What is your opinion about the quality of the various 5 lb. whey products on the market? I like the taste of Next Nutrition’s Big Whey, and EAS’ Simply Whey was okay. Do these products match label claims? I understand it isn’t the best quality in the world, as it’s mostly whey concentrate, but it’s SO much cheaper, I’d be willing to sacrifice some quality as long as I knew I was at least getting the amount of protein stated on the label. I can get Big Whey for $23.00, which is about how much a 2 lb. can of Designer Whey costs.
This issue has been discussed a few times on the forum. The general concensus was that these 5 lb. deals aren’t worth it. The protein is low quality and rarely matches label claims. It’s just impossible for them to sell a quality product at that price. As for designer, there have been a lot of concerns about their product these days. Not the quality product it once was.
i think the old adage “you get what you pay for” rings very true where the 5lb buckets are concerned. its a lot cheaper for a reason.
right on…that stuff is crap. Get most of your protein from whole food. No one wants to eat anymore. Get a good quality casein/whey (Grow, MetRX) and SUPPLEMENT your diet with it. You should be supplementing less than 35% of your diet with protein.
How do you guys know there are quality problems with Designer? With all the consumer watchdogs out their nowadays, I doubt that any of the big name companies can afford to cut corners. They simply have too much to lose if they are exposed. Next Proteins pretty much ONLY makes protein, so if they are cutting their products and are later exposed, they would be devastated. Small, fly by night companies CAN and probably do cut corners simply because they have nothing to lose and there are too many of them to moniter them all. If they are discovered, they just close up shop and start under another name. Designer is one of the top selling proteins so they obviously are very high profile. I seriously doubt they would take such a foolish risk. The 5 lb. prices are lower simply because you are buying in relative volume. The greater quantity of something you buy, the cheaper it is (in general). For example, Biotest offers buy two get one free because you are buying more at once.
I have to agree with the Prodigal Son on this one. There’s been word going around on the forum that Designer no longer produce a quality product, but there was never mention of any lab assay that supported these claims. On the contrary, I’ve seen the results of many lab assays on Desinger and they all suggest high quality. Granted, I haven’t seen any lab results in about 2 years, but it doesn’t help anyone to slam a proven good company without giving any solid evidence. For all of those who have slammed Designer on this forum, how about you provide some good evidence that I’m wrong?
Ive been using Optimum Nutriton 5 lb whey for 2 years. Its really easy to mix, tastes good, and is pretty cheap. It is worth more than what people pay for it. Its only like 27 bucks for 5 lbs and Ihavent had any problems gaining weight as far as extra protein consumption is concerned. You guys really shouldnt knock all 5 lb wheys if you havent tried all of them.
I too agree with Dan and Prodigal Son… I’ve actually called Next Nutrition to incquire about the differences between their Big Whey product and plain ole Designer Protein. The lady on the phone (i don’t know how knowledgeable she was) told me the 5lb product doesn’t have all the added features that designer does, like enhanced amino acid profiles, extra glutamine, certain nutrients/vitamins that help absorption, not as many peptides, etc… That combined with the “buying in bulk” thing makes them able to sell the product at such a low price. I would say it’s probably not worth buying a supplemental protein powder unless it’s a good combo of casein and whey with added glutamine regardless of how much you pay for it.
Doug, thank you for informing us of what the rep at Next had told you. I personally think that all the extras like vitamins/minerals, token amouunts of extra aminos, etc., are for the most part a waste of money. What do you guys think?
I’ve used Optimum Nutrition, although there have rumors of the product being insufficient to label claims. Of course, the company rebuts this with lab tests from independent companies, which leaves the conflict somewhat settled, but the rumors persist. So what I do is buy OptiNut for cheap whey with BCAA’s in it, and combine it with Grow for the flavor, casein, and texture I prefer. That gives me Grow’s flavor and ebnefits, with OptiNut’s less expensive 21 grams of whey per scoop. Grow is still the best I’ve come across, but I’m also on a tight budget.