u/effortDee

Just a couple of minutes from a 65km ultra I did a couple of years ago.

Hey everyone! After 2.5 years of hard work, DirtBags are now officially here!

Was pretty sick and tired of seeing energy gel, powder, chew packets being discarded over the years and those that weren't dropped ended up in the landfill after a single use anyway, this isn't right.

So 2.5 years ago I got to work on some prototypes.

The Small DirtBag is the world's first purpose made reusable energy gel, powder, chew and snack packet.

The Large DirtBag is a reusable gear organiser or great for bulk snacks/powders and DirtBags are home compostable too.

They will help you save money on sports nutrition by moving to bulk bought or home-made fuel options whilst still giving you the convenience of precise fuel control in single serve offerings.

Instead of binning the gel, powder or chew packet, you take it home, wash it out, dry it and it's ready for your next adventure!

DirtBags https://shop.forthetrail.com

And if you're wondering what to put in them, I spent 6 months writing the Sustainable Fuel Guide www.forthetrail.com/fuel-guide it's a fuel guide, which shows you how you can fuel like a pro but at a fraction of the price, all whilst demanding less of the planet by reducing our single-use waste.

One of the biggest tips from the guide is if you change from Precision Fuel PF 30 Chews to Turkish Delight which have identical ingredients, you can spend £60 for 1kg which is 30 servings. If you buy Turkish Delight you get 10KG, 10 times the amount and 300 servings for the exact same thing.

Then instead of binning the plastic wrapper for the PF 30 chews, you decant the bulk Turkish Delight in to a Small DirtBag to get the same thing for a fraction of the price.

Be great to hear your thoughts!

I've been mountain, fell and trail running my entire life and seen sports nutrition get more and more expensive, for just sugar to be put in to a packet and then binned after a single use.

Was also pretty sick and tired of seeing energy gel, powder, chew packets lining the trail over the years and those that weren't discarded ended up in the landfill.

So two years ago I got to work on some prototypes, testing many sizes, materials, ziploc types for 2 years and then spent the last 6 months manufacturing the first ever batch of DirtBags.

The Small DirtBag is the world's first purpose made reusable energy gel, powder, chew and snack packet. (it's multi-functional!)

The Large DirtBag is a reusable gear organiser or great for carrying bulk snacks or putting your empty DirtBags in.

DirtBags are made with bioplastics and home compostable too, meaning that they have a much smaller impact on the planet in their production compared to single-use plastics like gel packets.

They will help you save money on sports nutrition by moving to bulk bought or home-made fuel options whilst still giving you the convenience of precise fuel control in single serve offerings and drastically reducing the waste you create.

Instead of binning the gel, powder or chew packet after just one use, where it will end up in the landfill, you take it home, wash it out, dry it and it's ready for your next adventure!

And if you're wondering what to put in them, I spent months writing the Sustainable Fuel Guide www.forthetrail.com/fuel-guide which shows you how you can fuel like a pro but at a fraction of the price, all whilst demanding less of the planet.

After 2.5 years of work, DirtBags are now officially here! https://shop.forthetrail.com

Hey fellow trail runners! After 2.5 years of hard work, DirtBags are now officially here!

Was pretty sick and tired of seeing energy gel, powder, chew packets lining the trail over the years and those that weren't discarded ended up in the landfill after a single use, this isn't right.

Just last week I swept a half-marathon mountain race and picked up a handful of discarded energy gels and gel-ends (the bits you rip off), all just on the trail floor. Those that weren't discarded end up in landfill anyway, no bueno!

So 2.5 years ago I got to work on some prototypes.

The Small DirtBag is the world's first purpose made reusable energy gel, powder, chew and snack packet.

The Large DirtBag is a reusable gear organiser or great for bulk snacks/powders and DirtBags are home compostable too.

They will help you save money on sports nutrition by moving to bulk bought or home-made fuel options whilst still giving you the convenience of precise fuel control in single serve offerings.

Instead of binning the gel, powder or chew packet, you take it home, wash it out, dry it and it's ready for your next adventure!

DirtBags https://shop.forthetrail.com

And if you're wondering what to put in them, I spent 6 months writing the Sustainable Fuel Guide www.forthetrail.com/fuel-guide it's a fuel guide, which shows you how you can fuel like a pro but at a fraction of the price, all whilst demanding less of the planet by reducing our single-use waste.

I know this subreddit is mostly gym goers and weightlifters, but i've contributed a bit over the years and know there are some runners and endurance athletes lurking here too so thought i'd share!

After 2.5 years of work, DirtBags are now officially here! https://shop.forthetrail.com/

Was pretty sick and tired of seeing energy gel, powder, chew packets lining the trail over the years and those that weren't discarded ended up in the landfill after a single use, this isn't right.

Just last week I swept a half-marathon mountain race and picked up a handful of discarded energy gels and gel-ends (the bits you rip off), all just on the trail floor....

So 2.5 years ago I got to work on some prototypes.

