Purple K Reviews (Fusion)

In the world of creatine there are actually many different forms. While creatine monohydrate is the most studied, creatine HCL and creatine ethyl esters are sold by various companies suggesting benefits over good old creatine monohydrate. But are the claims justified?

The reason behind these newer versions is probably simply because mono now tends to be very cheap – 1kg of monohydrate comes out usually around $30. That is 200 servings for $30. Value that’s hard to beat at 15c a serve.

From the fusion website:

“Kre-Alkalyn is a patented ingredient. It is created through the manipulation of creatine monohydrate whereby preventing it’s conversion to toxic creatinine (kree-AT-ah-neen). The method includes mixing an alkaline powder with a powdered creatine until the pH of the mixture is in the range between 7 and 14. As this process is patented, all other creatines will convert to toxic creatinine.”

What this means is normal monohydrate when left in water too long will turn into a byproduct of creatine – i.e. creatinine. This is just waste and while not toxic, it won’t be absorbed and instead will pass right through the body. Purple K is a buffered creatine monohydrate and while they were not the first one to use Kre-Alkalyn, the Fusion Bodybuilding brand is one that is well known and respected.

They claim that mono in water with a ph of 7, with the creatine also at ph7, will make the creatine unstable and change into creatinine. To get rid of that problem Kre-Alkalyn is mono that is buffered at ph14 (Base) so when it enters your stomach it gets absorbed faster with no waste, therefore requiring a smaller dose than mono. Two pills of Purple K will give you 1500mg of buffered creatine mono. This dose is much smaller than the 5g standard.

My personal thoughts: The dose is fairly low, but the idea of Kre-alkalyn is a reasonable one – less waste, less bloat, smaller dose. In practice I’m not entirely sold and more research should be done on this subject. While it will remain to be seen if this is better than mono or worse, what I’m hoping for is close to the same results for both of them.

Dosage

The instructions say to take 1-2 pills pre-workout, and 1-2 post-workout on workout days. And 1-2 pills each day for non-workout days. This means my bottle should last anywhere between 32-65 days.

Results

While I cannot say that taking this creatine has caused me any abnormal gains, I can say that it does work. I usually only take 2 pills per day along with my pre-workout supplement that contains a little bit of creatine aswell. I have not experienced any bloat and the pills are easy to swallow. I like the simplicity of taking pills vs. a powder right after the workout as I like to have a post-workout protein shake. Having creatine powder with liquid would be a lot of liquid to drink. My strength did go up while using Purple K, in all areas, but I cannot attribute all the gains directly from the creatine use.

Value

Purple K is expensive, no doubt about that. The normal price is close to $40 for 100 pills. I was able to obtain mine on sale for $30 for 130 pills (special size for retailer). At $40 for 100 pills I would have to say to stay away, and just buy a tub of creatine monohydrate that will last 200 servings. At most Purple K will give you 50 days, but you’ll likely be underdosed with that amount, so this is expensive. If cost is a concern then I cannot really recommend this product, even though it works well. If money is no object, by all means jump on it.

(Note: there are cheaper Kre-Alkalyn based products out there, Fusion is a premium brand and tends to charge more for that)