Hits the spot if you’re looking for a warm feed and a bit of caffeine
Oooooo.... I'll have to try that, or something similar. Black tea does a number on my tummy, but maybe green tea!
Thank you everyone who provided alternative suggestions and I tried a lot of stuff. Really love everyone jumping in and sharing what they do. This was a lot of great information and alternative products to try! Thank you everyone!
Agree with @AngieSwims on using feeds on shorter swims. So I tried a lot of other products on my short swims which helped me narrow things down and find what works for me. Different nutritional products work better for others, so it was fun journey trying different products. THANK YOU AGAIN!
In the end I switched to Skratch SuperFuel and found that reduced the number of scoops + added 1 scoop of the Skratch Hydration Orange for flavor and that worked for me.
I did see CarboPro is back but no thank you! The lack of the company's ability to OWN up to the product not being available had this loyal customer of over +15 years switch to a new product. Since the manufactures completely removed the product from the website and didn't even post a message saying its out of stock and disconnected the phone and lack of responding to email.. I will gladly switch to a more reliable company. Sorry, it's stressful enough training for these swims, I don't need the added headache and games played a company. Good bye CarboPro.
Has anyone tried Gatorade Endurance Formula Powder? Yea or nay? I'm new to liquid feeds and read through this mega-thread but didn't see any mention of this product.
@bresar said:
Has anyone tried Gatorade Endurance Formula Powder? Yea or nay? I'm new to liquid feeds and read through this mega-thread but didn't see any mention of this product.
I love Gatorade and tried it, but didn't feel it packed enough punch. I mix Citrus Clif Gel + caffeine in with regular old Gatorade and find that it really does the trick, especially for warm water swims. All the best!
So far I really like Skratch Super Fuel. I use the lemon lime then mix it in my shaker (med size) with 5 scoops + 1 scoop of orange Skratch. This seems to work for me. In fact I use to get cramps and now - that seems to be a thing of the past.
One thing I recently noticed was yoga seems to be really helping too. Started this just recently for other reasons.
Thank you everyone for wonderful ideas. I will try the endurance gatorade. Just give is shot just in case I need another backup.
@bresar said:
Has anyone tried Gatorade Endurance Formula Powder? Yea or nay? I'm new to liquid feeds and read through this mega-thread but didn't see any mention of this product.
Magnesium is REALLY good if you are someone who has cramping issues. Worked like a charm for me. NO issues since I started using it.
abbygirlroseLos Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member
I am heading to SCAR in a few weeks and someone recommended incorporating protein into my feeds for recovery. As I have never tried this in a training swim, I am not planning to add protein to my "during the swim" feeds however I would like to bring some protein powder for a "post swim" drink. I tend to prefer vanilla. Do you have any recommendations for a powder or premixed drink?
@abbygirlrose said:
I am heading to SCAR in a few weeks and someone recommended incorporating protein into my feeds for recovery. As I have never tried this in a training swim, I am not planning to add protein to my "during the swim" feeds however I would like to bring some protein powder for a "post swim" drink. I tend to prefer vanilla. Do you have any recommendations for a powder or premixed drink?
@abbygirlrose said:
I am heading to SCAR in a few weeks and someone recommended incorporating protein into my feeds for recovery. As I have never tried this in a training swim, I am not planning to add protein to my "during the swim" feeds however I would like to bring some protein powder for a "post swim" drink. I tend to prefer vanilla. Do you have any recommendations for a powder or premixed drink?
I use Scratch Recovery.
Chocolate vegan or Horchata flavor (non vegan). I use the vegan just because.
Did my first 'proper' marathon swim recently on a drink of my own design after reading this forum and other sources: a mix of maltodextrin, fructose, electrolyte and citric acid for taste. In terms of energy it was fine, but after 6 hrs I felt a bit of acid reflux. Also, I could barely sleep that night and I wonder if it was having too much carb during the day (50g/hr during the swim, plus oats for breakfast and pizza for dinner!), which has previously been an issue.
Anyway - two questions:
1) Has anyone used plain corn starch instead of UCAN 'super starch'? My understanding is that the super starch takes longer to digest, therefore gives a more prolonged effect from a feed, but surely not an issue if you have access to a regular 'dose' / feed during a swim.
2) Does anyone incorporate protein into their training nutrition plan to aid recovery? I was listening to a podcast that was discussing the benefits of up 10g/hr, but I can't find the link. I wondered if anyone adds protein powder to regular feeds.