The Small DirtBag is the world's first purpose made reusable energy gel, powder, chew and snack packet.

The Large DirtBag is a reusable gear organiser or great for bulk snacks/powders and DirtBags are home compostable too.

They will help you save money on sports nutrition by moving to bulk bought or home-made fuel options whilst still giving you the convenience of precise fuel control in single serve offerings.

Instead of binning the gel, powder or chew packet, you take it home, wash it out, dry it and it's ready for your next adventure!

And if you're wondering what to put in them, I spent months writing the Sustainable Fuel Guide www.forthetrail.com/fuel-guide it's a vegan fuel guide, which shows you how you can fuel like a pro but at a fraction of the price, all whilst demanding less of the planet.

If this isn't your thing but you use ziploc bags in your daily life, consider moving towards bioplastic versions as they ask less of the planet in their production compared to normal plastic ziploc bags that we've been using for years.

After 2.5 years of work, DirtBags are now officially here! https://shop.forthetrail.com

Was pretty sick and tired of seeing energy gel, powder, chew packets lining the trail over the years and those that weren't discarded ended up in the landfill after a single use, this isn't right.

So 2.5 years ago I got to work on some prototypes, testing many sizes, materials, ziplocs for 2 years and then spent the last 6 months manufacturing the first ever batch of DirtBags.

The Small DirtBag is the world's first purpose made reusable energy gel, powder, chew and snack packet. (it's multi-functional!)

The Large DirtBag is a reusable gear organiser or great for carrying bulk snacks.

DirtBags are made with bioplastics and home compostable too, meaning that they have a much smaller impact on the planet in their production compared to single-use plastics like gel packets.

They will help you save money on sports nutrition by moving to bulk bought or home-made fuel options whilst still giving you the convenience of precise fuel control in single serve offerings and drastically reducing the waste you create.

Instead of binning the gel, powder or chew packet after just one use, where it will end up in the landfill, you take it home, wash it out, dry it and it's ready for your next adventure!

And if you're wondering what to put in them, I spent months writing the Sustainable Fuel Guide www.forthetrail.com/fuel-guide which shows you how you can fuel like a pro but at a fraction of the price, all whilst demanding less of the planet.

They have a half-marathon and full marathon which takes you up from the reservoir and to Pen y Fan.

You start at 5.30pm and have til midnight to get up and back down.

A lot of fun and some beautiful sights on the way.

Hey everyone, I'd love to introduce you all to the Sustainable Fuelling Guide that i've spent the last few months writing and putting together.

I don't like how nutritional brands prices have increased whilst the industry promotes and market more and more single-serving, laminated plastics packets that end up in the landfill. All whilst saying "its more inclusive", yet it actually becomes more unaffordable.

The aim is to help people find cheaper options for fuelling and reduce single-use plastic at the same time and below i'll add some examples of fuel options and they're price savings.

In this guide you will find a complete and growing list (as I find them) of bulk and refill options of energy gels, energy chews and energy powders. As well as recipes for real foods you can make at home and finally a section on bulk bought snacks you can buy from most supermarkets that in some cases are identical to what nutritional brands are selling but for a fraction of the price.

I would like to preface this with that I am not a sports nutritionist, I have been fuelling my long distance adventures my entire life in the mountains running and on ultra-marathons and wanted to create a guide that focused on financial sustainability and environmental sustainability as I feel the running scene and the nutritional brands seem to be making everything more expensive whilst giving very little through to the waste they created.

Energy Powders

Most brands sell energy powders in bulk (minus Maurten) so there are a couple of suggestions here just to show how much cheaper it is to purchase the bulk tub of energy powder from a nutritional brand than it is to buy the exact same product but in a single serving plastic packet/sachet.

Two two examples I give are Tailwind Endurance and High5 Energy Drink as they seem to be available in most parts of the world.

If you swap out the High5 Single Serving Packet for the bulk tub you get the exact same serving size and energy powder but reduce your hourly fuelling cost from £1.28 to £0.74 per hour at 60g of carbs.

Same with Tailwind Endurance, a single packet costs £2.60 per hour for 60g of carbs whilst the bulk packet you can buy which is the exact same product costs £1.92 per hour. If you fuel for 5 hours a week at 60g of carbs this will save you £478 per year.

Energy Gels

This really surprised me when I made this section, I knew of one or two brands selling energy gels in bulk, refill bottles, but didn't realise there would be a handful available to buy.

There are also a couple of energy gel mixes available that are in powder form so that you can create the viscosity you like by adding/removing water. I've done this with the Active Root Gel Mix and over time made it thinner and better to my liking.

If we stick with them for a minute, you can swap out their single-use and single serving energy gels with their bulk energy gel mix packet and reduce your hourly cost from £3.90 to £2.50 per hour at 60g of carbs/ph.

