I like the con-cret creatine HCL a lot. The best way to describe it is like the strength of creatine mono (which is arguably as good as it gets in crea-land) but without the bloat/subcutaneous water retention. It also doesn't have to be taken with a large amount of dextrose or fruit juice in order to exert its maximum effects which is nice. It is my favorite creatine hands down and requires no loading, etc. The effects come on quick. The downside is that it costs a $hitload compared to creatine mono. I've tried the caps and the powder and they work equally well, though the powder is out of this world sour (not even a big scoop of Vitaberry can hide the taste which says a lot). Can't be a girly man though (lol). And I use the Vitaberry to cover up the iBCAAs and all the other crap that I mix in one shake at the same time, so the Vitaberry still serves a purpose. I don't eat my veggies either, so I count the latter as close enough (LOL).
To answer your question before rambling on anymore, I think that con-cret creatine is at least as effective as a similar dose of creatine mono and maybe a bit more effective. I like its convenience personally. Also, some people can't stomach creatine mono without a trip to the toilet too. It never bothered me, but my old workout partner couldn't take it for this reason.
There is -one- study (sponsored by Promera, makes of Con-Cret) that seems to indicate that creatine HCL is a good bit superior to mono on the basis of total plasma uptake (at equivalent doses). Of course, one sponsored study means diddly. On the other hand, the proof is in the product in this case and in my experience.
Honestly, I haven't used PP's CreaPure creatine mono. I've used non-CreaPure Creatine Monohydrate (Higher Power, lol; Nutrex Vitargo), Creatine Phosphate (EAS Phos****en), CEE mixed with other bizarre creatine formulations (name escapes me), etc, and Con-Cret smokes them all.
Vitargo by Nutrex was pretty darn effective; the only problem is, the stuff will only dissolve in lukewarm water and it tastes pretty blah on top of being tepid. I actually called BB.com b/c I couldn't get it to dissolve in cold water and they told me to do this; it worked, but what a pain. (This was years ago; I would never call BB.com nowadays-they probably record their conversations for the FDA). It is supposedly low GI yet capable of shuttling the creatine mono to the muscles anyway (like dextrose), but it still comes up to 70g of carbs per serving which limits its usefulness to me.
I don't doubt that CreaPure is the best creatine mono out there, and almost all the creatine studies are on the mono, etc. If I wanted something cheaper than the Con-Cret stuff, then I would probably just go with the CreaPure. I do like the no-nonsense nature and cheap cost of CreaPure Creatine Mono. If I want to add sugar, then I will add my own sugar. If I want extra, useless ingredients in my creatine, then I can dig some of those up as well. I don't want to pay extra for a proprietary blend of pink coloring, flavoring, dextrose, and non-CreaPure Creatine Mono.
For you mono and CreaPure users out there, does everyone still generally take it with a hefty serving of simple carbs or can CreaPure be mixed with some sugar-free like Vitaberry and still get good effects?
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