I used corn starch (plus flavored drink powder) for a few years. 1/4 cup of starch to 8 oz of water or so. Doesn't really dissolve so you have to shake it before you drink it. It worked for me until it didn't but no harm in trying to see if it works for you--if it does work, it's dirt cheap.
2) Does anyone incorporate protein into their training nutrition plan to aid recovery? I was listening to a podcast that was discussing the benefits of up 10g/hr, but I can't find the link. I wondered if anyone adds protein powder to regular feeds.
I use Hammer Perpetuem which has some protein. It feels pretty good (and the chocolate flavor tastes pretty good with salt water tongue). I read somewhere that protein helps make you feel less hungry and less sloshy.
Long time lurker, but I am back to training in earnest in the last two months with some marathon swimming goals. I have two bigger races on the books this summer (5k and 10k). I also have two aquabikes including a half-ironman distance but those are barely anything for swimming.
I have been a long time fasted exerciser - even when I swam competitively in high school and into college I HATED food in my stomach before practice. I would force down half a bar and grumble about it (which were the gross original powerbars as back then that is all there was hah). I train in the AM for swimming as that is when I can get pool time with my schedule and their schedule and when I get OW time it is still early am.
However, I have been inching my training up rapidly since I seriously got back in the water after a 5 year hiatus. I now average 9k-10k in yardage and about 2hr15-2hr40min for that time and I do this 3x a week and right now an open water on the weekends.
I KNOW that I need to add fueling because I have depleted my glucose reserves and while my body is fat adapted from doing fasting for so long it seems too long for me as I am not able to train as hard and after workouts am way too drained. Mentally this is tough. i have found a good pure carb powder unflavored called Vitargo that is fractionated amylopectin starch and cautiously tried it mid-swim this am (which was 10,100 yards) and was pleasantly surprised to find I was not put out after the swim and finished strong. The start of my swim was rough though as I was still fasted going in. And I only took 35g of carbs during so may need to adjust.
So I would love to hear from the experienced swimmers here for both training and races:
How do you fuel for longer pool/OW sessions? how often and how much?
For OW, if you are on your own in a lake (with a sighting bouy of course) what are you using to fuel and how? in the suit and just deal with uncomfortable plastic sticking you? gels? strap something to the towable and hope it stays on?
For OW races that offer refeed stations to set up your things, are you packing it in a cooler? drinks and gels? My Lake George 10k has this as it is a repetitive loop.
I did Lake George 10K last year. It is a great race you'll have fun. For Lake George they have a floating station where you can leave your own personal fuel.
For me personally, I try to have some some sort of liquid every 30 minutes, and calories 30-45 minutes. I use Skratch in my water for electrolytes, and GU gels for calories. All sorts of formulas out there for how many calories and sodium you should have per hour. But fueling during a swim is a must.
Yes, fueling on long open water training swims is a challenge. I just purchased a buoy with a built-in hydration bag, how cool! Before that I would either put a bottle in the carry space of the buoy or leave supplies on the land next to my swim.
@JAMswimlife I merged your thread with our existing mega-thread on this topic.
Attention new members: First of all, welcome to the community!
Second: this Forum has 12 years of discussion on nearly every aspect of long-distance swimming. Here's the preferred way of going about asking & answering your questions here:
Use the search box to find previous threads related to your question. Read through these discussions.
If your specific question isn't answered, but there are threads about the general topic, reply to the existing thread instead of creating a new thread.
If the topic of your question is truly outside the scope of existing discussions, create a new thread. Please make the thread title as specific and descriptive as possible - i.e., don't call it "Feeding".
Yes, fueling on long open water training swims is a challenge. I just purchased a buoy with a built-in hydration bag, how cool! Before that I would either put a bottle in the carry space of the buoy or leave supplies on the land next to my swim.
Good luck!
Is it this thing? Need another buoy like a hole in the head but I can’t believe the solution to my problem is so simple…I had so many other really dumb ideas, and this is a $50 solution to a $5000 issue.
@boobooaboo said:
Is it this thing? Need another buoy like a hole in the head but I can’t believe the solution to my problem is so simple…I had so many other really dumb ideas, and this is a $50 solution to a $5000 issue.
One friend of mine has this buoy. Watertightness of the hole where the tube goes inside the buoy is not very good, he always end up with half a litter of sea water inside the buoy, even on a 1 hour swim.
@evmo said: @JAMswimlife I merged your thread with our existing mega-thread on this topic.
Attention new members: First of all, welcome to the community!
Second: this Forum has 12 years of discussion on nearly every aspect of long-distance swimming. Here's the preferred way of going about asking & answering your questions here:
Use the search box to find previous threads related to your question. Read through these discussions.
