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Extensive BCAA/EAA Comparison (Xtend,NP Bulk, Purple Wrath, ICE (Ajinomoto) + Others)

Steveoph

Steveoph

NutraPlanet NinjaMonkey Rep
Please note: This is a work on progress. I am at a reduced 1-handed typing capacity. I will be mixing 1 serving of each with 500mL of water, taking initial photo, and two subsequent 20s shake +5 min settling time. I will be assessing taste, mixability and anything else of note. In the future I will try to review other products (IntraAid, PP's BCAA's, LG's EAA/BCAA) for you.

This initial post will be heavily updated as I continue with this log, but with that said here are the initial contestants. I have already extensively used Xtend, PW & ICE, NP Bulk so expect written writeups soon. That blender bottle has been so loved the logo is almost 100% gone; 2 new NP ones inc to replace it.

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Purple Wrath (Lemonade)
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Notes: This is an EAA product with BA, CitMal + Others. Be aware the BA causes paresthesia.
$0.59/serving

Taste: 8.5/10
It tastes slightly artificial and not much like your typical lemonade, however it is still enjoyable. The flavour is stronger than many others, and 1 serving can easily flavour 600-700mL, which is a bonus for me.

Mixability8.5/10
It gets mixed after a few good shakes; not as good as Xtend but still quite reasonable. The 10 minutes can be shortened, but I wanted to give it time to settle, in the final shot , there are still the odd tiny clump.

Initial --> 20s Shake + 10 min wait --> 20s Shake + 10 min Rest

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Xtend (Apple)
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Notes:A long time NP best-seller, and in my opinion the standard to which BCAA's are measured. Contains CitMal & Glu + the BCAA's.
$0.48/serving

Taste:9.5/10
Almost perfect, I really like all the Xtend flavours. A very refreshing green apple taste. Watermelon is the most popular on NP, Lemonade is decent, and Orange is my favourite but mixes poorly (See upcoming mixage photos)

Mixability 10/10
In 3 minutes, absolutely nothing remains unmixed.

Initial --> +3 minutes
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ICE (Lemon)
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Notes: This uses Ajinomoto BCAA's. Not instantized, but the texture is very different; it is lighter and fluffier than other BCAA's, very similar to white flour in texture.
$0.53/serving

Taste8/10
1 serving is too weak to flavour 500 mL of water, I need to add about 3.5, so it loses marks. The taste is decent once you add more ICE to it, and the fruit punch is also not bad. Jjohn claims the grape is the best, which I will be buying later on.

Mixability:10/10
Note how some of the BCAA's float while some sink, unlike the other BCAA/EAA's thus far. Nothing at all on the surface, not even bubbles . Equivalent to the Xtend.

Initial --> + 3 Minutes
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Do you know if the ICE uses the instatized Ajinomoto or their regular BCAA? I am figuring the regular.
 
Last edited:
imprezivr6 said:
Do you know if the ICE uses the instatized Ajinomoto or their regular BCAA? I am figuring the regular.
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Was unable to determine, however I may email XF. Needless to say it already mixes v. well .

Forthcoming are NP Bulk BCAA's (The unmilled batch from hell), and hopefully soon IntraAID & LG's BCAA/EAA. I will be doing the regular NP bulk BCAA's down the road, but not soon. If there's any I'm missing let me know.
 
They are the regular Ajipure, not the IBCAA.. I had emailed them already.. THis was his response
the regular, I have not yet tried their instantized so they have not made it to our formula as of yet
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Sounds as if it may wind up in there one day.
 
imprezivr6 said:
They are the regular Ajipure, not the IBCAA.. I had emailed them already.. THis was his response

Sounds as if it may wind up in there one day.
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Thanks, OP updated. This means I still have to get my hands on some PP's iBCAA. If anybody can follow the same protocol I used (1 serving, +500mL water, picture, 20s Shake, then +3-10 mins, Picture) I would very happily add it to my review. Otherwise Ill see how I might get my hands on some.
 
TheNinja said:
great thread -- looking forward to NP bulk BCAA review
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I should be getting some milled NP BCAA's in the next few weeks. I'll post up the unmilled shots I made in a few minutes. In the mean-time, here's the batch of Xtend that was coarse/diff. than the rest. It was gritty and didnt dissolve completely even after 2 long shakes + rest intervals. The NP bulk unmilled was similar but white like snowflakes :)

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Ajipure Instantized BCAA by Primordial Performance
Notes: Supposed to be some of the purest around. 2:1:1 Ratio.
Cost: $0.40/serving

Taste: 4/10 (10/10)
Can be mixed with whatever flavor you want because it comes unflavored.

Mixability: 10/10
Instantized so it mixes completely and easily. After 3 minutes, no clumps or anything floating.

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The bubbles are from our high powered faucet. It was about 95% mixed just by adding the water. The flavor is terrible but thats because it's unflavored. I usually sprinkle in some crystal light and it masks it just fine.
 
I really thought more people would appreciate this thread. Oh well. Also, does anyone have any suggestions to mixing leucine with water? The one time I tried, it was like it was so hydrophobic it started jumping out of that shaker.
 
wearedbleedblue said:
I really thought more people would appreciate this thread. Oh well. Also, does anyone have any suggestions to mixing leucine with water? The one time I tried, it was like it was so hydrophobic it started jumping out of that shaker.
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A pinch of something acidic like lemon juice (Vit C might work, I should try that). I often frontload my leucine so its not an issue Othertimes I dont mind the floaty bits.
 
