Water is a plentiful, necessary for all living beings. This is a key understanding right down to our own inner conscience. Without water, all living beings would not be able to carry out life’s necessary functions. However, vitamins and trace minerals are also needed as water alone that has been purified by a manufacturing process and not from a spring can be void of those essentials. To help support living organism processes, additives are needed.
I am not one for additives or supplementation, especially those with often unforeseen and unpronounceable terminology. I believe in whole foods and organics. Most additives and supplements have a harsh taste and can be rejected by a living organism. Most organisms equate a bitter unwanted taste to poison and rightfully so, that poison also is acted upon by both body and mind. In my own day-to-day duties I often find myself reaching for water and knowing full well that it does not contain what my 40 year old body requires. I am forced by manufacturers who process foodstuffs in USA to add additional supplementation to sustain my own body lifestyle. Humanity especially is gifted with a burden of enhanced olfactory senses allowing humans pleasure and pain through consuming of nutrition.
I would rather drink water from a fresh mountain spring than from a bottle or faucet. That cannot happen on a daily basis due to our own lifestyle. Lets face it, are we more civilized than primitive animals out in wilderness? One could argue either way. What makes us more civilized? That civility is a luxury. Understand that hydration is key and getting something bitter into a drinkable form for supplementation needs to be palatable. If we know all of this, then we surely know that supplementation is not luxury, mimics poison and is an inconceivable because of humanity’s enhanced olfactory senses. Humans require those things to have a tantalizing flavor.
Lets now start with Mountain Ops branded hydration packets. I purchased these on 01/25/2025 with my own funds. I chose to start with these packets instead of going back to Liquid IV due to one major flaw in Liquid IV, that chalky diet taste. I have acquired a taste for such things that others would consider disgusting. I have grown to like Zero Sugar, plain seltzer and Diet sodas. Not because I want to either. Problem is that it is available. It is a nasty habit that our body craves and our mind gives into. I know all too well of that taste and I tolerate it. This morning at 06:23 ET I can say that this product still has that diet / chalky taste, but not so much as Liquid IV or those sodas mention above. I chose that lemonade flavor for a more neutral taste and one that I am accustom to having. That diet flavor (Aspartame) is still present.
Adding this product to a 10Oz bottle of water was very easy and only had to take a few sips of water to accommodate displacement. Color and balance is reminiscent of lemonade made properly on a summers evening.
Convenience factor was on par. Packaging for this power’s content was easily accessible via finger tearing and durable to withstand abuse from being in a gym bag or pocket. There is some air in individual packages however that may contribute to an explosion give time and accurate pressure.
Searching Mountain OPS website attempting to look for answers to these questions on their packaging.
- “What does it mean that Manufactured in the USA with Quality Ingredients sourced worldwide,” actually mean? Where in this world did these ingredients come from?
- On their website why is Mountain OPS displaying California’s Prop65 warning?
These leave me curious up front as to what this package and company may be hiding, but required to display on their packaging.
Brief Investigation on what it means to be “Manufactured in USA”
Starting off my quest to investigate these claims, I simply asked a search engine my query. and I got back dozens of relevant links, but that first one seemed to be key. This is a link to Federal Trade Commission’s understanding and compliance on MADE IN USA Standards, but not “Manufactured in USA.” Could this be a marketing tactic used to resemble MADE IN USA wording using MANUFACTURED in USA to skirt regulation?
https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-made-usa-standard
Trying to analyze this information is probably best left to lawyers and more inclined to those anal about nomenclature of grandeur.
For those who like a simpler social media understanding. This search may help.
I would like to hint on a few items from FTC’s website on Made in USA standards.
To me, as a consumer conducting an investigation into understandings of MADE vs MANUFACTURED appears to be a marketing claim that aims to skirt and convince US Consumers of their product that MANUFACTURED and MADE are identical. Those uneducated and quick to judge would argue they are identical when in fact by eyes of government are not. This also means to me that this product we are consuming will have foreign content within it’s manufacture. Could this mean supplements are from China?
It is enough for me to say that this product is NOT A US BASED and UNDERSTOOD PRODUCT. I also question sourcing of such supplements and those countries where they are derived / mined. Potentially asking for this information may not yield any results tangible as this may stain reputations. Also, consumers who purchase this product are buying into acknowledgement that this supplement has foreign aspects within.
I leave it up to my readers to decide their standpoint on opinions.
At this point, I would say that picking up this product, sight unseen and paid for myself is a good investment that will take some time to review effectiveness. So far, this seems like a worthy product.
Prop 65 Warning
It comes into question why a company would label their product with a PROP65 warning label. I did find using a search engine some easily identifiable information palatable many of us.
For those of us who like that technical jargon, here is PROP65’s claims on items that can cause harm to a human body.
https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-list
Now, to save face on Mountain OPS and other resellers, I will not be providing a run-down of items contained in this supplement in correlation to PROP 65 list. I will leave this to my readers. However, in doing some searching on my own using their ingredients, i could not find any list on prop65 that would warrant this branding except for plastic containers or this OmniMin AC Trace Mineral Blend.
Recommendation
As of 01/26/2025, Time will tell of my actual recommendation as currently this is very early to say if this product is worth it. I would like to see Mountain Ops provide more detail into what some of these ingredients are as well as why their choice of labeling as well as origins of supplements are in their product.
I am not out here to bash this company. I am out here to simply better myself and my public on my opinions and how I interact with products I utilize and consume. My thoughts are my own and how I feel about them are my own desires. Understand we all have opinions and we choose to make them public or private.
kd2kub.org 