Cheaper alternatives to Balance Ultra Ripped Protein Blend

[ffsjamie]

Hello,

New here... been reading through the threads about price point of Balance products and how they are a little on the pricey side.

Im a fan of the Balance Ultra Ripped formula (not so much the name) and I am getting great results using it, but am keen to look at alternatives that are cheaper yet the same quality. 

 

Any ideas?

 

J.

[rede frisby]

Depends a little on your goals but over the years I've had pretty good results using Horleys Awesome Mass.

Just recently I have switched to this https://www.nzprotein.co.nz/  because I can get a larger amount relative to it being a reasonable price.

[ratz99]

Why Balance? Balance isn't even a terribly good brand LOL. 

Just use Nutratech Nutrawhey. Its pretty much one of the cheapest you can get, and the nutrition profile is great. You can get a 5lb bag for 64 bucks atm, and even more if you use the code for this month on bodybuilding.co.nz which is NOV16 i think. 

http://www.bodybuilding.co.nz/nutrawhey-whey-protein.html

I've been using this for ages and its great. I know several others who use it too.

[eLm0]

40 minutes ago, ratz99 said:

Why Balance? Balance isn't even a terribly good brand LOL. 
 

 

 

Why do you say that? Balance is the best brand on the planet.

We use the best quality ingredients and have a state of the art manufacturing facility.

 

It makes a big difference.

 

Disclaimer: I work for balance 

[ffsjamie]

Thanks Ratz, Nutratech seems along the same lines will give that a go next order since its half the price. 

 

[jimmybro1]

3 hours ago, eLm0 said:

 

Why do you say that? Balance is the best brand on the planet.

We use the best quality ingredients and have a state of the art manufacturing facility.

 

It makes a big difference.

 

Disclaimer: I work for balance 

People would rather be ignorant and purchase the cheapest product and assume its quality is good, rather than spend the money on a product that is known to be good. 

[ratz99]

It's certainly not the best brand on the planet mate, not saying its crap, but for that price, f*ck that. I doubt balance protein is that much better that it justifies me purchasing it over another NZ company such as nutratech for example.

Also, I bet every manufacturer uses "the best quality ingredients" and has a "state of the art manufacturing  facility". 

It's not just about getting the cheapest jimmybro, there is cheaper than nutratech out there I can assure you. Have you heard of value for money?

[Realtalk]

Nutra whey a good cheap alternative.

[eLm0]

But it pays to consider that you are not comparing apples to apples here.

 

You are comparing a formula that is whey protein concentrate + flavour/colour... 

...against a formula that is whey protein isolate + whey protein concentrate (so contains high levels of essential whey protein fractions including Glycomacropeptides, Lactalbumen  and Lactoglobulin)  + protease/digestive enzymes bromelain and papain + added arginine + added glutamine.

 

Like everything in the world you get what you pay for...

[eLm0]

That is standard Balance whey. This is ultra ripped:

 

 

[ratz99]

15 minutes ago, eLm0 said:

But it pays to consider that you are not comparing apples to apples here.

 

You are comparing a formula that is whey protein concentrate + flavour/colour... 

...against a formula that is whey protein isolate + whey protein concentrate (so contains high levels of essential whey protein fractions including Glycomacropeptides, Lactalbumen  and Lactoglobulin)  + protease/digestive enzymes bromelain and papain + added arginine + added glutamine.

 

Like everything in the world you get what you pay for...

Fair enough man, but tell me, are you getting any REAL benefits from that? I'll keep using nutra while spending less and essentially getting the same end goal (gains). Not to sound cuntey or anything bro but at the end of the day those things don't really justify me spending double the amount. Just my perspective.

Not directly relevant to the essential protein fractions you mentioned, but the levels of some elements in that ultra ripped protein are so small that they barely make a difference anyway? Might be wrong here though.

[jimmybro1]

2 hours ago, ratz99 said:

It's certainly not the best brand on the planet mate, not saying its crap, but for that price, f*ck that. I doubt balance protein is that much better that it justifies me purchasing it over another NZ company such as nutratech for example.

Also, I bet every manufacturer uses "the best quality ingredients" and has a "state of the art manufacturing  facility". 

It's not just about getting the cheapest jimmybro, there is cheaper than nutratech out there I can assure you. Have you heard of value for money?

Fair enough whey is more or less whey especially if manufactured in New Zealand using WPC80 or WPI.

 

Nutratech seems like an reasonable product I took it for years, but due to lactose issues looked at alternatives and balance was the product that seemed to not give the digestion issues (added enzymes I think). Also I could get a 3kg tub of WPC for 115NZD so comparable to the 75NZD that 2.28kg of Nutratech costs.  

 

At this moment in time I am using WPC80 straight off the shaking bed..  

 

On another topic anyone know if purchasing sheep milk protein is possible in New Zealand ? A few sheep milk infant formula, and cheese plants are kicking around in New Zealand curious where all the whey is going... 

 

[eLm0]

47 minutes ago, ratz99 said:

Not directly relevant to the essential protein fractions you mentioned, but the levels of some elements in that ultra ripped protein are so small that they barely make a difference anyway? Might be wrong here though.

1

 

The levels are like that to allow people to have up to 3 serves a day without exceeding max limits. Things like carnitine can help fat metabolism and hydroxycitric acid can  help control satiety. Heaps of goodies in there if you are trying to get lean which is why it is a premium formula.

 

There is more than one way to achieve a goal be it WPC/WPI/ultra ripped/sheep protein/Casein/human breast milk... In a world of supplement abundance, the choice is yours depending on your goal 

 

[I'm currently using Balance plant protein]

 

 

[ratz99]

Now this the part where you hook us up with discounted Balance whey bro  haha kidding.

