Our reviews are 100% organic. We do not accept payment for reviews or bundle with advertising budgets. In most cases, the brand is providing the product to our reviewers free of charge. Basic summary: A vegan-friendly protein-enhanced recovery drink mix from Tailwind Nutrition, sold in portable packets or larger serving bags for home use.
MSRP:
- Single serving: $3
- Assorted 6-pack: $18
- 15-serving pack: $39
Features:
- 100% all-natural ingredients
- Non GMO, gluten free, soy free, dairy free
- Complete protein profile
- Chocolate or vanilla flavor
Tailwind Rebuild
Assorted 6-pack
Deep dive:
Tailwind Nutrition’s origin story is rooted in the ultrarunning community. Its inspiration came from company founder Jeff Vierling’s unpleasant experience at the Leadville 100, and the husband-and-wife company started in the kitchen of their home in Durango, Colorado, just “over the hill” from the Hardrock 100 course. Tailwind has enjoyed massive growth in the past few years, but stayed true to their ultrarunning ethos: they sponsor countless races, provide the on-course fuel at Hardrock and many other 100s, and include handwritten notes of encouragement with every product order from the website.
This year the company debuted Rebuild, a vegan recovery drink mix that features a complete protein from a base organic rice and coconut milk formula. It also includes carbohydrates to replace glycogen stores and electrolytes to help balance your hydration and metabolism. It was formulated to be consumed in the first 30 minutes after exercise, when your body is primed for nutrient absorption. It can also be used to supplement smoothies or milk, which is our preferred mechanism of use. We’ve been using it on a regular basis during high mileage buildup months to a fall 100-miler, and we’ve found that it does help decrease soreness and speed recovery from one workout to the next.
The Rebuild mix retains one of the best aspects of Tailwind’s regular drink mix, in that it absorbs very easily in liquid. We’ve tried a lot of drink mixes that you have to stir incessantly, and the little clumps still don’t dissolve. Rebuild blends quickly in a glass or water bottle, making it easy to get a recovery drink ready in a matter of seconds after you finish your run.
The standard instructions for Rebuild are to mix it in water, and we found that both of the chocolate and vanilla flavors have a pleasant taste. However, our preference was to mix them with milk to make a protein-charged superdrink that tastes wonderful. One of our testers is a vegetarian, and her mix of choice is to add the vanilla flavor to vanilla soy milk. We also love mixing the chocolate flavor with regular cow’s milk (or chocolate milk) for a sweet and nutritious treat. Users with allergies to soy, gluten or dairy will still gain benefit from the formulation mixed with water.
Rebuild is available in single-serving packs, assorted 6-packs, or in larger 15-serving bags. The single packs are great to take on the go, or to keep in a car or gym bag if you’re not returning home after your run. There’s no price break from the $3 single-serving packs to the $18 6-packs (it seems like there should be), but you save a bit if you buy the multi-serving bags. All of these products are available for purchase at www.tailwindnutrition.com.