I use HEED as a on-the-bike hydration supplement. Over the past 30 years or so I have occasionally tried other products, the new stuff on offer. But I always return to HEED. I've tried all the flavors but the lemon-lime or Mandarin orange are the two I favor.
Used the whole jar because I'm cheap and won't waste it but Hammer HEED is inferior as electrolyte replacement to Skratch or Osmo - not enough sodium or potassium. Then there is the maltodextrin, which is a cheap artificially-created energy source (usually processed from GMO corn) that has a couple serious downsides a high glycemic index that makes blood sugar regulation harder and a lot of people have a negative GI reaction to it which involves gas, bloating and diarrhea. That reaction, and the low electrolyte levels, are why I no longer use it.
I've been a huge fan of Hammer products, Hammer gel, Recovrerite, and the Enduralytes Fizz. Maybe it was just this melon flavor, but I found myself not wanting to drink the HEED. Instead, I wanted to gag.
In my opinion, Hammer really messed up here.
I will continue to use the Hammer gel in Raspberry and espresso, but I will stay away from HEED.
I use this with hammer perpetuem for long rides, and by itself for shorter rides. I'm generally not good at eating at regular intervals and this helps me to keep from bonking.
It tastes okay. Not bad, but not great. After a while I do want some plain water.
I tried several brands (EFS, Ironman, Cytomax) but I'll be sticking with Heed. I do mostly longer rides so consequently I end up going through at least 58 oz. of this stuff when temperature is moderate. Other drinks taste overpowering and syrupy but Heed is light and unobtrusive so I can drink more of it. I also only use 1 to 1.5 scoops per 24 oz of water. It seems to hydrate me well on long rides. I have not tried all the flavors but I like the strawberry so far.