What's in it
What's actually in Tailwind Endurance Fuel?
Tailwind is one of the best-known endurance drink mixes, especially with ultrarunners and long-course triathletes. The pitch is simple: all your calories, electrolytes and hydration in one bottle, sip all day, nothing else needed.
That all-in-one idea is the whole appeal. You pour scoops into a bottle, drink to a schedule, and skip the gels-plus-water-plus-salt-tabs juggling act. Here is what is actually in a scoop.
On the label
Straight from the published labels, checked June 2026. Verify on the current label, brands reformulate.
Tailwind Nutrition Endurance Fuel
drink-mix27 g scoop
Dextrose plus sucrose, so glucose-leaning with some fructose
Tailwind uses dextrose (pure glucose) and sucrose (table sugar). Sucrose is itself half glucose and half fructose, so a scoop does contain fructose, it just arrives through the sugar rather than as a separate ingredient. That makes it a de-facto multiple-transportable blend, but a glucose-leaning one. Glucose alone caps near 60 g/h (Jeukendrup); the fructose from the sucrose lets a trained gut push higher.
Why a clean ratio isn't derivable
Tailwind doesn't publish a glucose:fructose ratio, and you can't cleanly back one out: the dextrose is all glucose, the sucrose splits 50/50, and without the gram split between them the final ratio stays a range. For context, Hearris et al. (2022) suggest about 2:1 at 60 to 90 g/h and nearer 1:0.8 past 90. Tailwind sits glucose-heavy of that, fine at moderate rates, less ideal chasing 90 g/h and up.
The sodium is the standout, and it is locked to the carbs
310 mg of sodium per scoop is high, by design, since Tailwind is meant to be your electrolytes too. The tradeoff is that carbs and sodium are locked together: add a scoop for more carbs and you add sodium in lockstep. Great if you sweat heavy and salty, limiting if you want to tune one without moving the other.
Make your own Tailwind Nutrition
Tailwind is arguably the easiest commercial fuel to rebuild at home: the recipe is essentially dextrose plus table sugar plus salt. The real advantage of doing it yourself isn't only cost, it is that you get to separate the dials. Set your carbs from the dextrose and sugar, and set your sodium independently to match your own sweat, which the all-in-one format can't do. The calculator solves the grams and the sodium for you.
Frequently asked
What is Tailwind made of?
Tailwind Endurance Fuel's carbohydrate comes from dextrose (pure glucose) and sucrose (table sugar), plus sodium and other electrolytes. A 27 g scoop has 25 g of carbs and 310 mg of sodium.
Does Tailwind have fructose or a glucose:fructose ratio?
It contains fructose, but indirectly: the sucrose is half fructose, so it comes in through the sugar. Tailwind doesn't publish a ratio, and because the dextrose-to-sucrose split isn't stated, you can't cleanly calculate one. It leans glucose.
Is Tailwind good for ultras?
It is popular in ultras because the all-in-one, sip-all-day format means one bottle covers carbs and electrolytes over many hours, and the high sodium suits heavy sweaters. The tradeoff is that carbs and sodium move together, and it leans glucose-heavy.
How do you make your own Tailwind?
The core recipe is dextrose plus table sugar plus salt. The upside of doing it yourself is tuning the sodium to your own sweat without changing the carbs. The calculator works out the grams and the sodium placement.
Figures checked June 2026 against each brand's published label; always verify on the current label, as manufacturers reformulate. This is an independent, informational breakdown. carbsperhour is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tailwind Nutrition or any brand named here, and nothing on this page is medical or nutritional advice. Tailwind Nutrition and other product names are the trademarks of their respective owners.