Wilderness Athlete vs. Mtn Ops

[Solus]

For those that have used both supplements, which did you prefer and why? I am mostly interested in the Energy & Focus, Hydrate & Recover, and the Mtn Ops Yeti. Do you feel like any of these products enhance your energy through the day hunting or while working out? The ingredients between the two brands are a fair amount different, I was just hoping for some personal feedback from some guys who have used them...

Thanks!


Solus

 

[DmrbigEshotT]

I've been using Yeti as a pre-workout for a couple weeks now and as far as gains, I can tell the difference, but I do not feel any "different" while working out. I don't get a "pump" while lifting or feel any increased energy from the caffeine. It may have some positive effects as far as muscle recovery, but not much, in my opinion. Yeti has a decent amount of creatine in it and I can definitely tell that it is sucking more water into my muscles and taking it away from my #2's.

I'm 5'11", lift a lot, and weigh 215lbs.

This is my personal experience and based off of all the positive reviews it has, I'm an outlier.

 

[Poser]

I use the E&F regularly and it works at least as well as other energy mixes. I use the H&R to sip on during long workouts out really hot days and find it helpful as well. All and all, WA are decent products, though You can probably find the equivalent for cheaper if you shop around. I haven't tried any of the Mtn Ops products. Honestly, I find their entire marketing approach to be rather lame so that's kind of turnoff.

 

[Takeem406]

I keep wanting to order MTN, a friend and a fellow staffer promotes for them. But I can't justify the cost when they won't list their ingredients. I'd like a whey supplement to through in my pack for a breakfast, but they want you to refrigerate it. Walmart stuff doesn't... And Walmart stuff is cheap!

 

[WoodBow]

I keep wanting to order MTN, a friend and a fellow staffer promotes for them. But I can't justify the cost when they won't list their ingredients. I'd like a whey supplement to through in my pack for a breakfast, but they want you to refrigerate it. Walmart stuff doesn't... And Walmart stuff is cheap!

You get what you pay for. Mtn ops has ingredients on the labels. Do you mean online?

 

[Firewillie77]

Ive been using MTN OPS Enduro and Yeti. I use the yeti as a pre workout and the enduro before a long hike or higher cardio stuff. I love them both I like the yeti for pre workout because I get a good feeling off of the niacin and caffeine in it. The Enduro is pretty much the same product minus the niacin, caffeine and creatine. They just did a podcast on the gritty bowman and explained there products pretty well, you should check it out plus there is a discount code given.

 

[Cory Arola]

I have used both and settled on a mixture of both. WA H&R is fantastic. I will use that regularly during training and during hunting to replenish lost electrolytes. I use Yeti mixed with H&R (my own version of superman????) and take OX when training leading into a season. Ask I approach the season or an event (Tough Mudder/Train To Hunt) I switch to WA pre-workout because I don't want the creatine (I don't want to hold onto extra water weight). During my days in the BC I use Enduro and Blaze and finish the day with WA joint advantage. At midday I pound a liter of WA H&R. I also take fish oil, COQ10, Vit D and chlorella year round. I like Ammo as well and when I run out of my WA protein powder I look forward to trying Mtn Ops magnum. I just ordered the Ascent from Mtn Ops to try during this archery season. I was up there this last weekend without it and will try it this weekend and during the Tough Mudder in two weeks and see if I notice any difference.

 

[jb79]

I have used the mtn blaze and endruo and really liked them, helped me basically kick the coffee out of my mornings and felt way more hydrated during long hikes. I haven't used either of them for about 3 weeks and can really tell the difference in energy levels from when I was. Going to order more!!

 

[cmc]

I've used WA products for years and recently gave Mtn Ops a try specifically both Yeti and Enduro. I opted to try the Mtn Ops because I wasn't fond of the new WA flavors but turns out that I dislike the Mtn Ops flavors even more. To each their own and I don't fault them for a flavor I don't personally like.

As for it working as advertised - like others have stated the Mtn Ops Yeti already contains creatine, kind of why I wanted to try it. I use to take WA with a creatine supplement and the Yeti compliments that but at a reduced expense of having both in one. But at times you just want an energey boost mid day and I'm not wanting to double dose on creatine. So WA Energy & Focus has an advantage in that realm.

