DIY Maurten Gel 100: the gel half of the $3.50 hydrogel argument
The gel-format companion to Maurten's flagship drink mix — same alginate-pectin chemistry in a squeeze-pouch, even harder to justify on the matched-dose evidence at gel viscosities. Texture is the part DIY genuinely can't replicate.
·By Croix
Educational, not medical advice. Recipes and dosages are starting points — individual tolerance varies. Consult a healthcare professional or registered dietitian before changing your nutrition strategy. Full disclaimer.
What am I actually paying Maurten for?
| Maurten Gel 100 | DIY recipe | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per serving | $3.50 | $0.23 |
| Cost per gram of carb | $0.140 | $0.009 |
| Carbs | 25g | 25g |
| Glucose:Fructose ratio | 1:0.8 | 1:0.8 |
| Sodium | 20mg | 20mg |
| Ingredients | Glucose, Fructose, salt | Maltodextrin, fructose, salt |
| ~93% cheaper per serving |
Default recipe
~$0.23/serving- Dextrose (Glucose)15.4g
- Fructose11.0g
- Table Salt (NaCl)0.1g
- Water16ml
What do I need to buy?
Everything you need to mix this at home. We primarily recommend Nutricost-brand products (made in GMP-compliant, FDA-registered facilities, third-party tested) and fall back to NOW Foods or BulkSupplements for the few ingredients Nutricost doesn't stock. Each row shows the same product across Nutricost, iHerb, and Amazon — sorted by unit price, with the cheapest highlighted. Links are affiliate — we earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Dextrose (Glucose)15.4 g per serving
- Fructose11.0 g per serving
- Table Salt (NaCl)0.05 g per servingComing soon
DIY gels are hard to perfectly replicate as gels. The honest framing is that the macros copy cleanly into a sippable flask; the squeezable on-bike pouch format is what Maurten Gel 100 is genuinely uniquely selling at this price point.
DIY wins
- Same 25g of 1:0.8 maltodextrin + fructose for ~50¢ vs $3.50 retail.
- Independent matched-dose evidence does not support paying ~6× a DIY flask for the hydrogel format at this gel scale.
- Honest about the limitation: the gel pouch format is what you can't replicate; the chemistry is.
Where Maurten still earns its price
- Squeezable on-bike packaging is a real logistical advantage that a flask doesn't match.
- Maurten's specific texture and slightly muted sweetness is genuinely well-engineered — some athletes prefer it for race day.
- Brand consistency for sponsored programs (Visma, INEOS, EF) — if your team or training partner is on Maurten and you want format alignment, that has value.
Is Maurten Gel 100 actually worth it?
Maurten Gel 100 is the gel-format counterpart to Maurten's flagship drink mixes. The chemistry is the same: maltodextrin and fructose at a 1:0.8 ratio (the dual-transporter optimum O'Brien & Rowlands established), encapsulated in the alginate-pectin system that gels in stomach acid (Sutehall et al. 2020 reports the format clears the stomach faster than a matched non-hydrogel control at rest, n=8). The macros are halved for the gel form factor — 25g of carbs and 20mg of sodium per 40g pouch — so most riders take 2-3 gels per hour to sit in the standard 60-90 g/hr fueling band.
Where the hydrogel argument is harder to defend in gel form: gels are already hyper-concentrated, you chase them with water from a separate bottle, and the gastric-emptying advantage that the hydrogel pitch leans on is most relevant at high drink concentrations (~16% in the Drink Mix 320 case). At gel-format viscosities the encapsulation is doing less mechanically. The independent matched-dose hydrogel literature reviewed in Podlogar & Wallis 2022 hasn't reproduced a clear performance advantage even in beverage form, and the case is even thinner in the gel format.
Economics: Maurten Gel 100 retails near $3.50 per 40g pouch — about $0.14 per gram of carbs. That's the most expensive gel in this comparison set on a per-gram-of-carb basis. A DIY 1:0.8 maltodextrin-plus-fructose flask delivering the same 25g of carbs costs roughly 50 cents in bulk ingredients. Over a season at 2 gels per hour for typical training and racing, the difference is hundreds of dollars for a chemically equivalent fuel.
What DIY can't reproduce is the specific texture. Maurten Gel 100 has a distinctive thick, slightly slippery feel from the alginate-pectin system that gels in stomach acid. A home flask of dissolved maltodextrin + fructose has the same macros and the same physiological effect once it hits your gut, but it's a sippable liquid, not a squeezable gel. If on-bike squeeze packaging matters to you (and for many riders it genuinely does), retail Maurten Gel 100 is buying you the format more than the chemistry.
