During-effort fuel · gel · reviewed 27 Aug 2026

GU Original Energy Gel 33

Item: GU Original Energy Gel
Rating: 33
Author: Lourenço Faria e Maia

GU Energy Labs / 32 g sachet / 22 g carbohydrate / $2.00

A sachet price in the cheaper half of the field, but not the cheapest, and one of the more expensive ways to actually reach 90 g/hr. Four sachets an hour, on a ratio you have to infer.

Score breakdown

Each dimension below is scored 0 to 100 against a fixed scale, not against the rest of the catalog, so adding a product never moves this number. The overall score is the average of the dimensions this product declares data for. How the scales are set →

33/100

Weak

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.64

Carb density ?How much fuel one sachet carries. 90 g is the ceiling here, matching the top of the range cited for multi-transportable-carb intake.24

Value (cost/gram) ?Price of one gram of carbohydrate. Not physiological: a market-based scale from 15 cents/g (0) to 2 cents/g (100).45

Gut comfort ?A proxy, not a taste or tolerance test: shorter ingredient lists score higher, from 15 ingredients (0) to 1 (100). Nobody has actually run these through anyone's gut for this score.0

Cost per gram of carbohydrate

9.1 cents/g

Glucose : fructose · estimated

~1:0.47

Comparison

5 of 38 gels held

Prices per single sachet at the cheapest box size we track. Best in green, worst in red, across the gels shown.

Measure	GU Energy Labs GU Original Energy Gel	Maurten Maurten Gel 100	Science in Sport SiS Beta Fuel Gel	Precision Fuel & Hydration Precision Fuel PF 30 Gel	NEVERSECOND NEVERSECOND C30 Gel
Overall scoreAn average of the various variables measured.	33	47	58	49	42
CarbohydrateHow much fuel one sachet carries.	22 g	25 g	40 g	30 g	30 g
Glucose : fructoseGoverns how fast you absorb it. More fructose, higher ceiling.	~ 1 : 0.47	1 : 0.8	1 : 0.77	1 : 0.5	1 : 0.5
SodiumAgainst 400 to 1000 mg an hour typically lost in sweat.	60 mg	20 mg	30 mg	not declared	200 mg
ProvenanceWhether that ratio is read off the panel, computed from it, or inferred.	Estimated	Stated	Derived	Stated	Stated
Price per sachetWhat one costs. Not comparable across sachet sizes.	$2.00	$3.75	$2.50	$3.12	$3.50
Cost per gramThe only price that compares across sachet sizes.	9.1 cents	15 cents	6.3 cents	10.4 cents	11.7 cents
Sachets for 90 g/hrHow many you open an hour to hold a 90 g/hr target.	4.1	3.6	2.3	3.0	3.0

Verdict

what it does · what it costs

What it does well

$2.00 a sachet in a 24 box, cheaper than most gels here but not the lowest unit price.
60 mg of sodium, second only to C30.
Stocked almost everywhere.
Wide flavour range with caffeinated options.

What it costs you

22 g per sachet, at the low end for a standard gel.
The ratio is neither stated nor computable.
Seventeen ingredients including sunflower oil.
Amino acids at these doses do nothing during a race.

Where to buy

Prices and links as last checked. The price next to the name above is per unit at the cheapest box size we track; a single-unit price below may run higher.

Running Warehouse $2.00 Visit →

Who this is for

the numbers, applied

The field tells you what it is. This is who should act on it.

Worth the money if

You want a cheap-side sachet without hunting for it.
You value being able to buy it anywhere.
You want caffeinated and non-caffeinated in one format.

Look elsewhere if

You are targeting 90 g/hr.
You want a short ingredient list or no added fat.
You want your ratio as a fact rather than an estimate.