While some runners try to increase athletic performance by turning to taurine-based energy drinks, many others boost their performance and focus using smelling salts.
Several smelling salts boast potency, but how do you know which is best for you?
The best smelling salt for running is the AmmoniaSports Athletic Smelling Salts Aqua. It boasts 100 uses and comes in a handy bottle that makes it easy to sniff. The smelling salts smell quite intense, so avoid holding them too close to your nose. They also come pre-activated and thus require no mixing.
Overall Best Smelling Salts for Running:
AmmoniaSports Athletic Smelling Salts Aqua -Twist and Sniff
AmmoniaSports Athletic Smelling Salts (the Aqua – Twist and Sniff variant) comes as a pre-activated gel in a black bottle weighing 1.07 oz (31.6 ml). The Aqua variant is more intense than the other two – Raw and Squeeze, as it is not intended for new users.
The AmmoniaSports Athletic Smelling Salts Aqua gives total value for money. It is fairly affordable, boasting up to a hundred uses per bottle. The smelling salts are ideal for runners who need a substantial boost for a sprint or even endurance races such as marathons.
Pros
- Preactivated: Since it comes pre-activated, this product removes the risk of you reducing its potency by adding too much water.
- Intense: It has a very intense smell that instantly jolts.
- Affordable: It is reasonably priced compared to other brands and one-time-use smelling salts packets.
- Instant action: Its instantaneous effect makes it ideal for strenuous activities that require a quick burst of energy, such as running.
- Money-back guarantee: As a testament to its superior quality, AmmoniaSports Athletic Smelling Salts manufacturers offer a 100% money-back guarantee if you’re dissatisfied with a purchase from their retail stores or registered outlets.
Cons
- Primarily meant for advanced users: These smelling salts are pretty strong-smelling and can be unsuitable for new users.
- Sealing: If inappropriately sealed, the smelling salts can readily lose their potency.
Most Potent:
Atomic Rhino Smelling Salts
Atomic Rhino Smelling Salts is a combined ammonium chloride and sodium carbonate formula. It takes just a tablespoon of water added to the cotton wool inside the container to activate the smelling salts. It has variants in increasing strengths, including Megaton and Red Line.
A bottle of these smelling salts is best held six inches away from the nose as it is quite powerful. And since the Atomic Rhino Smelling Salts sport an overwhelmingly intense smell, they are sure to wake up every one of your senses, gearing you up to speed across the track.
Pros
- Very strong: It sure can pass as one of the strongest, if not the strongest, brand of smelling salts for athletes on the market. The added menthol twist also gives an extra kick.
- Fast action: The intense formula makes the smelling salts super potent, and a mere whiff can get the most tired runner raring to go.
- Ease of use: It only takes a little water poured on the cotton ball in the bottle, and the product is ready for immediate use.
- Superior packaging: The eco-friendly packaging has a lid that screws on tightly, helping to prevent accidental leaks.
Cons
- Mostly for advanced users: Atomic Rhino Smelling Salts are very strong-smelling and can be unsuitable for new users. This product is also not recommended for use by people under twelve.
- Unactivated: The running salts don’t come pre-activated, so you risk over-wetting the salts during preparation.
Most Long-Lasting:
Nose Tork Smelling Salts
Nose Tork Smelling Salts are rather popular due to their long-lasting effects, which come in handy for mid and long-distance runners. The smelling salts now come in a revamped black bottle weighing about 1.76 ounces (52 ml).
This product could serve up to 100 uses, which is excellent value for athletes who use it frequently. What’s more, it can last up to three months when sealed off properly after each use.
Pros
- Handy: Nose Tork Smelling Salts come in a small bottle, making it easy to use them while in motion.
- Long-lasting: Their effects last for long after usage. Furthermore, with proper storage and maintenance, the product’s potency can last for up to three months after opening.
- Potent: Nose Tork is sure to give you the extra boost you need, as it is super strong. One sniff, and the world is your track!