Another factor I've seen is it takes longer to not only dissolve but also absorb into my system. Drinking it half hour before a workout in the morning seems to not be enough time. And if my water is ice cold I tend to have a lot of granules, or heck at times sludge, at the bottom of the shaker bottle. WA products tend to dissolve well not matter the temps. I can see on our winter backpack hunts the Mtn Ops having some issues in dissolving being we tend to have near frozen water to work with most of the time.

I'll add that I have also used several of the Advocare products with good success and base on flavors I'm leaning at using those more in the future. That's tough on me being I'd rather support a group that supports hunting but I also don't care to drink flavors I can hardly stand. Let alone at a hefty price tag of each.

Good luck and I doubt you can go wrong with either WA or Mtn Ops and hope that the flavors are better on you than my taste buds.

cheers,
cmc

 

[DmrbigEshotT]

I've been using Yeti as a pre-workout for a couple weeks now and as far as gains, I can tell the difference, but I do not feel any "different" while working out. I don't get a "pump" while lifting or feel any increased energy from the caffeine. It may have some positive effects as far as muscle recovery, but not much, in my opinion. Yeti has a decent amount of creatine in it and I can definitely tell that it is sucking more water into my muscles and taking it away from my #2's.

I'm 5'11", lift a lot, and weigh 215lbs.

This is my personal experience and based off of all the positive reviews it has, I'm an outlier.

I'd like to give a little update on this after finishing my first container of Yeti and lifting without it for a week :

-I definitely had more noticeable gains while using Yeti over not taking anything at all as I have in the past. Vascularity improved and I do feel a bit more energized after lifting.
-I lifted without a pre-workout for a week and I was a lot more sore while doing the same regiment as I was while taking Yeti so it definitely helps with muscle soreness.

 

[Manosteel]

I have never used WA but tried mtn ops in july and stopped it in August to see if there was a difference - since my workouts and diet stayed the same. I felt a noticeable difference using the Endro and Yeti in both recovery and gains. I really trimmed down their year and felt physically at my best and I can only attribute that to the supplements and maybe the caveman coffee I started drinking during july and august.

I stay pretty fit all the time, and I have used supplements on/off for 20 years. I am in my 40's and for a supplement to have any effect on me is pretty significant. With that said I have been using the Mtn Ops Endro/yeti/multi-vits since September.

FWIW - I still buy my Whey isolate from Walmart reasonably priced and convenient

 

[thebugler]

I have used the MTN OPS Yeti and Enduro quote a bit. Yes, they have the ingrediants listed on the packaging and many are things you have heard of before. They are not chemicals either.

As far as what they have done for me, they give me longer staying power and less fatige. I dont feel a big rush like with many pre-workouts. But what I do notice is where I was fatiged before, I can keep pushing on without feeling tired.

 

[Yankee]

"They are not chemicals either..." Yes, they are. Everything is made up chemicals or elements. Somehow people have gotten it in their heads that taking some goofy plant extract composed of literally thousands of different chemicals is better than taking a highly purified chemical that present in a specific quantity. I'll take a tablet of creatine, over creatine mixed in yakisoba plant extract or whatever snake oil they're mixing it with.

My big issue with MTN Ops, WA, and most of the supplements on the market is that there is little to no scientific research to support the purported claims that their making. I'm a protein chemist, so it's something like to investigate in my spare time.

 

[whacker1]

"They are not chemicals either..." Yes, they are. Everything is made up chemicals or elements. Somehow people have gotten it in their heads that taking some goofy plant extract composed of literally thousands of different chemicals is better than taking a highly purified chemical that present in a specific quantity. I'll take a tablet of creatine, over creatine mixed in yakisoba plant extract or whatever snake oil they're mixing it with.

My big issue with MTN Ops, WA, and most of the supplements on the market is that there is little to no scientific research to support the purported claims that their making. I'm a protein chemist, so it's something like to investigate in my spare time.

So, you like to investigate this subject.....do you have any findings you can share?

 

[ontarget7]

Have not been a huge supplement guy but stay in very good shape. Going to give the MTN OPS a go and will be curious on the results.

