Stride Tropical Trance

Flavor: I've got to give it to Stride, they are good at marketing. In this case, it feels like a flavor was developed, this sort of tropical flavor, and nobody in the tasting room could really figure out what it was supposed to taste like. It is, indeed, fruity, but I can't detect one individual fruit flavor in there.  One food scientist must have said to the other, "It tastes... tropically?"  And the other food scientist suggested they just shoot it up to marketing to work with that.  So that's what you have.  "Tropical Trance,"  a vague, nutra-sweet, fruity-esque flavor, that errs on the side of the tropical spectrum of fruitiness.  That apparently puts you in some kind of meditative state because of its hypnotic packaging.

Texture: It's all right, a good chew, as most Stride gum is.  Not much to report here.

Presentation: Ok, so in my imaginary Stride Tropical Trance development model, the marketing people received this sweet, nondescript gum and were charged with coming up with something that might entice a consumer to purchase it.  Somebody in that office flipped through their backlog of ideas that don't pertain to any flavor in particular, and found this one, which seemed to everybody to be a pretty cool idea. Thus, Tropical Trance was born.  Whether or not anybody researched the hypnotic nature of the swirly design on the package is yet to be determined, so let me know if you start acting out of the ordinary and doing something really strange like buying this gum more than once.

Overall:  You're getting sleepy... yes... yes... you're getting sleeeeepy.  Now spit out the gum... yes, that's right... and move on to another flavor.  This one's gross.

Rating: o (one gumball) 

Stride Shaun White Whitemint

Flavor: In the interest of being fair and thorough here, I'm going to save all my Shaun White commentary for the presentation portion of this review. Let's pretend this gum didn't have a weird CGI image of a pro snowboarder on the cover, and talk about what we're really buying here-- the gum. It's super refreshing and cool, with a slight hint of sweet in the bite. I've got to say, though, that I personally can't get past this new chemical taste that all Stride gums have these days. It leaves this weird film on my tongue, and something in there reminds me of what I imagine Noxema to taste like. I will say, though, that Stride has been putting out some nasty flavors lately and this one isn't that bad.

Texture: Very good, long lasting chew. Texture has never been Stride's weakness.

Presentation: Could it be that this is the first athlete representing a gum? I don't recall whether or not Big League Chew ever actually claimed a real life baseball player as their hollywood representative, but at least that would have sort of... made sense. Big League Chew looks like chewing tobacco. Who chews chewing tobacco? Baseball players. Natural sponsorship. Stride Whitemint is... well, white. And cold, sort of like snow. But so are lots of gums, right? Why doesn't Shaun White represent Dentyne Ice? Or Mentos (the freshmaker)? I could picture him in a mentos commercial... in fact, I would love to see that dude in a mentos commercial. He's just about the coolest guy that ever set board on a half pipe; there's no denying that Shaun White deserves to make lots of money selling product, that much is clear.

But what is going on here, Stride? It's like they didn't even try to stitch some kind of connection between sponsor and product. "Oh hey, we got Shaun White. What should we call it, Shaun White Gum? No no no. I've got it. Whitemint. That's clever." So they're going simple, I'll buy that. But they're not going simple. Printed on the inside of the package is a cartoon that places Shaun White in some kind of competition with a ram. I quote, "It's on! Man versus Ram. One a competitive animal with freakish strength that loves to be scratched. The other has horns. Together in a fierce competition to see who is the best spokesman... or spokesanimal!" Um. Well. At least they didn't call this gum "Ram-mint."

Overall: A swing and a miss... I guess? I just don't know what to think here. I feel sort of like I'm missing some inside joke (which I very well might be) that Shaun White has with the rest of the world. If you know the secret, please comment (but try not to make me look old or dumb). If not, I've got to say that of all celebrities, this is one for whom Stride actually could pull off a half-baked weirdo marketing plan. Throw a bunch of ideas in the air, string some loose (very loose) connection between him and the product and that makes it ok to permit a ram to tell a "your mom" joke on your packaging. You read that correctly. You'll have to buy a pack to find out the punch line. (Spoiler alert! It's your mom.)

