Wilderness Athlete Altitude Advantage Review

As part of my preparation for my Colorado hunt this year, I wanted to do a few hikes at higher altitude.  Due to 'life' and whatever else, I only managed one hike above 9000 feet in elevation before my hunt.  That was during a family camping trip in June where we hiked to the Inner Basin of the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona.  The highest elevation we were at was only 9700 feet, but I remember feeling slightly nauseous and having a headache.  Looking back, I probably hadn't drank enough water, but this was on my mind as my Colorado deer hunting trip drew closer. 

In preparation for my Colorado archery deer hunt, I stopped by The Outdoorsmans in Phoenix to pick up some Wilderness Athlete drink mixes, both Hydrate and Recover, and Energy and Focus.  I've used both those products before and really like them.  I especially like the 'Superman' mix where you combine both Hydrate and Recover and Energy and Focus together.  

I asked about the Wilderness Athlete Altitude Advantage product while I was there.  I know a couple of people who have tried using Altitude Advantage before, and they didn't have anything negative to say about it.   Both of them felt like it had helped them acclimate to higher altitudes quicker.  In fact, my friend Chris who accompanied me to Colorado this year has used Altitude Advantage on all three of his Colorado trips thus far and doesn't have any complaints.  

I decided to try the Hy-Altitude Advantage Kit to help me avert any negative effects to the 12000 foot elevation I'd be encountering in Colorado.  Per the directions, I started taking 2 capsules once daily (in the morning) starting five days prior to my trip.  Once I arrived in Colorado, I increased the dosage to two capsules twice daily for the duration of my Colorado archery deer hunt.  

The Hy-Altitude Advantage Kit comes with the Altitude Advantage capsules (50 capsules) and 20 individual packets of Hydrate and Recover.  As I said before, I took the 'prescribed' dosage of capsules, and also consumed 1-2 packets of Hydrate and Recover per day.  The first couple of days, I drank a lot of water.  I know one day, I drank at least 200 oz of water as I drained my 100 oz bladder twice.  I feel it is very important to stay hydrated while at higher elevations, and luckily water was very abundant where we were at.  

While in Colorado, I never once felt nauseous like I have other times at higher elevations, and I only had a slight headache one day, but that was relieved once I put sunglasses on and drank a 'Superman' drink mix.  I feel like that slight headache was more due to caffeine withdrawal and possibly aggravated by the bright sun more than anything.   

While it is hard to determine exactly what effects the Altitude Advantage had in helping me adjust to altitude without doing a controlled experiment, it was enough for me that I avoided having 'typical' altitude related symptoms (that I've encountered in the past) to convince me that the next time I go up to higher elevations I'll be using Wilderness Athlete's Altitude Advantage products.  

I feel strongly that staying hydrated, eating enough calories, and getting enough rest play a big role in acclimatizing to higher altitude.  I can now also say that using WA Altitude Advantage helped me adjust to the higher altitude and avoid issues that might have affected my hunt.  

Disclaimer:

My reviews at Team Kendrick Outdoors are my honest opinion. Team Kendrick Outdoors is not sponsored by or associated with any of the companies in my reviews and is accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for reviews. The Wilderness Athlete Hy-Altitude Advantage product was provided solely for the purpose of this review.