Justin over at LG Sciences has been kind enough to send me out some BC+EAA to review so I'll get that up as soon as I receive it!
 
haha....good thread steve. you still on one hand?
i've been on a mission to try every flavor/brand of bcas/eaa myself.
so far i've done purple wraath (both grape and lemon flavors), np bulk eaa, np bulk bcaa, np bulk leucine, ice (tropical punch), core abc (tropical punch), xtend (orange, grape, watermellon, apple), and lg bc/eaa (blue raz).
 
I'm on the same mission hank.

My list has been- grape is my favorite flavor. But i can tolerate about anything. lol

Purple Wraath- on hand
Xtend
LG BC/EAA-on hand
ICE- on hand
Leucemine

I have yet to try Bulk powders.

Im on the fence with Intrabolic, thinking about buying some. ?

All of the above I have really like thus far.
 
Well I'm trying to make this a pretty definitive thread; so feel free to add your own ranking, listing, photos etc. Ill have the milled NP bulk BCAA's pretty soon; I've got some unmilled photos lying around. Might have some IntraAid on the way as well.

As for the hand, took the splint off a week ago, but the finger wont bend properly yet b/c the bone is very swollen. I tried lifting a barbell today with 25's and the pain was excruciating; I did do some light pulldowns, the first back-work in over 5 weeks, with the 3 fingers on the my right b/c I'm sure I'm losing some back muscle.
 
i just got the np bulk bcaas in today to get 10-20g per workout how should i scoop it out any tips, how do you guys do it?
 
ok i have a few of the xtend ones hanging around ill give that a whirl ty hank reps to you! how many scoops do use hank?
 
Nice thread

I have searched the internet far and wide to find a comparison between these products that has detail about taste and mixability. I found this by accident and I'm so glad. Thank you so much for doing it.
 
Thanks, Steveoph for the running comparisons. I have been lurking for some time and this subject has sparked my interest.
 
cool log bro, i havent had ice but i have found Xtend is King.
 
this is awesome. I have some LG bcaa, need to try it!
 
NutraPlanet's Bulk BCAA's
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Notes: Finely Milled to avoid gritty clumps

Cost: 0.432/serving
(Standardized to Xtend: 0.28 for the BCAA's, 0.062 for the Glutamine, 0.09 for CitMal )

Taste: Unflavoured
Poor taste, sort of like stale water. Not sour/bitter, just blech. Flavour it using Crystal Light/Drink Crystals.

Mixability: 8/10
2 tbsps of BCAA's , (9.6g BCAA's)

Initial --> 1st 20s Shake + Settle (2 Photos) --> 2nd 20s Shake + Settle

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2nd Trial: 9.6g of BCAA's + 1 Scoop Poseidon : No Significant difference (Photos = 1st shake & 2nd shake)

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I would like to see you do a review of SciFit Shockwave, as it is the best BCAA I have had, and have tried almost all Xtends'.
 
So, in your opinion, which of this BCAAs have the best quality?

(Not about flavour or mixability, but quality of the "raws")
 
JBerto said:
So, in your opinion, which of this BCAAs have the best quality?

(Not about flavour or mixability, but quality of the "raws")
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Well I will try to keep this unbiased; but for quality of the raws, but I think Invalid Link Removed are about as good as you can get. However in the end, leucine is still leucine, whether it's instantized or not. And like I showed in the pictures, mixabilities with most of these products isn't an issue if you just wait a few minutes.

Most of these are in a 2:1:1 ratio; some come with extras like Glutamine , Citrulline Malate, etc that you may or may not want. Also some people can't be bothered to flavour their own bulks. So you need to figure out what you're looking for and what best suits your needs.
allstar said:
I would like to see you do a review of SciFit Shockwave, as it is the best BCAA I have had, and have tried almost all Xtends'.
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I'll look into that. I'm also looking into ALRI Chain'd Out, and I'm putting up Animal's IntraAid momentarily (Which is a hydrolyzed protein product, but still peri-workout so I figured I would add it)
 
Intra-Aid: Citrus Burst
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Notes:This is a hydrolyzed protein + carbs peri-workout drink, so slightly different. It also contains Beta-Alanine, which tends to settle to the bottom if not shaken frequently.
$1.20/serving

Taste: 9/10
- It tastes like a very good orange juice; however the flavouring is a bit weaker in 500 mL of water than 2 sc. of Xtend. I would like to see it about 20% stronger, but you could just dilute it more.

Mixability 8/10
- Not "grits", but it does foam/bubble up a bit. Also the texture is slightly thicker than the other products from the carbs/protein form, but not by any means "thick".

Initial (Coming)--> 20s Shake (2 shots) --> +2 minute settle (Photo)
- initial photo is coming, also only one shake was necessary, however it takes about 3 minutes for the bubbles to die down.
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Nice work bud! :thumbsup:

Cheers!:cheers:
 
Yes I have been hearing good things about ALRIs also, seems to be very effective with a malate added. Those are nice shakers, are those the ones with the ice wand?
 
Nah little different than what I was thinking. Same brand though. Always wanted one with a blender ball, out of stock though. :(
 
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