High5 seem to be pushing bulk/refill options more than any other brand and you can buy powder, energy chews and gels in bulk options from them which really should be celebrated! If you swap out a single-serving gel of theirs for the exact same gel in a refill bottle it drops the price from £3.38 to £2 per hour at 60g of carbs.

You can also go as low as £1.66 per hour at 60g of carbs with the Kendal Mint Co Refill Energy Gel they sell, making it one of the cheapest energy gels to buy and fuel with and by putting the gel in to a reusable carry system you aren't putting single-use plastic packaging in to landfill either.

Energy Chews

This is where it gets really interesting, before writing the guide I didn't know of any brands selling energy chews in bulk, but you'd think this would be one of the fuel types that should have options. You can buy chewy sweets in bulk bags, so why not energy chews?

Well I did find a couple of brands that do sell energy chews in bulk and there are massive savings to be had!

FTP Endurance and High5 both sell energy chews and gummies in bulk and the price reduction is massive.

FTP even have a small statement on their site stating that if you bought their energy chews in bulk instead of their single serve packets, you would save £48.88 per kilo of energy chews.

For High5 Energy Gummies, you get 144 gummies which is equivalent to 24 single-serving plastic packets but in one recyclable bottle. The price drops from £4.79 per hour down to £1.74 at 60g of carbs for an identical product.

Bulk Bought Fuelling Ideas

As well as showing what nutritional brands sell in bulk and where you can save money and reduce waste, I look in to fuelling options that are similar to what nutritional brands are selling but can be bought online or from a supermarket that are not marketed to endurance athletes but are usually at a fraction of the price. You can just buy these from a store and use them as you would without any prep required.

The first is a staple of mine and something i've had for years and that is Maple Syrup, if you compare it to Protein Rebel, UnTapped or Naak energy gels which use maple syrup you can reduce your price from £6.67 (Naak) at 60g of carbs per hour down to £1.34 with pure maple syrup. Just stick it in a reusable silicone soft flask and you're good for hours, you can also test fuelling upwards of 120g of carbs per hour with maple syrup and it can be bought even cheaper than that in other parts of the world, it's expensive here in the UK but still so much cheaper than a nutritional brand option.

One of the biggest discoveries in fuelling costs for endurance i've made over the years is Lokum otherwise known as Turkish Delight.

Turkish Delight is identical to a number of energy chews available on the market, such as the Precision Hydration PF30 Energy Chews, they have the exact same ingredients and are the exact same product.

If you fuel with Precision Hydration PF30 Chews at 60g of carbs per hour (thats 2 servings) it will cost you £4.50 per hour, if you buy Turkish Delight in bulk which reduces your single use packaging waste, it costs £0.68 per hour for the exact same thing. You can buy it even cheaper than that if you buy in quantities of 2kg, 4kg etc. This will save you over £1000 per year at 5 hours of fuelling per hour.

Because it uses sugar as its fuelling source, you can test upwards of 120g of carbs per hour (breaks down in to glucose/fructose equally) which would double your costs if you did.

You then have biscuits, stroopwafels, chewy sweets, fruit like bananas and dates and some of these are identical to what nutritional brands are selling but for a fraction of the price.

You can buy stroopwafels in the UK in packs of 8 for £1.20, they are almost identical to the Naak Energy Waffles and reduce your price from £7.87 an hour down to just £0.52 per hour at 60g of carbs.

Making Your Own Fuels at Home

There are also recipes where I recreate energy gels, energy chews and energy powders.

The energy gel recipes are made with maltodextrin and brown rice syrup, which are the two most common main ingredients in energy gels by nutritional brands.

With maltodextrin and a thickener like Ultratex or pectin, you can make home-made energy gels for as little as £0.40 per 60g of carbs and recreate gels from the biggest nutritional brands on the market which cost anywhere from £2 to £6 for a similar product.

With brown rice syrup, you can buy this in a bulk bottle, ready made and reduce your fuelling costs by over half and as much as a third of the price, saving you upwards of £500 per year.

The great thing about making your own fuels at home that replicate expensive brands products is that you can adjust them slightly in various ways to create a more enjoyable fuel for you. Change it's viscosity, change flavouring, add other fuel sources and syrups, add minerals or even caffeine and so on and it is surprising how quick you can make your own at home which do the exact same thing.

Home Made Real Foods

The final section covers home-made real foods that I have been using for years as well as supporting other endurance athletes who have fuelled well off of these recipes and foods.

You'll find real food examples from sweet potato, rice balls and rice pudding, potato cakes which are one of my favourites, flapjacks and even chewy rice crispy bars which replicate Maurten and Stryrkr energy bars and reduce their pricing down from £3.75 per hour down to £0.66 per hour and save you over £800 per year for a similar product.

I hope this has given you some inspiration and ideas to think about your fuelling strategies, what you're using and how you can both save money and reduce your plastic waste by choosing bulk, refill options or making your own fuels at home.

And you can find 20+ cheaper alternatives to single-serve energy gels, powders and chews on the full guide here https://forthetrail.com/fuel-guide