Primeval Labs Ape Sh*t Untamed RTD Review: Smooth Energy and Great Flavor in a Bottle

Ingredients Profile

Unlike the energy drink category, if you are intentional about creating a pre-workout RTD chances are you will find solid doses of key ingredients. Take Bang for example, we see a lot of people drink these pre-workout. You get 300mg caffeine in a Bang but that’s about it. Now let’s use that as a reference point for Primeval Labs Ape Sh*t Untamed RTD pre-workout.

We start with a full 6g dose of Citrulline. We prefer the Citrulline used here in Ape Sh*t RTD over the 6g Citrulline Malate used in other options. Pure Citrulline is the way to go to induce bigger pumps. Citrulline is the precursor to Arginine which can increase NO levels in the body thus leading to a bigger, fuller pump.

Beta Alanine is used at the clinical dosage of 3.2g. This aids in muscular endurance by buffering lactic acid. Taurine is next at a big 2g dosage. Taurine aids with the regulation of electrolytes, which can lead to increased output. An increased in total output can be experienced with supplementing with Taurine.

The energy portion of the RTD comes in the form of three ingredients. We start with 300mg Caffeine Anhydrous. This is the fast acting caffeine that we typically see in pre-workout powders. Primeval Labs also uses 70mg Di-Caffeine Malate, which yields about 50mg of actual caffeine. This is a “slower” hitting caffeine that will prolong your energy over a period of time. Primeval Labs also uses 30mg of TeaCrine (we are not sure if this is tasteless at 40% or pure). Although not technically a stimulant, but when combined with caffeine it can lead to a big improvement in energy levels.

Overall this is a solid profile for a pre-mixed pre-workout drink. Many of these drinks use the same or similar ingredients, Primeval did a good job with the ingredients and the dosing.

Effectiveness

You need to take RTDs with a grain of salt. What we mean by that is we will always take a powder (a well formulated and dosed powder) over a RTD. You just get more bang for your buck and overall a better experience. However, if you get to the gym and realized you forgot your pre-workout, this happens to be a good option.

The main area of performance here is energy. After consuming the full 12.5oz drink, you feel the caffeine kick-in within 10-15 minutes. The nice part about using multiple forms of caffeine is you don’t fade quickly after the initial surge of energy. The use of Di-Caffeine Malate is smart in that is allows your energy levels to sustain a high level for quite some time. The addition of TeaCrine aids in that too.

Pumps are OK. Mind you, you only gave one pump inducing ingredient, but it is s a proven one at a great dosage. We want about 3-5g of Citrulline, we get a full 6g. I would still take this with a pump to get the biggest pump possible, but you will still get a pump just by using this alone.

Endurance is there as well. The energy is nice and smooth, and the addition of Taurine and Beta-Alanine aids in this department.

The one area missing is focus. Granted, TeaCrine with Caffeine does improve focus, but something like NALT or Alpha-GPC would be sweet, however we also know it is hard to use those ingredients inside a pre-mixed drink.

Overall, solid for a pre-made beverage designed to improve your gym session.

Taste

Sunrise Splash: (8.5/10)
Strawberry Mango: (9.1/10)
Gummy Bear: (8.7/10)

It is important that RTDs have good flavors. At the end of the day, consumers are going to pick one out of the cooler based on flavor – more so than dosing (look at Bang). Our personal favorite was Strawberry Mango followed by Gummy Bear. All three we tried were good. The flavoring system isn’t going to knock your socks off, but when consumed cold they are refreshing and flavorful enough. The nice part about RTDs is you don’t get that powder residue that may impact your taste. Since these are well mixed you just get to enjoy the flavoring.

Value

We won’t like, the sticker shock of this will make you piss your pants. These retail, at full price, for $39.99 for 12. When you compare this to a pre-workout powder, you typically get get a powder for $39.99 for a 20/25/30 serving depending on the supplement facts panel. One thing to keep in mind is you are paying for convenience. With that said, we cannot image a lot of people are buying a case for themselves, but a lot of gyms will buy to stock. If you can get one of these at your gym for $2.99 each you are doing pretty well all things considered.

Now if you do want to buy a case of this, don’t pay the sticker price. If you use the code INFORMANT it will knock off 35% making this only $26 for 12-bottles. This is a good deal. You will see this reflected in the score of this. If it was just $39.99 and no discount it would be more in the 7s, but with the 35% off code, combined with our full review, a 9/10 is a great score.