During-effort fuel · gel · reviewed 26 Aug 2026
Spring Energy Speednut 4
A whole-food, nut-and-fruit gel that's mostly fat rather than carbohydrate — 19 g of fat against just 12 g of carbohydrate — and by far the most expensive gel here at $0.363 a gram of carbohydrate.
Score breakdown
The overall score is the average of what's below, each measured against every other gel we've reviewed.
4
Weak
Based on 4 of 5 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.13
Sodium ?Sodium carried by the gel itself, on a scale topping out at 1000 mg — the upper end of what's typically lost to sweat in an hour.1
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).0
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
$0.362/g
Glucose : fructose · not disclosed
n/d
Comparison
6 of 22 gels heldPrices per single sachet at the cheapest box size we track. Best in green, worst in red, across the gels shown.
| Measure | Spring Energy Spring Energy Speednut | Maurten Maurten Gel 100 | Science in Sport SiS Beta Fuel Gel | Precision Fuel & Hydration Precision Fuel PF 30 Gel | NEVERSECOND NEVERSECOND C30 Gel | GU Energy Labs GU Original Energy Gel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CarbohydrateHow much fuel one sachet carries. | 12 g | 25 g | 40 g | 30 g | 30 g | 22 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 | ~ 1 : 0.47 |
| SodiumAgainst 400 to 1000 mg an hour typically lost in sweat. | 6 mg | 20 mg | 30 mg | not declared | 200 mg | 60 mg |
| CaffeineA preference, not a quality, so it is not scored. | 50 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| ProvenanceWhether that ratio is read off the panel, computed from it, or inferred. | Not disclosed | Stated | Derived | Stated | Stated | Estimated |
| Price per sachetWhat one costs. Not comparable across sachet sizes. | $4.35 | $3.75 | $2.50 | $3.12 | $3.50 | $2.00 |
| Cost per gramThe only price that compares across sachet sizes. | $0.362 | $0.150 | $0.063 | $0.104 | $0.117 | $0.091 |
| Sachets for 90 g/hrHow many you open an hour to hold a 90 g/hr target. | 7.5 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.1 |
Verdict
what it does · what it costsWhat it does well
- Genuine whole-food ingredient list: fruit, rice, nuts, and coconut oil, nothing synthetic.
- 250 kcal per sachet from a mix of fat and carbohydrate, a different fuel profile than every other gel here.
- 50 mg of caffeine included.
What it costs you
- At $0.363 a gram of carbohydrate, more than five times SiS Beta Fuel's price for the same nutrient.
- Only 6 mg of sodium, the lowest of any gel reviewed by a wide margin.
- Contains tree nuts, a real constraint for some athletes; high fat content is atypical for a during-effort gel and may sit heavier on some stomachs than a standard carb gel.
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 a genuinely whole-food fuel and are prepared to pay for it.
- You're fuelling at a lower carbohydrate rate and want fat-derived calories alongside it.
Look elsewhere if
- You have a tree nut allergy.
- You need to hold 90 g/hr of carbohydrate; the low carb-per-sachet and high price make this an expensive way to do it.