Karo syrup instead of gels?

Sounds like you haven't tried Hammer Gel "Apple-Cinnamon".  It's like a mouthful of apple pie.

Honey Stingers are good,,  I've thought about taking a bottle of SueBee Honey  on training runs....

How can I inject B12 or B6 stuff into the honey like they do.

pure HFCS????

ewwww

They are and I was wondering if anyone has tried making their own gels using corn syrup and a flavoring syrup. The 8% solution would be more like a sports drink, I was thinking more like a 60% solution of Karo for a gel replacement. 

 I may try to experiment over the winter with some different solutions.

This is something I may try

Organic Raw Blue Agave Sweetener

My wife picked some up as a sugar substitute for baking.  It's low glycemic, organic and tastes pretty darn good - like a mildly tart, but sweet honey.

I've made my own.  Basically it was honey, a bit of black strap molasses (for potassium), some protein & some cocoa for flavor. 

Taste wise not bad.  Nutrition wise not bad.  Cost wise about 38 cents / serving. 

None of Gu, Clif, Hammer nor CarbBoom use ANY corn syrup let alone as first ingredient (they all have maltodextrin as first ingredient)

so which 'many' gels are you speaking of?

having tasted corn syrup whilst baking it is too gross for me to even imagine consuming on its own.

Agave maybe.

I'll stick with the good stuff and continue to use my Gu's for everything.  They are awesome, work well, and don't make me gag at all.

To each their own (of course I still have well over 150 Gu's from my team deals between this year and last year).

again, none of the products listed above have any deceptive practices.  they use maltodextrin and fructose (Gu, Hammer and CarbBoom) and I know that Clif uses rice syrup.

you seem to be confusing supermarket foods with nutritional supplements from reputable companies.

I am with Rick - I tried all different brands - as long as there was no artificial color/flavor and Gu's Roctane (blueberry pomegranate) and Vanilla Bean regular Gu I tolerate really well.  Now I am trying to find a drink I tolerate - I don't seem to handle maltodextrin in drink form very well - though I have not yet tried Gu2O.

As to straight sugar, or evaporated cane juice, for racing purposes it really is not a problem.  The advantage of the maltodextrin is how our bodies handle it during  activity.  To your body, fructose, sucrose, honey etc are all the same.

And the biggest thing about maltodextrin and longer chain carbs is that it takes the body a little longer to break it down, which means you do not necessarily get the "spike" you do with simple chain carbs (fructose, sucrose, etc.).  Regardless, they are all broken down to glucose and processed into glycogen for distribution.

As the new adds from the corn people say ...... CS and HFCS are still just simple sugars.  No better, no worse than cane juice, raw cane sugar, or others.  The reason society is (finally) making such a big deal about HFCS is that it is in EVERYTHING on the mainstream market, and our kids and adults are turning into obese people and diabetics as a result of consuming so much.

ok, I figured I would give a mini biochem lesson on sugars and starches.  The simplest sugars are fructose and glucose  they are entities of their own.  Then you get to table sugar, sucrose which is one fructose and one glucose joined together:

maltose looks similar but is 2 glucose molecules.

Starches are polysaccharides (many sugars). 

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which water is used to break long polysaccharide chains into smaller chains or into simple carbohydrates. The resulting products are assigned a Dextrose Equivalent (DE) value which is related to the degree of hydrolysis. A DE value of 100 corresponds to completely hydrolyzed starch, which is pure glucose (dextrose). Maltodextrin is partially hydrolyzed starch that is not sweet and has a DE value less than 20.

 Whatever glucose we do not immediately use or store as glycogen goes to fat.

thus ends today's chemistry lesson

Wholesome Agave is loaded with fillers.  The only true Agave is Volcanic Nectar.  It has a REALLY low glycemic index, so I'm not sure that's what you want in your blood during training.

They taste like girls scout thin mints..I have two boxes saved for special event..didn't use them for IM..so what is special?

I love Hammer Gel Apple Cinnamon..tastes like McDonald's apple pie which I haven't had in years.

Bob,

If you want to try maltodextrin, look for a homebrew store.  It should cost a few $ a pound. 

Good luck