Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Thursday, August 12, 2021

Product Review: Cirkul Water Bottle and Flavored Sips

Cirkul is an innovative water bottle that can replace flavored water and things like Crystal Light or Kool-Aid on the go packets. It is a water bottle that has a lid essentially with a hole in it. A flavored "sip", which is a cylindrical cartridge that screws into the hole in the lid, and when assembled forms the cap. The cap is a "straw-like" structure that you drink through. You have to tip the bottle like a regular water bottle and at the same time suck through the cap to get the flavor in the sip to mix with the water. Here is a picture of the bottle with a sip inserted into the cap.

There are a few advantages over something like Crystal Light on the go packs. First, you do not have to use disposable plastic bottles, so it cuts way down on waste. Second, the flavoring from the sip does not go into the water bottle. At least not in large amounts, You suck the water through the cap to get the flavor out, so the bottle does not get slimy and scuzzy. And, anyone who has ever used the crystal light on the go packs in a permanent water bottle knows you have to clean them after almost every use to keep them clean. And, probably the biggest advantage is that you can use the dial on the sip to control how much flavoring you get. If you want straight water and no flavoring you turn it to what is essentially zero, and if you want the max flavor you turn it to 9. I have so far only tried the peach-mango flavored sip, and using a setting of three for the amount of flavor is perfect for me. And, I find that setting makes the water taste pretty comparable to the crystal light peach mango packets. Depending on what setting you have it on, you get approximately 132 ounces of water (or six fill-ups of the bottle) per sip. 

Cirkul has various options for trying its products. You can build your own bundle with a bottle, the cap, and however many sips you want. You can also subscribe to a monthly program that allows you to have whatever sips you want to be sent to you monthly. I made my own bundle choosing about 10 sips (they have over 40 flavors) and a chill sleeve (a sleeve that you can put on the bottle to keep it from "sweating" as much if you put ice in the bottle and keep it cold longer). It cost about $65 for the bundle. As you purchase more you save more (up to 25% off your order). You can also order extras like a lid without the bottle (the lids can fit on most regular water bottles) a sip keeper that will allow you to remove a sip and keep it fresh (otherwise you have to put it back in the package the sip comes in, which cannot really be resealed). The regular price for the sips is about $3.50, which is pretty comparable to the cost of a pack of 10 on-the-go packets of crystal light (a bit more expensive than the generic offshoots). You will get about 6 bottles of water per sip (give-or-take), so you definitely get more per serving from crystal light, but each of the crystal light packets has about 15 empty calories and if you drink 2-3 per day (or more) that can add up. Whereas the sip flavoring has no calories so you are basically drinking straight water. Plus, if you use the lower setting for the flavor, you will probably get more like 7 or 8 bottles. 

I plan to get another bundle so I can get a second lid and the sip keeper and then will very likely subscribe to the monthly plan once I figure out which sips I really like. So, if you want to get yourself off of soda, and/or still want to have flavored water without wasting plastic bottles, this is a very good option. I definitely recommend it. You can purchase the bottle and sips at the following site: https://drinkcirkul.com/




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