 

[5MilesBack]

I use the WA Hydrate & Recover but haven't seen a need for any of the other stuff. When I'm above 10k feet it's like my adrenal glands are in constant pump mode.........love it.

 

[elkyinzer]

Purely as a matter of sharing objective information with my fellow hunters, there was an interesting Frontline documentary on TV last week about the supplement industry that I recorded and watched. As others have pointed out, the industry is virtually unregulated, and while the consumer facing firms either have good intentions or are blinded by profits, the supply chains are clouded with careless alterations and blatant misrepresentations. Most anecdotes cited were harmless product substitutions but there have been numerous examples of negative health consequences when hormones or even poisonous chemicals enter the mix. And as someone pointed out, they are irrefutably chemicals. I have not read the underlying studies, but at one point in the documentary they tested a random sampling of herbal based supplements from stores like CVS, GNC, etc. against the plant DNA and found that 90 some percent of the samples were misrepresented. Simply an astonishing statistic.

Not implying there's any shade going on with these companies in particular, just saying be informed what you put in your body and don't chase short term gains for long term results. The truth is that you or I, and probably the companies themselves, have little idea what's really in these products no matter what the label says. If that statement is incorrect and one of these firms has scientific testing standards in place to refute that claim, bravo and I look forward to possibly hearing it. Personally I have the physical ability and mental toughness to get up any mountain on my own accord today, and if I start taking supplements that could potentially damage my kidneys or liver I may not be able to so when I retire in 30 or so years.

Mtn Ops has some freaking on-point marketing people though, I'll say that. Let's be real anyone purporting that you should be in NFL athlete caliber shape to kill an elk or a buck is trying to sell you something. That said, if you want to get in pro athlete shape, and are willing to accept possible negative consequences, this is America and have at it brother!

 

[5MilesBack]

Let's be real anyone purporting that you should be in NFL athlete caliber shape to kill an elk or a buck is trying to sell you something.

I'd like to take some of those NFL "athletes" up elk hunting. Most of them can't even compete without sucking on the O2 on the bench. Wonder if they'd have to have it up hunting too.

 

[ontarget7]

I have seen a few good medical reports after using the MTN OPS.

We shall find out.

 

[Poser]

I'd like to take some of those NFL "athletes" up elk hunting. Most of them can't even compete without sucking on the O2 on the bench. Wonder if they'd have to have it up hunting too.

Your implication there is very interesting. You are suggesting that these guys hold questionable status as athletes and that they possibly are not in very good shape. Going hunting or climbing up a mountain is just one aspect of fitness. These guys are conditioned for 40 second explosive bursts. Some of the NFL running backs could compete as olympic sprinters (though, why would they when they can make $$$$ playing football?) Look at the power ratios of NFL linebackers these days. Given their size which is often north of 6'6 and 250 pounds, it is absolutely incredibly how fast they are able to move and how explosive they are in the initiation of that speed. Comparing them to endurance athletes is not really anykind of reasonable comparison. That being said, I'm quite sure you could take an NFL athlete like JJ Watt, or Tom Brady for that matter and convert them into a mountain climbing machine in 4 weeks. NFL linemen might not be the ideal body type for such endeavors and therefore might not excel at it, though, I see backcountry hunters that are hardly athletic looking, even hauling around a bit if beer gut, who are able to sheep hunt, so with a couple of weeks of conditioning for climbing and endurance, I'm sure any NFL player would do just fine.

The thing about something like hunting is, you have to have the desire to do it above all else. Look at the physical test requirements to be an Army Ranger. Its hardly impressive on paper:

Ranger PFT Minimum Scores
Push-ups in 2:00 49 in 2:00
Sit-ups in 2:00 59 in 2:00
Pull-ups 6
Two-mile run 15:12
5 Mile run 40:00
16-mile hike w/65lb pack 5 hours 20 minutes
15-meter swim with gear Pass/Fail

Being able to complete the above list doesn't mean that you in anyway have the desire to become an Army Ranger. Many Crossfit chicks could eat those physical requirement for a midmorning snack, but that does not mean that you are going to give them a ranger patch and send them off to combat.



Oxygen: I'm sure they could play without it, but, if the game permits its use and it is available to you and it boosts your performance, why woul;dn't you supplement with it?