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Stride 2.0 Forever Fruit

Flavor: From what I understand, this whole Stride 2.0 thing is supposed to be an improved formula that enhances the chewer's experience in some way (they even preemptively say "you're welcome" on the inside of the package for doing you the favor). As we've witnessed in the comments on our review of Stride 2.0 Spearmint, however, Stride fans aren't finding much improvement in the formula at all-- in fact, you all are pretty angry about the change. And I don't blame you. Original Stride Forever Fruit was bursting with flavor, so much so that if you weren't totally in love with it, it could be a bit overwhelming. Forever Fruit 2.0 hardly has any flavor at all-- hints of that original mango flavor are there, but are subdued so much that it's frustrating to even try to detect a flavor at all. I don't see any improvement here. I don't remember there ever being a problem with how long the flavor lasted for any Stride flavor, so if that's the improvement, there wasn't anything that needed fixing in the first place.

Texture: The texture is softer than I remember the Original Forever Fruit (Stride 1.0?) being, and it gets mushy quickly. They certainly didn't improve any formulation here.

Presentation: The integration of design on the plastic protective wrapping has become increasingly popular in the gum market. This is an interesting and innovative move, but the wrapper is removed immediately upon purchase, so it really has no impact other than selling you the product. Orbit uses this technique nicely in their new fashion packs, as most of the labeling and need-to-know-before-purchase information is presented on the outer wrapper, and once you're through making your educated decision on what gum to buy, you remove the jargon and are left with a a clean, funky pack that you can coordinate with your outfits. I took the wrapper off this particular pack of gum, so it's not pictured here. The wrapper design featured a half-zipped zipper, unveiling the new formula right before your very eyes. If only Stride unveiled it before your very tastebuds.

Overall: I was in Quick Check with my father the other day and he bought 12 packs of Original Stride Non-Stop Mint because he's so disgusted by the new 2.0 line and dismayed that he'll have to say goodbye to his favorite flavor. It's a very risky campaign-- totally renovating an entire line of a product, especially in a market so addictive and personal as gum. You'll sell plenty of gum by enticing customers to try something new and exciting using a clever marketing campaign. But you'll sell more packs to people like my father, who swear by their flavor and brand. They've selected their flavor, and they will continue to buy it for as long as it's on the shelves. This borders on betrayal for guys like him. If you want to launch a 2.0 gum, it's wise to launch a sister line, rather than replace the old one entirely. As is the case here, many loyal chewers will find a new brand to call their own.

Rating: o (one gumball)

Stride Always Mandarin

Flavor: A shockingly accurate "mandarin orange" flavor. Normally when we have such a specific citrus call-out in the flavor name (like tangerine), all we get is a vague "orange" flavor, but this gum actually does taste like mandarin oranges, the kind cute tiny ones you eat out of a can. Good job, Stride.

Texture: A little bit too tough for my tastes. This is a super firm chew.

Presentation: Stride doesn't mess around with fruit imagery, "fashion packs," or anything like that. Stride's packaging is friendly and predictable.

Overall: A friend of Gum Alert requested this gum a long, long time ago with the warning that it was really hard to find. Since then, I've been on the lookout for it, so it was like hitting the jackpot when I found a display with 3 packs left. I have to say that, despite the tough texture (which may, in part, have to do with the fact that I've had this gum opened in my purse for about 3 weeks [and we know from experience that, once opened, Stride tends to turn for the worst really fast]) this is a really great gum. Nicely done, Stride.

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

Stride Eternal Melon

Flavor: I'd have to say that with all the hubbub about the new fun Stride flavors (Stride Mega Mystery, Stride Shift Citrus + Mint, Stride Shift Berry + Mint), this tastes the most kid-friendly to me. It's not super sweet, but compared to other melon gums out there, it lends itself much more to the watermelon flavor we're used to tasting, a mellowed-out Bubblicious, if you will. But I'm not sure it's not something exclusively kids would like, per say, and not necessarily adults, either. It's a tweener melon, the Justin Bieber of the gum world, appealing to both middle aged women and six-year-old girls. But is he...excuse me, it... enough for either?

Texture: Bieber Melon, like most Stride gums, offers a pleasant, consistent chew. The flavor lasts and lasts, and the texture never gets mushy or stiff. Unfortunately for me, as all of my Stride reviews have indicated, it gives me sores in my mouth, so this will be my last stick in the pack.