[Realtalk]

Why don't Balance supply any super rugby teams now and why don't High Performance Sport New Zealand use Balance anymore?

[eLm0]

9 hours ago, Realtalk said:

Why don't Balance supply any super rugby teams now and why don't High Performance Sport New Zealand use Balance anymore?

 

 

We do supply many top teams (like really good teams), but some aren't officially sponsored - they just use the products. It is expensive to do so and we rather focus on things like R&D

Plus Musashi sponsor heaps of good teams/athletes too

 

Not sure about HPSNZ, probably because we have a handful of products that aren't WADA approved. E.g. Colostrum in our Mass Gainer

[ratz99]

Will switch to balance if they include some delicious dbol and winstrol in their recipes 

[PETN]

21 hours ago, jimmybro1 said:

People would rather be ignorant and purchase the cheapest product and assume its quality is good, rather than spend the money on a product that is known to be good. 

 

Balance is hugely overpriced for what it is

[PETN]

19 hours ago, eLm0 said:

But it pays to consider that you are not comparing apples to apples here.

 

You are comparing a formula that is whey protein concentrate + flavour/colour... 

...against a formula that is whey protein isolate + whey protein concentrate (so contains high levels of essential whey protein fractions including Glycomacropeptides, Lactalbumen  and Lactoglobulin)  + protease/digestive enzymes bromelain and papain + added arginine + added glutamine.

 

Like everything in the world you get what you pay for...

 

I've bought NZ isolate for $20-25/kg for unflavored stuff. Balance either must not have much isolate in it or has heaps of filler. From memory it's around 80% protein, which is the protein content of WPC.

 

I agree it's a good protein, better than most of the shit out there that idiots buy that is spiked etc, but it's a huge rip off compared to some of the cheaper quality options available.

[eLm0]

1 hour ago, PETN said:

 

I've bought NZ isolate for $20-25/kg for unflavored stuff. Balance either must not have much isolate in it or has heaps of filler. From memory it's around 80% protein, which is the protein content of WPC.

 

I agree it's a good protein, better than most of the shit out there that idiots buy that is spiked etc, but it's a huge rip off compared to some of the cheaper quality options available.

 

 

I'm just a chemist so don't pay too much attention to pricing etc.But you guys are making it sound like Balance is the price of diamonds haha.... The difference per serve is a matter of cents. 

You can't compare a formulation to purchasing the straight raw material. Balance is not just straight WPI or WPC as mentioned. We don't count added amino acids like glutamine and arginine toward the total protein content.

 

Buy a tub, and compare it to anything on the planet. See what you prefer 

[eLm0]

This is from an NZ supp site today:

Balance 53 serve vs Optimum 50. You do the math 

[PETN]

10 hours ago, eLm0 said:

 

I'm just a chemist so don't pay too much attention to pricing etc.But you guys are making it sound like Balance is the price of diamonds haha.... The difference per serve is a matter of cents. 

You can't compare a formulation to purchasing the straight raw material. Balance is not just straight WPI or WPC as mentioned. We don't count added amino acids like glutamine and arginine toward the total protein content.

 

Buy a tub, and compare it to anything on the planet. See what you prefer 

 

I have bought it before several times hence agreeing that the product itself seems good if price isn't factored in.

 

If I'm using protein powder then I would be having a minimum of 6 'servings' per day  because I usually only buy it for situations where I don't have access to enough protein from foods (e.g. remote work with shit food, or travel with no cooking facilities) or where I plan on using it as my main protein source because I can't be fucked cooking for a few weeks.

 

If I'm going through up to 2kg per week then price does concern me. While I could easily afford it I would rather invest my money elsewhere and use a cheaper equally functional alternative. The protein is just a means to an end for me.

 

I've found if you start wasting money on a few little 'nice' overpriced things pretty soon you're doing it for everything and then a couple months down the track the last of the money that you should be saving is in your hand rolled up and you are using it to do lines of speed off some whores tits at some overpriced shitty hotel near a casino and you don't even lift and wish that you'd just stuck with unflavored WPI.

[M4matty]

i will buy a balance and drink to me look alike the man from movie arnold>yes yes?

Arnold

[hamdanz]

I used to buy the 3 kg tubs of balance when it was $100 or maybe even a little less at the protein shop in Hamilton. Competitors complained, and the distributor made him put up the price.

 

Never purchased again, and agree that its ridiculously overpriced.  That's why it's consumption from people that actually lift is close to zero, and it's target market is ignorant middle aged women who shop at Health 2000 and shit.

 

Adding super small amounts of vitamins and minerals, carnitine and green tea extract doesn't justify the extra $50 price tag, especially when most of your target market is already using a multi.  There are much cheaper alternatives with digestive enzymes, for the small portion of the population who actually benefits.

 

Plus using gold standard as the comparison is silly, because it's also stupidly overpriced.

 

cheap nz products are the go, because you know there's no fancy marketing and filler.  But also products such as phd whey which has a really good profile, and often comes in sale for like 125 for 10 pounds which is really decent.  Basically twice the amount you get for the same price as balance, with a comparable formula.

[pkgr33n]

Stick to Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey. Protein is Protein, all that extra 'ripped' stuff is all crap marketing tbh. 

 

Like 70 odd serves and costs $80-90 (sale price, and this happens a lot on those daily deal websites eg nowhey, and even big supp stores like nzmuscle, xtremenutrition etc have them on sale from time to time. Stock up a few tubs then on sale.