So far as an energy buzz, it wasn’t super intense, but I did feel it, and best of all it didn’t crash me when it was through doing it’s thing. A 16-ounce can, which is actually two servings, provides you with a negligible 10 calories, 0 carbs, 210 mg of protein, 2,000 mg of taurine, 46 mg of guarana, 72 mg of inositol, 200% of vitamins C, B3, B5, B12, and 400% of B6.

The flavor was wonderful. Light, not over powering, the sweetening blend was spot on, and it didn’t reek of vitamins. I could seriously drink Power Trip 0 as a soda, rather than an energy beverage. Assuming I never wanted to sleep again.

I really want to try the other flavors of Power Trip, and I’ll definitely be bugging the manager to bring them in. Power Trip 0 scores an easy ‘Win!’

Official Site

-Jeremy Hobbs

The name is Rockstar Roasted ‘Light Vanilla.’ I appreciate the simpler names; Java Monsters (Monster’s brand of coffees)  ‘Loca Moca,’ ‘Mean Bean,’and ‘Big Black’ all had names that made me want to laugh out loud, not take them seriously. All of those were great products though; just loaded with calories. How does Rockstar Roasted Light Vanilla compare?

‘Light Vanilla’ is a half calorie, half fat beverage. Without the fat, it does not have the rich creamy texture that I’ve come to associate with these coffee/energy hybrids. Certainly more than a few of you would consider that a good thing, but I’m a little bit indifferent. It really did taste good, but I just felt like it was missing something, and that ‘something’ was probably the other half of the fat and calories. Too bad they can’t produce artificial ‘cream’ like they do artificial sweeteners.

The flavor leans heavily on the shoulder of coffee, and very light on the vanilla. I didn’t notice any ‘energy drink’ aftertaste at all, the coffee masked it fairly well. It’s not bitter (from either the coffee, or sweeteners), and probably tastes way too sweet for the majority of coffee drinkers, but should taste pretty good to the average consumer.

You get 2 serving in each can. Each can contains 100 calories, 3 grams of fat, 200% DRV of vitamins B3-B6-B5-B12, and the usual assortment of energy enhancers that work fairly well. This is a well rounded product that many will enjoy.

I’ll recommend this to folks who are missing their super fattening, high calorie coffee drinks, and are looking for something that is a little lighter. Rockstar Roasted Light Vanilla certainly fills a void. It wont be a product that I’ll be picking up all that often, but it was good enough that I’m really hoping that Rockstar decides to produce some more ‘Light’ flavors.

–Jeremy Hobbs 

Jolt’s (only?) entry into this ultra competitive market can be described as nothing but a complete failure. To say that Jolt Ultra’s flavor is ‘medicinal’ would be one of the most heinous understatements that I’ve ever put into words; the stuff tastes exactly like the Lemon Lime version of AirBorne. Now, to be honest, AirBorne isn’t all that terrible; for a cold medicine/vitamin supplement! But it is certainly not something that I would ever consider consuming for the pure enjoyment of it.

Jolt Ultra’s flavor, as I briefly mentioned, falls in the area of lemon lime citrus, kind of like a rudely violated version Sprite Zero or Sierra Mist Free. What (terrible) flavor that is there is very weak as well. I found that fact to be quite odd, as most of the other Jolt products I’ve sampled have had distinct, robust profiles. Jolt Ultra is just all around bad.

You have far better diet energy drink options available to you, at better prices, and at more locations (Jolt’s availability is a bit spotty). I have to recommend that you avoid this product, assuming you’re looking for something tasty to drink. Maybe if they go back to the ‘drawing board’ and reformulate, then come back to the market with a better, stronger flavor, Jolt Ultra will be able to compete. Right now, it’s dead in the water, and it’s nostalgic brand name is the only reason it’s staying afloat. Thumbs way down.

–Jeremy Hobbs

When I first located this, it was kind of exciting because I had heard a lot of great things about BAWLS. To hear others tell it, it supposedly was some type of ‘elite’ energy drink. The soda / energy drink does have a very loyal, hardcore fan base. And if any of that said fan base happens to be reading this right now, I’m about to really piss them off really good. I do humbly apologize in advance, but this stuff is garbage. When the first thing you want to do upon taking a sip of any given beverage is to spit it across the room, something is wrong. I have no idea how they managed to completely screw up the usually amazing blend of artificial sweeteners; sucralose (Splenda) and ace-k, but they did. BAWLS must buy into the ‘go big or go home theory’ as well, because they screwed it up real good.

BAWLS Sugar Free is not very sweet at all, the chemical after taste is as bad as I’ve ever encountered, and the true flavor of the drink is almost completely covered up. Very, very medicinal. BAWLS is (supposed to be) berry flavored, guarana berry to be more specific.

The ‘energy enhancement’ did next to nothing for me, so this isn’t a product that I can even recommend as a decent pick me up.  The price isn’t exactly a bargain at $1.50 for only 10 ounces. The best only thing BAWLS Sugar Free has going for it is the cool container; a clear glass bottle with little nodules all over it. Very sweet looking; but not cool enough for me to buy it again. Ever.

–Jeremy Hobbs 

The flavor falls neatly in line with drinks like the original Monster, and Rockstar. That flavor is kind of hard to nail down, but I’ve heard it described as ‘bubble gum,’ so I’ll roll with that one. The all important sweetener blend is Splenda (sucralose), with Ace-K (acesulfame potassium). You will not find that combination in a very many low calorie beverages, but the two work very well together as a team, giving a very ‘natural’ taste. Nothing too artificial.

For those of you that are energy drink consumers, but have not sampled any of the diet versions, you’ll notice a couple of differences. The energy boost simply isn’t as powerful, because sugar all by itself produces energy. Take that ingredient out, you lose the energy enhancing benefits of it. There is a neat flip side though; sugar is what makes you crash after drinking one of these. No sugar, no crash. More like a gentle let down as your body unloads the other energy producing ingredients. That has been my experience anyway, your results may (and almost certainly will) vary.

Your energy enhancers will come in the way of 60 mg of vitamin C, 2 mg of vitamin B6, 400 mg folic acid, 6 mg of vitamin B12, 1,000 mg of taurine, 90 mg caffeine, 100 mg of inositol, and last, but not least, 10 mg of guarana seed extract. If you plan on drinking the whole can, take all those numbers and multiply them by two, as there are two servings in each can.

Not available in a lot of stores, but it is available in one big one; Wal-Mart. I totally recommend checking it out, especially if you’re dieting. You can’t drink one of these and sit still, you’ll have to get up and exercise. You can get out of the store with one for $0.99. Enjoy!

–Jeremy Hobbs