If your specific question isn't answered, but there are threads about the general topic, reply to the existing thread instead of creating a new thread.
If the topic of your question is truly outside the scope of existing discussions, create a new thread. Please make the thread title as specific and descriptive as possible - i.e., don't call it "Feeding".
Thanks!
Evan, this would make for a great sticky/info bar post.
@OWnewbie Can you tell me is the nutrition station is close to the turn around buoy? I am a little wary of using race sponsored refueling stations after my first 10k race in mid-July was disastrous (some due to the issues with the station and some due to using the wrong fuel). First, the boat for the 5k station left 15 min early so all of us missed getting food on it. Then I did not realize I would have to swim 25 yards PAST the end turn around buoy. I then waited 5 minutes for the volunteer to dig through the cooler (where my gels did not need to be) to find my labeled bag. I was 1st place for women at that stage and 2nd overall. I was passed and never was able to catch up. So I decided I would just shove gels in my suit from now on to avoid the situation entirely and maybe just keep some electrolyte water on the station in case I need it.
for my training swims I definitely want to look into this! Right now I have been using a dock to swim back to every 4 miles to refuel but would prefer to just keep swimming.
I'm so sorry for the late reply @JAMswimlife!!! Hopefully the swim went well for you. At least when I did the swim, the course was approximately diamond shaped, and the floating station was at the bottom/beginning of the diamond course. The floating fuel station was about 10-15 meters from the start of each lap. Hope that helps!
@JAMswimlife said: @OWnewbie Can you tell me is the nutrition station is close to the turn around buoy? I am a little wary of using race sponsored refueling stations after my first 10k race in mid-July was disastrous (some due to the issues with the station and some due to using the wrong fuel). First, the boat for the 5k station left 15 min early so all of us missed getting food on it. Then I did not realize I would have to swim 25 yards PAST the end turn around buoy. I then waited 5 minutes for the volunteer to dig through the cooler (where my gels did not need to be) to find my labeled bag. I was 1st place for women at that stage and 2nd overall. I was passed and never was able to catch up. So I decided I would just shove gels in my suit from now on to avoid the situation entirely and maybe just keep some electrolyte water on the station in case I need it.
for my training swims I definitely want to look into this! Right now I have been using a dock to swim back to every 4 miles to refuel but would prefer to just keep swimming.
@boobooaboo said:
Is it this thing? Need another buoy like a hole in the head but I can’t believe the solution to my problem is so simple…I had so many other really dumb ideas, and this is a $50 solution to a $5000 issue.
One friend of mine has this buoy. Watertightness of the hole where the tube goes inside the buoy is not very good, he always end up with half a litter of sea water inside the buoy, even on a 1 hour swim.
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Comments
Th> @ruth said:
Thank you Ruth! I will try this.
What I find interesting is soo many different nutrition options out in the market today ($30-60 a trial), but very few have trial packs. So switching nutrition gets expensive fast. I love the idea of being able to try something that already in my kitchen cabinets.
Will try this.
Thank you - again!
Thank you @Sara_Wolf! Very much appreciated it! I did send you a private message with my questions. Wanted to get some advice on how to customize this Infinit (infinitnutrition dot com).
Has anyone used Perpetuem by Hammer Nutrition? I like it because it has Orange Vanilla flavor which are two of my favorite food groups. I think it's popular amongst the bike crowd.
I tried it right before a (low stakes) 5k and it promptly came back up.
@abbygirlrose - when and where did you purchase it last? they don't seem to be shipping or responding in a reasonable timeframe. TIA
@curly I love Hammer Perpetuem and have been using it for years - my flavor of choice is chocolate since it takes good cold or warm but I really think they make a great product - solid research - lots of years in the business. i think its worth trying a sample packet of.
@JSwim I ordered it maybe 2 months ago from their website but I'm not seeing it now ugh
omg the "tropical buzz" flavor of tailwind... first time this morning, tastes exactly like "smarties" candy-- could be good or bad, depending on your stance toward smarties, but for me, a definite winner.
A friend recently recommended Noka superfood smoothie pouches. She used them for fruit/veggie intake when she was deployed in Africa. She said they don't need to be chilled, but taste better if they are. I've got a 5:30 swim this weekend at the lake, so will be testing them out.
Same. It was Strawberry Vanilla, ruined strawberry flavored things for me for a few months.
