DriveForce DF-18 Performance Hydration Review

DriveForce DF-18

DriveForce DF-18 Performance Hydration Review
Grade: B
Teacher’s Comments: Helps beat those hot, dehydrating rounds, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the flavor

Manufacturer’s Site

As a dedicated walker, I understand the importance of staying hydrated and replacing electrolytes and other nutrients lost over the course of a round. In the unusually high heat and humidity in Michigan this past August, I have finished may rounds feeling utterly drained in spite of consuming copious quantities of water.

DriveForce recently sent a box of their performance DF-18 hydration packets for testing. It was good timing, as I was playing through some of the worst heat I’ve experienced in Michigan.

When mixed with water and consumed before a round, DriveForce DF-18 is designed to sustain focus, hydration and stamina over a four to six hour round.

My experience with DF-18 is that it works as advertised. In an entirely unscientific experiment, I added a packet to the water I usually drink for pre-round hydration. During the rounds, I consumed 40 ounces of plain water from my HydroFlask steel water bottle.

On rounds when I pre-hydrated with DriveForce DF-18 (as opposed to plain water), I think I felt less drained at the end.

That’s important. Golf is a sport, and don’t let anyone tell you differently. Football players must dig deep in the final quarter. Baseball players may waiver in the late innings. Basketball players must fight through in the final minutes.

Similarly, over the last several holes — particularly if walking — golfers need to call on reserves of physical and mental stamina. Everyone who plays recalls those times where a career round fell apart over the last few holes.

On those brutally hot days, I felt as though DriveForce DF-18 helped me finish strong.

While my application of the scientific method is dubious, there is reason to believe that the DriveForce DF-18 had a positive effect on the outcomes.

DriveForce DF-18 contains a large number of ingredients said to improve sports performance: fluid balancers to manage heat stress, nutrients to improve blood flow and others that are said to help with focus

What are those nutrients? Arugula Extract, Calcium Beta-Hydroxybutyrate, Pink salt, Magnesium Glycinate, Potassium, Agmatine Sulfate, Taurine, Clycerol, N-Acetyl-L-Tyroshine, Ashwagandha, L-Theanine, Theobromine, Vitamin C, Zinc Citrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Choline Citrate, Thiamin HCL, Folate, Methylcobalamin and Biotin.

A lot of that to me sounds like things that I wouldn’t want in my system, but Drive Force says its products have been designated as an Informed Sport Certified product. Informed Sport is a quality assurance program for sports nutrition products, suppliers to the sports nutrition industry, and supplement manufacturing facilities. The program certifies that all nutritional supplements and/or ingredients that bear the Informed-Sport logo have been tested for banned substances by the world class sports anti-doping laboratory, LGC.

A couple of negatives:

I was not a big fan of DF-18’s flavor. Pineapple Passion Fruit just isn’t my thing. Your mileage may vary.

Behind the Pineapple Passion Fruit, there was a slight mineral/salty taste, much like that of some other sports drinks. That’s got to be the minerals. In my opinion, it didn’t go well with the Pineapple Passion Fruit. But again, if you like that flavor, your reaction will likely be different.

I also found that there’s a strange mouthfeel to the product. In the recommended amount of water, it felt somewhat thick, which again I attribute to the minerals.

Finally, I had some trouble getting the powder to fully dissolve. In the recommended 16 ounces of water, there were grains of something or other at the bottom of the bottle no matter how long I shook it.

I solved all my issues with DriveForce DF-18 by using more water than the 16 ounces that the company calls for. For me, 32 ounces did the trick, watering down the strength of the flavor, the saltiness and the thick mouthfeel.

DriveForce also suggests mixing the DF-18 with a smoothie. Are Pineapple Passion Fruit smoothies a thing? I don’t know.

Still, I hope that DriveForce team develops some other flavors. I’d like to see a cherry, a lemon-lime or an orange.

The DriveForce DF-18 packets are $39.99 for a 10 stick pack. That’s expensive, but if could be worth the investment if you are looking for an edge to a strong finish in an important competitive round.