Presentation: The color of the package itself screams "lime" to me, it's about as lime green as lime can be. I suppose this works, seeing as the "Nickelodeon green" seems to be working for Stride in the Shift realm. It catches your eye, and it's simple-- once again appealing to a wide variety of audiences. It's an obnoxious enough color that kids will be begging for it, but not quite as shameful for a grown adult to pull out of her purse as, say, Bubbletape (but it's worth it, every time).

Overall: This gum is named "Eternal Melon." Is it ageless, timeless, beyond the boundaries of our concept of the space-time continuum? Much like our lauded Mr. Bieber, I think it's all right, but it's going to get old sooner or later.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Stride Shift Berry + Mint

Flavor: I must preface this review by reminding our readers that Shannon and I have a rule that we must always be chewing the gum-in-question at the time of the review. I struggled with the possibility of not chewing a second piece of this gum while reviewing-- it's that gross. In the end, my professional morals held strong, and now I'm chewing the second piece of the most disgusting gum I've had in a long, long time. I know all sugar-free gums are chemical-based and are probably leading me on a slow journey to an early death, but I can almost feel this gum in action as it deteriorates my life cells. It starts out bad and "shifts" to worse. I gave the Orange + Mint version of this gum some credit for trying something new and taking a risk. But I just can't do it again. The "berry" tastes like a straight-up packet of Sweet and Low, and the mint never even really comes to fruition at all. What you're left with is a phony-sweet lump of cold in your mouth with no defining flavors or positive attributes.

Texture: I can't even go into the texture-- it doesn't matter what the bite of the gum is like-- I'm too distracted by the film of chemical coldness that sticks to every surface in your mouth, a sort of slime that stays for at least half an hour after you stop chewing. It's nearly impossible to get rid of the film, chewing a different piece of gum or swishing a mouthful of water won't do it. It's so unpleasant that I was actually worried that brushing my teeth after this piece wouldn't eliminate the nasty cold lingering feeling and I'd be stuck with it for another hour of my life.

Presentation: As with its orange counterpart, this gum seems to be marketed toward adults, although I saw a little kid eyeing it up as I was opening it in the mall. It is a compelling concept-- (Two gums in one?! I've got to try that!), but even upon conception it seems counterintuitive that a berry flavor could shift into a mint flavor flawlessly, without an inevitable merging of flavors (a la Orbit Bubblemint). Alas, it falls short, after all.

Overall: Ughl, can I take this out of my mouth now? (That's what she said.)

Rating: o one gumball

Stride Shift Citrus + Mint

Presentation: This is truly a revolutionary idea, and it's pretty straight forward: orange then green. They call it Citrus + Mint, and they're going for something more than just Citrus Mint like Orbit and other competitors. This gum is a shape shifter. They attempted to actually combine the two most basic gum characteristics together in one gum: minty and fruity. The package itself is nicely designed, but much like the flavors, the orange and the green just don't seem to mesh together well. Something about this color and taste combination just... doesn't sit right with me. It screams "Nickelodeon would endorse this, and not because it tastes good."

Flavor: To me, this gum raises a really philosophical question: can mint and fruit live together in harmony in a single piece of gumz? It worked with peanut butter and chocolate sharing a cup, after all. But here, I'm going to have to be a negative Nancy and say that no, I'm sorry mint and citrus, however much I love the both of you, I just can't see you two together. There's a reason why citrus-mint flavors in the past never really tasted like mint. It's gross. Brushing your teeth and eating an orange is gross. Putting a nice piece of orange gum in your mouth and having it "shift" to a mint (with that hint of orange lingering through the entire chew) is also gross. It's not terrible, don't get me wrong-- it could have been a lot worse, but it's been actually physically difficult to keep it in my mouth long enough to write this review.

Texture: The texture is solid (as Stride usually is), a nice chew that it doesn't get too hard or mushy at any point. But there's this horrible lasting film that produces in your mouth and that lingers for about an hour and a half after you take it out of your mouth-- a cold, persistent film that's worse than any sugar crud on your teeth after a piece of Hubba Bubba. It begs the question-- what kind of chemicals are in this hunk of sensation? What did I just put in my mouth? Between that and the sores that Stride leaves on my tongue, this gum makes me think about giving up artificial sweeteners altogether.