I've done the above as well and was my main feed on a 25 mile swim last summer, completely destroyed my GI tract. I just started using CarboRocket and its fine. I do 1/3 of a serving per feed. Its interesting that lots of folks advocate for not feeding on shorter swims, but I find its really helpful to also "train my gut"
Correction on my previous post: it’s the raspberry tailwind that tastes like smarties. The tropical buzz is gross… tastes like chemicals
Update: Noka Superfood smoothie test.
Environment: 5:30 lake swim.
WAY warmer than I thought it would be. WAY WAY WAY.
FLavors tried: Cherry/Acai and Strawberry/pineapple
Result: meh. Not horrible. But, not quite as refreshing as I'd hoped they would be. Of the two, the Strawberry pineapple was better. They had a bit of a gritty texture, but went down fairly easily. They don't need to be refrigerated, but I'd been told that they were better if they were chilled. So, I had them on ice in a cooler.
They're about 90 calories each, so they wouldn't be a good substitute for an entire feed, but as an interest for your palate, they seem to be ok.
Will try them again, on a shorter (and hopefully cooler) swim.
New favorite feed: “French vanilla” black tea from Bigelow (2 bags for 21 ounce thermos), plus three scoops unflavored carborocket half evil. Hits the spot if you’re looking for a warm feed and a bit of caffeine
Oooooo.... I'll have to try that, or something similar. Black tea does a number on my tummy, but maybe green tea!
Thank you everyone who provided alternative suggestions and I tried a lot of stuff. Really love everyone jumping in and sharing what they do. This was a lot of great information and alternative products to try! Thank you everyone!
Agree with @AngieSwims on using feeds on shorter swims. So I tried a lot of other products on my short swims which helped me narrow things down and find what works for me. Different nutritional products work better for others, so it was fun journey trying different products. THANK YOU AGAIN!
In the end I switched to Skratch SuperFuel and found that reduced the number of scoops + added 1 scoop of the Skratch Hydration Orange for flavor and that worked for me.
I did see CarboPro is back but no thank you! The lack of the company's ability to OWN up to the product not being available had this loyal customer of over +15 years switch to a new product. Since the manufactures completely removed the product from the website and didn't even post a message saying its out of stock and disconnected the phone and lack of responding to email.. I will gladly switch to a more reliable company. Sorry, it's stressful enough training for these swims, I don't need the added headache and games played a company. Good bye CarboPro.
Has anyone tried Gatorade Endurance Formula Powder? Yea or nay? I'm new to liquid feeds and read through this mega-thread but didn't see any mention of this product.
https://www.gatorade.com/fuel/hydration/endurance-formula/32oz-canister-powder/cherry
Carborocket is 20% off this through Monday, in case you're looking to stock up. Code: BFCM20 and select free shipping.
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.
I love Gatorade and tried it, but didn't feel it packed enough punch. I mix Citrus Clif Gel + caffeine in with regular old Gatorade and find that it really does the trick, especially for warm water swims. All the best!
So far I really like Skratch Super Fuel. I use the lemon lime then mix it in my shaker (med size) with 5 scoops + 1 scoop of orange Skratch. This seems to work for me. In fact I use to get cramps and now - that seems to be a thing of the past.
One thing I recently noticed was yoga seems to be really helping too. Started this just recently for other reasons.
Thank you everyone for wonderful ideas. I will try the endurance gatorade. Just give is shot just in case I need another backup.
Magnesium is REALLY good if you are someone who has cramping issues. Worked like a charm for me. NO issues since I started using it.
I am heading to SCAR in a few weeks and someone recommended incorporating protein into my feeds for recovery. As I have never tried this in a training swim, I am not planning to add protein to my "during the swim" feeds however I would like to bring some protein powder for a "post swim" drink. I tend to prefer vanilla. Do you have any recommendations for a powder or premixed drink?
Sent you a DM.
I use Scratch Recovery.
Chocolate vegan or Horchata flavor (non vegan). I use the vegan just because.
Wishing you a wonderful swim at SCAR.
Did my first 'proper' marathon swim recently on a drink of my own design after reading this forum and other sources: a mix of maltodextrin, fructose, electrolyte and citric acid for taste. In terms of energy it was fine, but after 6 hrs I felt a bit of acid reflux. Also, I could barely sleep that night and I wonder if it was having too much carb during the day (50g/hr during the swim, plus oats for breakfast and pizza for dinner!), which has previously been an issue.
Anyway - two questions:
1) Has anyone used plain corn starch instead of UCAN 'super starch'? My understanding is that the super starch takes longer to digest, therefore gives a more prolonged effect from a feed, but surely not an issue if you have access to a regular 'dose' / feed during a swim.
