I actually love Hammer Nutrition's stuff. . .in theory, but I just haven't been able to fine tune my consumption of it to fit my athletic needs.
Like you said, they don't use a lot of fake ingredients and their gel has a lot of real strengths. Being able to dillute it with water (which, surprisingly, isn't easy to do with all brands of gel) made it the only only that I could easily stomach during triathlons. I also appreciate the fact that it comes in large containers with a flask and that you can mix/match flavors to fit your tastebuds. To me that's just down to earth, common sense product development that makes it easier to use their products.
Unfortunately, the gel just doesn't deliver the minerals and other nutrients that my large framed body needs. So, I can swallow the stuff with a smile but can't feel the full benefits. Now, to their benefit, Hammer realizes this aspect of the gel which is why their full product line includes a ton of supplements that offset the disadvantages of any one of their core products. The reasoning, which is very sound, is that there's no way to make a magical elixar of sorts that will fit the needs of every athlete. So, you mix and max their products in combinations in order to fit your body, your level of fitness, your activity, etc.
Again, I truly value this idea but it got to be expensive trying to find the stuff that I needed and figuring out the right portions. I'll admit, I may have made it harder than it needed to be so I don't want to discourage anyone else from using their stuff. I just know that by the time all was said and done, I had to go with one-shot products adn hope for the best.