Overall: In my humble opinion, Citrus and Mint are like so many American couples out there today-- they're great on their own, but they just don't belong together. It was worth a shot, though and hey, we'll always have the memories.

Rating: oo two gumballs

Special Feature: The Bubble Trials

Christopher, A friend of GumAlert, alerted us to the fact that although we've reviewed multiple bubblegums, we rarely touch upon the bubble-blowing qualities of the gum. This is an element that we've absolutely neglected, so I've gone out and bought a variety of sugarless bubblegums to compare.

In this special post, I'll be comparing the bubbles blown by six different brands of sugarfree bubblegum: Bubblegum Trident, Stride Uber Bubble, Extra Classic Bubble, Orbit Bubblemint, Wrigley 5 Zing, and the yet-to-be-reviewed Sugarfree Bubble Yum.

Bubblegum Trident
In my initial review of Bubblegum Trident, I noted that this "might as well be a chewing gum." This description still fits. When you first start chewing Bubblegum Trident, the consistency is really hard, and the bubbles are small and thick. After you chew for about 5 - 10 minutes, the texture of the gum softens and the bubbles increase in size but remain a hard, thick, almost latex balloon consistency. However, the bubble pops and you're right back to a hard wad. Makes my teeth hurt, in fact.
oo (two bubbles)

Stride Uber Bubble
This one is also tough to chew, and it has a slightly grainy consistency that makes blowing bubbles near impossible. You can barely spread the gum around your tongue before it forms tiny little holes in it. I chewed it for about 15 minutes and it stayed way too firm.
o (one bubble)

Extra Classic Bubble
"Made With Real Bubbles" is printed on the inside of the packaging, and that's pretty gross if you stop and really think about it. Anyway, this one is a much softer gum when you first bite into it, but again, it firms up to the point where I worry about my dental work. I had such high hopes for the bubble potential when I first started chewing it, but I was quickly disappointed. I think I blew about 3 bubbles before my jaw started to hurt and I gave up.
o (one bubble)

Orbit Bubblemint
Still hard to chew, but definitely easier to spread. Bubbles are decent, but get thin and pop really quickly, and are really sticky. Since it's technically supposed to be a bubble-mint hybrid, if you blow a big bubble that doesn't pop and try to "suck" the bubble back into your mouth, your sinuses are blasted with mintyness. Similarly, if you pop a bubble just right and the air blows into your eye, it stings quite a bit.
oo (two bubbles)

Wrigley's 5 Zing
This gum fools you into thinking you're going to get great big awesome bubbles, but they fall short every time, popping with a loud, disappointing SNAP when you just start to fill them up with air. Also very sticky.
o (one bubble)

Bubble Yum Sugarfree
Bubble Yum is one of the main sugared bubblegums, so they know what's what when it comes to bubbles. However, once again the bubbles are sub-par. This gum has the opposite problem of the others: it's too soft. I feel like it might blow a decent enough bubble, but it wants to slide right off your tongue with the slightest pressure from the air.
oo (two bubbles)

Conclusion
Now that I've chewed enough xylitol in one sitting to make me nauseous, I think I can say with some certainty that sugarless bubblegum is more about the flavor of bubblegum, and less about the actual blowing of bubbles. If you're in a bubble-blowing mood, you gotta bite the bullet and risk a cavity and pick up a pack of Big League Chew or Bubble Tape.

Stride Mega Mystery

Flavor: One of Stride's two new flavors for Winter 2009/2010 is the gimmicky "Mega Mystery." Stride must really have a lot of brand confidence, as they're expecting consumers to buy this gum on brand alone, without even knowing the flavor. I've never been good at "Guess The Flavor" games the products play (Doritos is famous for this,) but Stride Mega Mystery isn't really a mystery at all. On first chew you're blasted with a fantastic fruity medley that I would describe as Tropical Punch. It's a lot less melony than Trident's tropical varieties, but very heavy on the pineapple. Blended with hints of mango and citrus, it's like a tropical drink in stick form. Delicious. Unfortunately, Stride's claim of being the longest lasting flavor falls short with this one, and it becomes bland and tasteless within 10 minutes.

