Overall Score
- Effectiveness 60%
- Flavor 75%
- Ingredients 100%
Key Takeaways
Supports Everyday Hydration Needs
Best used for recovery days or low-output activities; can be taken any time of the day.
Light and Refreshing
A must have product for those who already enjoy the flavor of coconut water.
All Natural Ingredients
Contains Aquamin, a natural mineral complex that includes trace levels of calcium, sodium, magnesium and iron.
Low Calorie
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Overview
Even though Laird doesn’t fit the mold of a “performance” electrolyte, it earned every bit of the high score on our rating scale. We found that Laird is a bit different –in the right kinds of ways– from the other electrolyte products we’ve tested at HydrationReview. Laird doesn’t claim to be an energy booster during, an endurance improver, a hangover aide or an immune booster. Instead, Laird simply markets their product as a good tasting, natural hydration aid that can be used in the most casual situations. We appreciated it for this exact use cases and think it deserves a spot in everyone’s pantry.
If you landed here because you were searching for a performance electrolyte drink, don’t be turned away by Laird’s Effectiveness score. Per our grading scale, reviewers didn’t find the product to have a noticeable effect, though this didn’t mean they disliked it. In fact, even some of our most physically active reviewers gave this product high praise for its impact of their recovery days. One of them said it best: “If you want an all-natural and good tasting hydration supplement that will encourage you to drink more water, this is a product worth trying.” What’s the harm in trying such a product?
Laird is a lightweight and refreshing hydration mix that can be used any time of day, regardless of the activity.
Like all the other electrolytes we’ve reviewed, our review team tested Laird Hydrate across a variety of activities including pre morning jogs, during an at-home workout class and post long day at the office. The main takeaway is that Laird is lightweight by design; it will improve hydration levels, though you shouldn’t expect it to help you PR on your 5k. While it may not be the best choice for a mid-workout drink, our team found it was the perfect formula for recovery and relaxing afternoons.
Finally, for those readers who are already fans of coconut water, you should definitely give Laird a try. You’ll get a very close taste for under half the price of buying bottled coconut water at the supermarket.
Effectiveness
Our review team found Laird Hydrate provided only a moderate increase in physical performance when taken before activities. This result makes sense considering the list of ingredients. Laird is light on the electrolytes and includes only a few trace minerals. Sure, it’s better than plain water, but besides the 8g of naturally added sugar, there’s not much here to power your body.
“I’ve tried a few brands of coconut water in the past and I felt that Laird Hydrate provided a similar effect. A little bit of sugar will always help get me going but I didn’t get the salt contents that I often crave during hard workouts… I actually enjoyed it the most when I took it first thing in the morning on a recovery day. I’ll probably buy a pack to have around my house for that specific reason.”
Some reviewers felt they were more alert when drinking Laird as compared to water. One of our reviewers (who enjoys the flavor of coconut water), was able to drink an extra few glasses of water each day when using Laird and strongly felt that the increased hydration boosted her mental focus during working hours. Could drinking plain water have resulted in the same effect? Results will vary from person to person, but in this case, the reviewer attributed her improved state of focus to Laird’s lightweight list of ingredients.
“I really do think the subtle boost of hydration helped me lock in on my work. Pius, I liked the taste which helped me drink more water… I also noticed that Laird Hydrate is much cheaper than purchasing bottled coconut water.”
Does it help with hangovers? The reviews were mixed as to whether or not Laird Hydrate improved hangover symptoms. Some team members didn’t feel much of an improvement and attributed this to the low sodium content. Others felt they probably drank more water than they would have without the flavor of Laird and counted this as a win.
Flavor
If you like the taste of coconut water, this product is perfect for you. We tried the Original and Orange Guava flavors during testing and found they both tasted pretty good with the slight edge going to the Orange Guava.
Overall, the HydrationReview team was impressed with how similar Laird Hydrate tasted compared to bottled coconut water brands. For a powdered drink, this is pretty close to the real deal! The freeze dried coconut rehydrates well and make for a fruity, refreshing drink. Just be sure to mix this up with some already cold water.
One final thing we wanted to call out is the presence of small bits of what we presume are coconut flakes. They’re quite small; about the size of a toothpick end, however, they are noticeable when drinking. For what it’s worth, this wasn’t a source of complaints from our reviewers and is something that you’ll find in some brands of bottled coconut water.
Laird Hydrate with matcha is a great option as a natural pre-workout hydration booster.
Ingredients
The most notable ingredients are the 10g of carbs and 8g of sugar that might give you a small physical boost. Outside of that, Laird Hydrate contains trace amounts of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and iron. Most of these elements are probably from the Aquamin, which is described as “a calcified marine algae sourced from the North Atlantic containing 72 trace minerals.” Laird proudly describes all ingredients as natural and you won’t find any unwanted artificial additives.
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Go Deeper
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