During-effort fuel · drink mix · reviewed 28 Aug 2026
NEVERSECOND C90 Drink Mix 67
The most carbohydrate packed into a single sachet of any drink mix in this catalog — 90 g, ten more than Maurten's Drink Mix 320 or SiS's Beta Fuel 80 — on a stated 2:1 maltodextrin-to-fructose blend, at $0.053 a gram, slightly more per gram than either of those two.
Score breakdown
The overall score is the average of what's below, each measured against every other drink mix we've reviewed.
67
Strong
Absorption rate ?How much carbohydrate an hour the glucose-to-fructose blend can move. Scored from the stated or derived ratio (1:0.8 tops out this scale); an Estimated ratio counts the same as a Stated one here.72
Carb density ?How much fuel one scoop or sachet carries. 90 g is the ceiling here, matching the top of the range cited for multi-transportable-carb intake.100
Sodium ?Sodium carried by the mix itself, on a scale topping out at 1000 mg — the upper end of what's typically lost to sweat in an hour.20
Value (cost/gram) ?Price of one gram of carbohydrate. Not physiological -- a market-based scale from $0.15/g (0) to $0.02/g (100).75
Cost per gram of carbohydrate
$0.053/g
Glucose : fructose
1:0.5
Comparison
6 of 14 drink mixes heldPrices per single sachet at the cheapest box size we track. Best in green, worst in red, across the gels shown.
| Measure | NEVERSECOND NEVERSECOND C90 Drink Mix | Tailwind Nutrition Tailwind Endurance Fuel | Skratch Labs Skratch Labs Super High-Carb Sport Drink Mix | Maurten Maurten Drink Mix 320 | Science in Sport SiS Beta Fuel 80 Drink Mix | Precision Fuel & Hydration Precision Fuel & Hydration Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CarbohydrateHow much fuel one sachet carries. | 90 g | 25 g | 50 g | 80 g | 80 g | 30 g |
| Glucose : fructoseGoverns how fast you absorb it. More fructose, higher ceiling. | 1 : 0.5 | n/d | n/d | n/d | 1 : 0.8 | 1 : 0.5 |
| SodiumAgainst 400 to 1000 mg an hour typically lost in sweat. | 200 mg | 310 mg | 200 mg | 245 mg | 4 mg | 500 mg |
| ProvenanceWhether that ratio is read off the panel, computed from it, or inferred. | Stated | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Stated | Stated |
| Price per sachetWhat one costs. Not comparable across sachet sizes. | $4.75 | $1.03 | $2.62 | $3.64 | $3.87 | $2.13 |
| Cost per gramThe only price that compares across sachet sizes. | $0.053 | $0.041 | $0.052 | $0.045 | $0.048 | $0.071 |
| Sachets for 90 g/hrHow many you open an hour to hold a 90 g/hr target. | 1.0 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 3.0 |
Verdict
what it does · what it costsWhat it does well
- 90 g of carbohydrate per sachet, the most of any drink mix reviewed, so one sachet covers what takes 1.1+ sachets of Maurten or SiS.
- 200 mg of sodium built in, dramatically more than SiS Beta Fuel 80 Drink's 4 mg.
- Four-ingredient label: maltodextrin, fructose, an acidity regulator, and natural flavor.
What it costs you
- $0.053 a gram, the most expensive drink mix per gram of carbohydrate in this catalog, more than Maurten's $0.046 or SiS's $0.048.
- 2:1 (1:0.5) is a generation behind Maurten and SiS's field-leading 1:0.8 / 1:0.77 blends.
- The label declares only 10 g of sugars against a marketed 2:1 maltodextrin-to-fructose split — a true 30 g fructose share would show more sugars than that, so treat the ratio as a formulation target rather than a lab-verified breakdown.
Where to buy
Prices and links as last checked.
Who this is for
the numbers, appliedThe field tells you what it is. This is who should act on it.
Worth the money if
- You want to hold a high carb rate with fewer sachets to open per hour.
- You want meaningful built-in sodium (200 mg) rather than carrying it separately.
Look elsewhere if
- You want the lowest cost per gram of carbohydrate in the category.
- You want a ratio you can cross-check against the sugars line on the label.