Texture: Soft and smooth at first bite, never disintegrating or softening. Perfect for cracking and snapping, and even blowing pretty decent bubbles (especially if you're a two-piece chewer like I am.) This is a great chew.

Overall: A friend of GumAlert alerted us to this new flavor a couple months ago, and since then I'd been on a frantic search to find it. Imagine my joy when, in the checkout shelves in A&P the other day, a rogue pack of this was stuck in with the Stride Nonstop Mint. I snatched it right up and have loved it since, and it's pained me to save the two sticks to do this review. I'm generally pretty neutral when it comes to Stride, but this one is a home run, and I hope it sticks around.
Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

Stride Forever Fruit

Flavor: When this gum first came out a couple years ago, I remember thinking it could be my new favorite. It has the same pineapple-citrus-peach flavor as Trident Tropical Twist (an old favorite) with an added bonus coconut undertone. It's a little too sweet for me, and the longer you chew, the more nutri-sweety it seems. After chewing a whole pack, this flavor gets old to me. It's like drinking too many malibu bay breezes at a beach bar-- they're delicious, sure, but it's the sort of thing that's better rotated with other flavors, not dominating your palate for a whole night.

Texture: The texture here is well done. A nice bite, maintains shape and flavor for a long time. But, as with all Stride varieties, I feel it forming sores on my tongue as I write.

Overall: It's a good gum, a vacation gum, if you will. Throw a pack into your weekly rotation, why don't you, and add some zest to your ordinary gum-chewing experience.

Rating:ooo (three gumballs)

Stride Winterblue

Flavor: At first I was confused by the what "Winterblue" was supposed to taste like, but I actually think it's quite a clever little new flavor creation by Stride. "Wintergreen" has become known as a flavor - there are Wintergreen Tic-Tacs, and now Wintergreen Trident, at the very least. Winterblue is a kind of similar mint - really mild. There's no blast of flavor or sinus-clearing menthol explosion, it's just a nice, easy mint. This is a gum for breath freshening or thirst quenching, but I don't think it would do much damage to garlic bread breath or fool a cop at an alcohol checkpoint if you've been downing carafes of merlot.

Texture: Eh, it's alright. It starts off pretty tough and never does soften enough to really chew with ease. There's a bit more effort involved in the chew then I prefer, and it's got quite a noticeable squeak.

Overall: This is a decent gum. It reminds me a little bit of Original Trident, but the rough texture and the fact that it is not, in fact, Original Trident, prohibits from giving it a very high rating. It's worth the try, and I'd purchase it again if my options were limited.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Stride Uber Bubble

Flavor: Stride Uber Bubble is a nice bubblegum, but that's about as far as it goes. As I've mentioned in past reviews, Katie and I are on an ongoing quest for a gum as good as our long-gone all-time favorite, Extra Original Bubble. Uber Bubble teases you with tanginess, makes you think that it's going to give you a hint of semi-sour, but it just levels out to be your plain old bubblegum. Like I said - it's nice, but I don't see what's so special about this bubble that they felt fit to call it "Uber."

Texture: It's definitely chewable, albeit a little bit too firm for my taste. From a bubblegum, I expect more blow-friendly pliablility to maximize bubbles.

Overall: There's something wrong with this gum. I have meant to review it sooner, but every pack I bought has gone bad somehow. Once the protective plastic is removed from the packaging, you have a period of about two weeks to chew it. (Which, probably, is not a problem for most chewers, but I as a Gum Girl always have no fewer than 5 packs of gum with me at all time.) After a couple weeks, the gum turns like... wet? It gets all sticky and disgusting in the packaging and is completely inedible. It happened to three packs of Uber Bubble I have bought, and if this didn't happen it would have rated at least a 3, but most likely a 4. This weird problem aside, it's one of the better tasting bubblegums on the market right now.
Rating: oo (two gumballs)

Stride Spearmint

Flavor: Well, it’s Spearmint, I’ll give it that. But compared to the other varieties that I’ve blogged in the spearmint spectrum, it falls far, far short. It’s a bit weak, for Stride, a brand that usually puts forth a notably robust flavor. Not to mention that the longer you chew, the more it starts to taste like cough syrup. I’m sorry, but to me, green cough syrup, no matter how much it takes like spearmint, always tastes much more predominantly of cough syrup. In a gum? Do not want.