What's in this recipe?
Each ingredient links to a deeper guide — what it is, how it works in your gut, and where to buy it in bulk.
- Fructose
The GLUT5-transported sugar that lets you push past the 60 g/hr glucose ceiling — pair with maltodextrin at ~1:0.8 for the modern dual-transporter formula.
- Table Salt (Sodium Chloride)
The cheapest, most-bioavailable sodium source in your kitchen — pennies per gram and chemically identical to what's in any electrolyte tab.
How do I tune this for my own ride?
The builder below is pre-loaded with the Maurten Gel 100 recipe. Drag the sliders to tune carbs, ratio, or sodium to your own sweat rate and ride duration.
Frequently asked questions
What's actually different between a Maurten Gel 100 and a DIY 1:0.8 maltodextrin-fructose flask?+
Macronutrients: nothing. 25g of carbs at 1:0.8 glucose-to-fructose with a small sodium dose lands in your gut as the same drink. The differences are texture (Maurten's hydrogel system creates a thicker mouthfeel) and form factor (squeezable pouch vs. sippable flask). Independent matched-dose research has not reproduced a performance, oxidation, or GI-tolerance benefit attributable to the hydrogel chemistry itself.
How does the gel format change the hydrogel argument?+
The original hydrogel pitch — 'encapsulating the carbs lets you clear the stomach faster at high drink concentrations' — is most load-bearing for the 25g+ powder products at race-bottle concentrations. In a gel that you chase with water from a separate source, the gastric-volume calculus is different. The Sutehall 2020 paper shows the format empties the stomach faster than a matched non-hydrogel beverage at rest (n=8 men); the exercise-condition matched-dose performance trials haven't reliably shown a downstream oxidation, GI-symptom, or time-trial advantage.
Is Maurten Gel 100 better than the Drink Mix 320 if I'm using one of them anyway?+
Different jobs. Drink Mix 320 puts a full 25g+ hour of carbs in one bottle — it's the entire fueling solution for a high-intensity hour. Gel 100 is dosed in 25g increments so you take it on a ~30-minute interval and chase it with whatever you're using for hydration. Many cyclists use the drink mix in the bidon and gels for top-ups; many runners use only gels; many triathletes mix and match by leg.
How does Maurten Gel 100 compare to GU or PowerGel on cost?+
Per gram of carb, Maurten Gel 100 is at the top of the market — roughly $0.14/g vs $0.06/g for a typical $1.50 GU at 22g carbs, or $0.10/g for Precision PF 30 at $3 for 30g. The premium is paying for the hydrogel chemistry, the specific Maurten flavor profile, and the brand association with Visma/INEOS-style pro programs. Whether that's worth ~2x another premium gel depends on whether you have a personal preference for the texture and flavor.
What's the simplest DIY recipe for a Maurten Gel 100 substitute?+
Roughly 14g of maltodextrin + 11g of crystalline fructose + a pinch (~50mg sodium worth) of salt + ~80ml of water in a small flask. Sip 25g over a ~30-minute interval, chasing with separate water as needed. Total cost per dose: ~50 cents in bulk ingredients. The flask is the closest DIY analogue to a gel pouch; honey-based pastes work too but the flavor and viscosity differ.
Can I make my own hydrogel at home?+
Technically, with food-grade sodium alginate and high-methoxyl pectin in roughly the proportions documented in Maurten replication recipes online. Practically: the matched-dose evidence does not support paying for the format, and the home-mixed alginate-pectin system is finicky to dose without a precision scale and a reliable way to test gel formation at gastric pH. The Carb Hack stance is that a plain 1:0.8 maltodextrin-plus-fructose drink at the same total carb dose delivers the same physiology at a fraction of the cost.
Also worth looking at
- DIY Maurten 320: the same 1:0.8 formula for a fraction of the price
- DIY SiS Beta Fuel: the most copyable branded fuel on the shelf
- DIY Skratch Super High-Carb: the glucose-heavy outlier, copied honestly
- DIY Tailwind Endurance: tune sodium to your own sweat rate
- DIY Precision PF 30: replace the fuel, not the sweat test
- DIY Neversecond C30: the research-forward gel without the $3.50 price tag
- DIY Tailwind High Carb: 90g of race fuel from grocery-store sugar
- DIY GU Roctane: the premium-tier GU gel without the $2.40 markup
- DIY Skratch Sport Hydration: real-fruit flavor without the $1 scoop