2) Does anyone incorporate protein into their training nutrition plan to aid recovery? I was listening to a podcast that was discussing the benefits of up 10g/hr, but I can't find the link. I wondered if anyone adds protein powder to regular feeds.
Thanks!
I used corn starch (plus flavored drink powder) for a few years. 1/4 cup of starch to 8 oz of water or so. Doesn't really dissolve so you have to shake it before you drink it. It worked for me until it didn't but no harm in trying to see if it works for you--if it does work, it's dirt cheap.
I use Hammer Perpetuem which has some protein. It feels pretty good (and the chocolate flavor tastes pretty good with salt water tongue). I read somewhere that protein helps make you feel less hungry and less sloshy.
Hi all!
Long time lurker, but I am back to training in earnest in the last two months with some marathon swimming goals. I have two bigger races on the books this summer (5k and 10k). I also have two aquabikes including a half-ironman distance but those are barely anything for swimming.
I have been a long time fasted exerciser - even when I swam competitively in high school and into college I HATED food in my stomach before practice. I would force down half a bar and grumble about it (which were the gross original powerbars as back then that is all there was hah). I train in the AM for swimming as that is when I can get pool time with my schedule and their schedule and when I get OW time it is still early am.
However, I have been inching my training up rapidly since I seriously got back in the water after a 5 year hiatus. I now average 9k-10k in yardage and about 2hr15-2hr40min for that time and I do this 3x a week and right now an open water on the weekends.
I KNOW that I need to add fueling because I have depleted my glucose reserves and while my body is fat adapted from doing fasting for so long it seems too long for me as I am not able to train as hard and after workouts am way too drained. Mentally this is tough. i have found a good pure carb powder unflavored called Vitargo that is fractionated amylopectin starch and cautiously tried it mid-swim this am (which was 10,100 yards) and was pleasantly surprised to find I was not put out after the swim and finished strong. The start of my swim was rough though as I was still fasted going in. And I only took 35g of carbs during so may need to adjust.
So I would love to hear from the experienced swimmers here for both training and races:
I did Lake George 10K last year. It is a great race you'll have fun. For Lake George they have a floating station where you can leave your own personal fuel.
For me personally, I try to have some some sort of liquid every 30 minutes, and calories 30-45 minutes. I use Skratch in my water for electrolytes, and GU gels for calories. All sorts of formulas out there for how many calories and sodium you should have per hour. But fueling during a swim is a must.
Yes, fueling on long open water training swims is a challenge. I just purchased a buoy with a built-in hydration bag, how cool! Before that I would either put a bottle in the carry space of the buoy or leave supplies on the land next to my swim.
Good luck!
@JAMswimlife I merged your thread with our existing mega-thread on this topic.
Attention new members: First of all, welcome to the community!
Second: this Forum has 12 years of discussion on nearly every aspect of long-distance swimming. Here's the preferred way of going about asking & answering your questions here:
Thanks!
Is it this thing? Need another buoy like a hole in the head but I can’t believe the solution to my problem is so simple…I had so many other really dumb ideas, and this is a $50 solution to a $5000 issue.
https://tradeinn.com/swiminn/en/buddyswim-hydrastation-pro-hydration-buoy/140339549/p
One friend of mine has this buoy. Watertightness of the hole where the tube goes inside the buoy is not very good, he always end up with half a litter of sea water inside the buoy, even on a 1 hour swim.
dieciseisgrados.com/
Evan, this would make for a great sticky/info bar post.
@OWnewbie Can you tell me is the nutrition station is close to the turn around buoy? I am a little wary of using race sponsored refueling stations after my first 10k race in mid-July was disastrous (some due to the issues with the station and some due to using the wrong fuel). First, the boat for the 5k station left 15 min early so all of us missed getting food on it. Then I did not realize I would have to swim 25 yards PAST the end turn around buoy. I then waited 5 minutes for the volunteer to dig through the cooler (where my gels did not need to be) to find my labeled bag. I was 1st place for women at that stage and 2nd overall. I was passed and never was able to catch up. So I decided I would just shove gels in my suit from now on to avoid the situation entirely and maybe just keep some electrolyte water on the station in case I need it.
for my training swims I definitely want to look into this! Right now I have been using a dock to swim back to every 4 miles to refuel but would prefer to just keep swimming.
I'm so sorry for the late reply @JAMswimlife!!! Hopefully the swim went well for you. At least when I did the swim, the course was approximately diamond shaped, and the floating station was at the bottom/beginning of the diamond course. The floating fuel station was about 10-15 meters from the start of each lap. Hope that helps!
Yes I have the same issue with water leaking into the buoy.