Texture: Eh. It’s rubbery, and tough. It leaves much to be desired right from the start—between the stale taste and the stale texture, it’s almost as though it’s already been chewed. Stride swung with this one, and it missed.

Overall: I have to note a few things. One, this is a by-demand gum review, which means it’s already a fact that this gum is somebody’s favorite (Thanks Amanda!). Two, Stride gives me sores in my mouth, and based on the search results of our Google Analytics, it gives other people sores in their mouths too (Someone typed “stride gum sores on tongue” into Google and came upon our site. I feel your pain, friend.) Third, this gum finds itself pretty late in a long line of Gum Alert spearmint reviews, so it’s up against some serious competition. Taking all those things into consideration, I’m going to have to address you, Amanda, and you, anonymous googler with the sores on your tongue, and ask if you’ve tried 5 Rain. I implore you if you have not, to do so ASAP. I’m going to be merciful and give this gum two gumballs, since it was requested by a fan, and since I want people to keep asking my opinions on things. But Amanda, do get back to me on Rain, and perhaps we can lower the rating… together.

Rating: oo (two gumballs)

NOTE: THIS REVIEW WAS WRITTEN BY KATIE BUT I HAD TO GO IN AND FIX THE CODE. BLOGGER MESSED THIS ONE UP GOOD. -Shannon

Stride Sweet Berry

Flavor: I don't really taste much "Berry" in Stride Sweet Berry. It's more like a nondescript "sweet" flavor, and to tell you the truth I think they could have left out the "berry" part of the name and it would have been more accurate. That being said, it's not a bad flavor at all. It's not very strong at all, kind of a mild sweet-tart-bitter blend. While it doesn't have that initial flavor burst that I am such a fan of, the flavor is enjoyable and it does last pretty long - it better, with all the money Stride spends in advertising the fact.

Texture: Starts off a little too hard for my tastes. After a few chews it does soften up a bit but I believe that a good gum would be the opposite - begins soft and hardens (that's what she said.) However, I can't complain too much. The texture is just fine.

Overall: This is definitely someone's favorite gum. Probably lots of people. People that understand the flavor, people that chew fruity gum, people that don't get sores on their tongue from Stride brand gums. And I can appreciate that. It's not, however, my favorite. Stride Sweet Berry leaves much to be desired, and I probably won't be buying another pack except in a dire circumstance.
Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Stride Nonstop Mint

Flavor: On the inside of this package, it reads, “If you ever dreamed of naming your own chewing gum flavor, you’re in luck. We want your help renaming this flavor so, log on to stridegum.com to enter your ideas.” Comma misplacement aside, I felt that this ad was very appropriate as this flavor is much more than “nonstop mint,” in fact—nonstop mint is not very descriptive at all. Although I struggled to access the Web site, I intend to suggest one of two names—either Sweet Spearmint, or Starlight Mint. As a former favorite fan of Stride Sweetmint, I can say that this gum is just as pleasing as a sweet mint flavor, with a little extra flavor added in. It tastes delightfully like a starlight mint, without the cruddy sugar residue those mints leave on your teeth, but also contains more than a hint of spearmint that is less overpowering than ordinary spearmint and cut by the light sweetness. And the flavor really never stales. It, in fact, lasts and lasts.

Texture: The texture is fine, your basic stride goodness. Never goes mushy, never goes stale. It, in fact, lasts and lasts.

Overall: Now see, I’m torn. Would I buy this again? I would HAVE, if my all-time favorite Stride Sweet Mint hadn’t started causing those pesky little pimples on my tongue. Do I chew too much gum? Yes. Would chewing less gum eliminate these tongue pimples? Surely. Is that the solution I’m looking for? Absolutely not. This is a delightful gum, sweet, interesting, refreshing. But I fear it, too, will corrode my tongue. The color of the packaging is also enticing—a cool carribbean mint. I don’t know. I’ll judge this gum as though it doesn’t cause my mouth pain, as it hasn’t yet done so this time around. Well done, Stride, yet again.
Rating: oooo (four gumballs)