I don't see the need to go to creatine hcl... monohydrate has the most research backing it as is the most consistently demonstrated-effective (and wallet-friendly) form of creatine. I'm skeptical of the hype surrounding creatine HCl that you can get the same effects with a much smaller dose
Most of us that use Creatine HCI use it because we either cannot or do not want to take Creatine Monohydrate because it can cause bloating/fluid retention &/or stomach upset in some people.
In my case, Creatine Monohydrate bloats me so badly that I am miserable and it looks like I swallowed a Volkswagen Bug (in the words of my daughter haha).
In some people's case, like
@Hyde for example, they're unable to take Creatine Monohydrate because it causes stomach discomfort; I mention him specifically because you said you're skeptical, and he is a very well respected member and has posted on several occasions about being happy to finally be able to use creatine again and our Creatine HCI not hurting his stomach.
Creatine Monohydrate is fine to use for people that can use it and that don't mind the fluid retention from it, but Creatine HCI is a great option for the rest of us.
As far as cost, our Creatine HCI powder is 34.99 (28.99 on some retailer sites on sale) for 150 servings and most people use 2 scoops per day, some use 4 scoops per day - so that's less than .50 cents per day, so its extremely cost effective and all of the flavors taste great - Blue Raspberry Popsicle, Lemon Lime, Pink Grapefruit, and Watermelon.
Another nice aspect of Creatine HCI is that for those that prefer capsules, we make Creatine HCI caps and there are Creatine Mono capsules out there, but you have to take a bunch to equal the daily dosage for those.