- Secure seal: The new bottle is much stronger and gives you a stronger grip on the lid for effortless and safer use. It’s so secure that it doesn’t require an inner seal. Now, runners can speedily open the bottle and use the contents.
- Unactivated: Nose Tork is sold as a liquid and does not need activation during the first or subsequent uses.
Cons
- Advanced strength: Nose Tork can appear too intense for a beginner. Its primary component is ammonia, so while the bottle may look small, the contents are relatively strong.
- Small volume: It has a small volume compared to other brands in the same price range. As such, any runner seeking to maximize value for money without scrimping on quality may have to find alternatives.
Most Handy:
Ward Smelling Salts – Asylum Refillable
Ward Smelling Salts is a quality product designed for advanced athletes who want to give their performance a whole new boost. Its slim, sleek size makes it super easy to carry around.
The variant with the refillable container makes Ward Smelling Salts an instant favorite among runners, lifters, and hockey players, among others. These athletes cannot afford to lose track of the location of their smelling salts containers.
Pros
- Refillable: Ward Smelling Salts – Asylum comes with a stainless steel bottle that allows you to use it repeatedly. You only need to replace the salts with refill packs.
- Durable container: The stainless steel container that Ward Smelling Salts comes packaged in offers a more reliable and durable receptacle for the smelling salts. The container locks the potency in to be released only at your behest, so it delivers that super-boost Ward Smelling Salts – Asylum is famous for.
- Secure seal: With Ward Smelling Salts, runners have no need to worry about their smelling salts evaporating or losing potency as the seal screws pretty tight.
- Eco-friendly packaging: The product comes in recyclable glass jars – for the non-refillable pack.
- Anti-nausea: Like other reputable smelling salts, these work well to eliminate nausea and combat fainting and lightheadedness.
- Potency protected: This product is sold unactivated, so you don’t have to worry about it losing its potency. All you have to do is activate it yourself by adding a tablespoon of water.
Cons
- Expensive: The refillable Ward Smelling Salts brand is on the pricey side compared to other brands of smelling salts favored by runners and athletes.
Most Affordable:
Zenith Wicked Strong Smelling Salts
Zenith Wicked Strong Smelling Salts is a quality product as potent as some of the best brands on the market. Runners on a budget will find Zenith to be an excellent choice as it costs way less than other brands.
For activation, it only needs a little water on the cotton ball that comes stuffed in the small white bottle. It should work just fine upon activation, but if the strength dwindles due to drying out, you can simply add more water and, voila, get the kick you seek.
The cost of Zenith Wicked Smelling Salts may be relatively small, but the product’s potency sure isn’t. That’s why the product label says to hold these smelling salts a good 6 inches (15.24cm) away from your nose.
Pros
- Affordable: Zenith beats many other brands of smelling salts when it comes to affordability. In regards to performance-boosting products like this, pricier might not always mean better. So, if you are trying to avoid splurging on the more expensive options, Zenith is a pretty safe bet as it assures you of quality without breaking the bank.
- Potency: Zenith boasts as much potency as other brands and provides the much-needed bolt of intensity that every runner needs to hit that finish line. It comes in unactivated, which eliminates the possibility of it arriving as a weak or, worse, dead product.
- Ease of use: Zenith smelling salts only require a tablespoon of water to activate the cotton partition in the bottle, followed by a sniff, and you’re good to go.
Cons
- Consumer-activated: Zenith smelling salts have to be activated by you, the consumer. Like other consumer-activated brands, it runs the risk of getting over-wet, thus losing its potency.
- Not long-lasting: This product is not designed to have a very long shelf life after opening. Even with the same maintenance, it will likely not last as long as other brands.
Final Thoughts
With so many smelling salts on the market, you might want to consider the pricing, availability, and potency when picking out a brand best suited for running. These were the factors considered when compiling this list of best-smelling salts for running.
Photo altered by dejittr.com | Photo attribution: Steven Lelham
