During-effort fuel · gel · reviewed 26 Aug 2026

High5 Energy Gel 31

Item: High5 Energy Gel
Rating: 31
Author: Lourenço Faria e Maia

High5 / 40 g sachet / 23 g carbohydrate / $2.50

A glucose-syrup-led gel with a notably low 2.4 g of sugars against 23 g total carbohydrate, explicitly caffeine-free, at 10.9 cents a gram bought in small packs.

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 →

31/100

Weak

Based on 3 of 4 measures ?A dimension a product doesn't declare is left out of its average rather than counted against it, so this score reflects fewer measures than a product with a full panel.

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.26

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).32

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.36

Cost per gram of carbohydrate

10.9 cents/g

Glucose : fructose · not disclosed

n/d

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	High5 High5 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.	31	47	58	49	42
CarbohydrateHow much fuel one sachet carries.	23 g	25 g	40 g	30 g	30 g
Glucose : fructoseGoverns how fast you absorb it. More fructose, higher ceiling.	n/d	1 : 0.8	1 : 0.77	1 : 0.5	1 : 0.5
SodiumAgainst 400 to 1000 mg an hour typically lost in sweat.	48 mg	20 mg	30 mg	not declared	200 mg
ProvenanceWhether that ratio is read off the panel, computed from it, or inferred.	Not disclosed	Stated	Derived	Stated	Stated
Price per sachetWhat one costs. Not comparable across sachet sizes.	$2.50	$3.75	$2.50	$3.12	$3.50
Cost per gramThe only price that compares across sachet sizes.	10.9 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.	3.9	3.6	2.3	3.0	3.0

Verdict

what it does · what it costs

What it does well

Only 2.4 g of sugars declared out of 23 g carbohydrate, low relative to most gels here.
Explicitly labeled caffeine-free, useful for a non-caffeinated default choice.
48 mg of sodium, more than several gels that don't market on sodium.

What it costs you

No glucose-to-fructose ratio stated.
Only sold in small packs at retail in the US, pushing the effective per-gel price up compared to buying a 20+ box.
91 kcal is among the lowest calorie counts of any gel reviewed, meaning slightly less energy per sachet.

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.

Amazon $14.99 6-pack 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 reliably caffeine-free default gel.
Low sugar content specifically matters to you.

Look elsewhere if

You want the lowest per-gel price by buying in bulk; a larger box wasn't available to price here.
You want a stated absorption ratio.