I’m a heavy sweater and, even though I have a high tolerance for the cold, I sweat in the winter especially when there is work to be done. During the summer of 2018 I ran into them at the NATA convention in New Orleans and they were incredibly gracious in providing me with a terrific supply of Krampade to try out. Since June of 2018, I’ve been using the product to test out, and as of May 2019 I’ve learned a few things.
I started out with “pre-loading” in the morning with the 2K in a 20 oz water bottle before work and maintained my normal levels of hydration through the day (we do 24 hour shifts). In July and August temperatures can easily reach 100 degrees and it wasn’t working for me. I would still cramp after a fire, training, or being out doing other tasks throughout the day. I started doubling that for the morning (4K). After a heavy work load, high temperatures, and a lot of sweaty clothing changes, I would still come back and follow up with a 2K.
I noticed a difference almost right away. While I was still cramping, they were not as severe and seemed to dissipate faster with a follow up of the 2K but I was still cramping for hours after and would actually consume the 2K a few more times.
Then I changed again to a 4K in the morning and a 4K when returning from a heavy work load. The occurrence of cramping after heavy work days dropped almost 90%. On really bad dog days of summer and extensive work loads I would still cramp up after returning to the station. Consuming a 4K once the cramping started would stop the cramping within 30-45 min.
Over the winter months I changed my consumption of Krampade to test it again. I went back to the 2K and during heavy work loads (which actually occur more in the winter) I would still cramp. I followed the exact same procedure I detailed above and achieved the exact same results even though I did not cramp up as much on a regular working basis during the winter months. With normal winter operations I was able to drink the morning amount of Krampade and not have any cramping or have the need to follow up with a second serving.
-Seth, Firefighter, Baltimore, MD