Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydrowhey Protein Powder, 100% Hydrolyzed Whey Isolate Powder, Flavor: Velocity Vanilla, 3.5 Pounds (Packaging May Vary)

Normally I sit on the sideline and just read reviews but it bothers me when people give misinformed reviews possibly swaying people away from a perfectly good product. First of all this isnt your run of the mill protein powder. This product contains hydrolyzed whey protein which your body metabolizes much better than other forms of whey, especially whey concentrate (check the labels of most protein powders and see what the first protein listed is, its probably concentrate). Concentrate is easy to produce and is one of the least efficient forms of whey. Its not that it doesnt work but an awful lot of it get converted into waste. Also, since hydrolyzed whey is metabolized better an added benefit is that it is easier on your stomach (protein shakes dont always agree with everyone). The reason hydrolyzed whey is more expensive is because the refining process is much more involved and the yield is much less at the end of the process. The biggest negative to hydrolyzed whey is the taste. Hydrolyzed proteins typically are very bitter. The ON Platinum Whey tastes phenomenal for a hydrolyzed whey product. If all you want is a great tasting milk shake and dont care about the quality of protein then look elsewhere. This brings me to my biggest gripe with a lot of reviewers. Please stop comparing apples and oranges. Yes it is more expensive than ON Gold Whey but for the reasons I mentioned above there are additional costs in manufacturing and as a result there are added benefits to the consumer. 1 gram of whey concentrate is not equal to 1 gram of hydrolyzed whey. So stop comparing it to the Whey gold gram for gram. Its not just marketing hype, they market it as platinum because it is a better product. Ive been using this product for over a year and Ive tried a plethora of other brands but this by far is the best tasting hydrolyzed whey formula in my experience. There might be more pure hydrolyzed whey out there but the bitterness is nauseating. This is a great product by a reputable company. It isnt magic and its not perfect, nothing is. Hydrolyzed whey isnt for everyone either. I agree with other reviewers, do your research. Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples, the nutrition info doesnt tell the whole story. Read the ingredients.

General: Extremely high quality protein. The price is absolutely justified. Know that most other protein powders out there are not made equal. Theyre mostly below this one in quality. A full scoop mixes very well with 6-8 ounces of water in my shaker bottle. Also mixes well with milk, not as good as water, but definitely still good. Try it in a blender for smoothest results! Flavors (that I have tried): Turbo Chocolate (TC) - great all around. Tastes just fine. To me, its not something that tastes so good that I couldnt wait to drink it, but it does not taste bad to any extent. Its kind of like water to me, I need it, I drink it, and done. Awesome. I give it an 8.5/10 on taste. Next, it mixes so well, sometimes the consistency of the shake was barely distinguishable from water. Its also very versatile! If you plan on adding multiple ingredients to your shake, chances are that TC will pair well. If youre trying the product out for the first time, get this one. Cookies and Cream Overdrive (CCO) - Ugh. No, just no. Dont get it. Protein quality is obviously the same, but just....no. Its especially bad as the first thing in the morning. I give it a 4.5/10. After having TC flavor, I decided to be a bit more adventurous. Got this one in the hopes that it would taste similar to Muscle Milks cookies and cream flavor and boy did it tank. Optimum Nutrition dropped the ball on CCO. Not only does it not taste good, but it doesnt mix as well as TC does. Multiple times Ive had some of the unmixed but wet powder lining the bottom edges of my shaker bottle. Had to dig it out with a spoon. Blasted waste. After my first serving, I dreaded that I had to wait at least a month to finish the stuff and go back to something better. I eventually got used to the taste, but please dont subject yourself to that kind of torture. Think I may just stick to Turbo Chocolate!

This stuff used to be around $60 each. The price is out of control these days. Almost over $100.

This stuff tastes great and has good absorbency

When I was setting up an Insanity workout schedule back in the late summer (which I had to leave off once allergy season started), I researched and bought a number of different health-shake related products. The short version of this review is that I tried ONs Platinum Hydro Whey first, as a supplement to the P90X formula; eventually ran out of it; tried the other things I bought; and am now giving them away to go back to this! Being somewhat lactose intolerant, I worried that a pure milk product would be a problem, but decided to risk it due to the hydrolyzed state. Perhaps because of that I never once had a problem with this product. (And I see some other reviewers didnt either, although some have in fact had stomach cramps, so apparently it depends on the personal biochemistry. Buyer be warned. UPDATED TO ADD: as of early September 2012, the product now contains a slight amount of lactose. Not enough to bother me, but could be problematic for other people.) I bought the vanilla version (also in other products) specifically for the purpose of adding some protein and now-missing vanilla flavor back to the new version of the P90X Recovery Formula drink. As many people here will be aware, this was a very popular drink in its original incarnation, largely due to its strong mixture of vanilla and orange flavors. The new version tastes more like Tang, but lacks the sugar and vanilla flavor to hide the vitamin/mineral aftertaste. ON Platinum Hydro Whey added that vanilla flavor back to the P90 mix; and also beefed up the protein to carb ratio. (The P90 has a lot more carbs than proteins.) To this I added a bit of real Tang. As other people have reported, the Hydro Whey mixes very easily and thoroughly (even moreso than the P90 mix, by the way, which is no slouch in this department!) On the other hand, I probably wouldnt try to drink this as a straight milk supplement or alone with water, as I doubt the taste, although very good, would be strong enough for me. On yet another hand, the taste has no mineralish bite or aftertaste to it (because there arent any added vitamins and minerals, duh!) Buyers should keep in mind the report of other reviewers, that ON is being rather misleading about the supposedly superior amount of protein compared to their normal Gold Standard whey products. Mathematically speaking, there is practically no difference. I cant testify to any other differences, although technically I suppose the hydrolyzed state should metabolize much faster (and maybe mixes better). On the other hand, some people dont actually want so quick a metabolization, and would rather have the material digest over time. I dont know enough to opine on the merits of either theory, but as someone who has trouble digesting milk products I appreciate any quicker digestion! Anyway, Im buying it again and getting rid of the other things I test-bought, as they dont mix as well or taste as good (although the latter is subjective and they do have advantages this doesnt. But of course Im mixing this with something that has those other advantages already, so...)

I drank one serving of this immediately after my workout. Felt half as sore as I usually do. Helped me noticeably recover faster.

Good price for a great protein powder that mixes very easily and tastes good

Literally Mixes up like water, so amazing don’t think I can go back to regular protein, like flavored water, if you don’t care for thick drinks hydro whey is the best 10/10

Tastes great, mixes well, but quitw pricey. THE SCOOP IS IN THE TUB JUST DIG FOR IT

I’ve been very happy with this powder and I’ve tried a lot over the years. I always use reduced fat milk when preparing this product so I don’t know how well it works with water. Flavor: has a malt-like chocolate flavor that seems like it’s going to have a nasty aftertaste but thankfully doesn’t. It doesn’t have that delicious MuscleMilk level of flavor but it’s also a lot more healthy. Overall it’s a good, easy-to-drink chocolate flavor that isn’t very sweet. Texture: mixes easily but a spoon will leave a few sticky clumps floating around. To be honest it mixes well enough that I’m willing to deal with the minor clumping to avoid having to clean a blender or shaker bottle. Not too thick which is a good thing. Performance: obviously an opinion, but I feel a bit less sore the next day than I otherwise would’ve been had I not drank this after my workout. It works. Price: it’s more expensive than normal whey powder but the increased cost is expected with hydrolyzed whey as it’s a premium product. There are more and less expensive products on the market but I think you will have to spend significantly more to get a marginally better quality product so it’s priced just right IMO. Besides this isn’t intended to be your all-purpose whey powder anyway. I will be purchasing another container when mine runs out.