Trident Vitality Balance

Be sure to read to the end of this one to find out how you can enter to win some free gum!

Flavor: This is a nice, mellow citrus.  While it has a bit of a tang, there's no real power behind the flavor, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  I've never really been able to pick out a "pomegranate" flavor in anything other than a straight-up pomegranate, but the tangerine comes through really nicely here.

Texture: This is softer than a standard pellet in terms of initial crunch, and it remains soft throughout the chew.  (We've seen this in other Trident Vitality varieties.)  It's not terrible, though, and some chewers might prefer it.

Presentation: We've discussed the Vitality package design before-- it looks nice but lacks real purpose.  I still find the "box" format annoying and would prefer the standard sleeve.

Overall:  According to the Nutrition Information, one piece of this gum contains 10% of your daily Vitamin C.  That's nothing to sneeze at, especially if you're a gum-addict like me.  I could easily chew through half a pack in an afternoon, and there's half my RDV right there.  It's a nice gum, but I can't get past the softness.  I do have to give Trident credit for staying true to the formula with each new addition to the Vitality line (unlike other brands... I'm lookin' at YOU, Wrigley's 5). 

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

WHO WANTS SOME FREE GUM???  Our friends at Rev7 were nice enough to send us some samples to share with our readers!  To enter to win, just send an email to gumgirls@gumalert.com with the subject line "I WANT FREE GUM."  In the body, tell us what gum you want us to review next!  We'll pick five emails at random and send you some samples of Rev7 gum, and maybe some other surprises from our stash of leftovers.  Get your emails in by April 1st.

Trident Vitality Zen

Flavor: I was delightfully surprised when I bit into my first Trident Vitality Zen pellet to taste a coconut-mint-like flavor. Although I can see where the vanilla comes from (coconut and vanilla are close cousins in flavor, let's be honest), I feel it falls more under the coconut umbrella, but not in an overwhelming way as coconut flavors often are presented. It's a mellow coconut rounded out by a "smooth mint" as they skillfully call it, and it lasts a decent amount of time, twenty minutes or so. It's not a marathon chew, but it's a nice refreshing treat after a meal. I have to say I can't seem to detect the "green tea" that's advertised on the pack, and think it's just another one of those healthy-sounding gimmicks they tack onto the names of gums to make them more marketable.

Texture: As with the other Vitality flavors, it's on the softer side, but doesn't disintegrate or become unpleasantly smooshy after a long chew.

Presentation: The Vitality packs are simple and elegant, and this one follows suit. I like the choice of lavender for the font-- it complements the cream in the vanilla leaves and the silver background.

Overall: It's not too bad. I can't say that I'm on the path to achieving Nirvana with each piece of Vitality Zen that I chew, but I can say it enlightened my taste buds a little.

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

Trident Vitality Rejuve

Flavor: So this gum is called "Rejuve," with the subtext, "A rejuvenating blend of luscious mint and white tea." Uh. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is...spearmint. And I think subliminally, that's what they're telling you with the packaging-- it's the green package in the Vitality trio (alongside blue and orange). It's a really good spearmint, actually, sweet and long-lasting. The taste reminds me a lot of those gelly spearmint candies that are covered in sugar, which my mom used to buy a lot when I was a kid. I loved those things, but I haven't found the urge to buy those sugarbombs myself in my adult life, so it's nice to have this throwback to an old classic, without rotting my teeth. That said, I don't see anything "luscious" about the flavor, nor do I detect any semblance of white tea. At all.

Texture: The crunch at the beginning is really pleasant, and contributes to that memory of the crunchy sugar coating on the aforementioned spearmint leaf candies. It might be a little soft for some, but I think the consistency is just firm enough. Again, I wouldn't describe it as "luscious." The soft center varies from piece to piece, I find, some pieces pumped with a firm gel, others with almost no variation in texture at all.

Presentation: They're going for sophisticated, healthy. "Rejuve," "Awaken," and "Vigorate" sounds like the names of the Tazo Teas they sell at Starbucks, but there's nothing tea-like about any of these gums. It's just gum--good gum, don't get me wrong, but just... gum. The marketing here is just misleading.

Overall: I'd buy this again, but not for the reasons they want me to buy it. I offered it to folks in the office, and they didn't seem to care about the added benefits, whether or not it wakes you up or spikes your daily vitamin intake. For the most part, when co-workers saw it on my desk, they picked up the package and just asked one question-- "Is it any good?" Oh yeah, it's pretty good. So good, in fact, that I took it out of the free gum and candy basket on my desk.

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

Trident Vitality Vigorate

Flavor: The "burst of citrus and strawberry with vitamin C" here tastes an awful lot like the rainbow to me. The flavor at first is reminiscent of orange Skittles, in a good way, but is as fleeting as the goo inside the pellet. There is a nice cooling sensation that lasts throughout the whole chew, and the flavor is pleasant enough for a while, but it's nothing that Orbit Citrusmint hasn't done before (and better).

Texture: The first bite is a lot like a Skittle texture-wise as well, one that's been sitting out in the sun for a few minutes and is nice and soft inside. But after the crunch is gone, it's all mush. It falls apart as you chew, which to me is one of the worst qualities in a gum. Not everyone wants a firm gum, and it's refreshing to see variety in textures that appeal to different preferences. "Crumbly," however, is not a characteristic of gum at all. In fact, it's the opposite of what a gum should be.

Presentation: Shannon discussed the misleading health claims that Trident is employing with this new line of gum in her review of Trident Vitality Awaken. Sure, there are maybe some traces of vitamin C here, but you shouldn't be supplementing a good old fashioned orange with this a pack of Vigorate. I secretly expected a little burst of energy when I chewed my first piece, but it did little to quell the three o'clock work doldrums. The pack is clean and well designed, and I do actually like the aesthetic of the flap that clicks when you close it, even if it doesn't actually do anything.

Overall: If you're in the market for a mid-afternoon boost of vitamin C to get you through the day, don't bother with Vitality. Have an orange, some tomato salad, or a handful of strawberries (dipped in chocolate if you're feeling particularly droopy). If you're looking for a sweet post-meal treat to replace that bag of Skittles you've been eyeing in the vending machine since breakfast, then go ahead and stash a pack in your desk drawer. It's ok.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Trident Vitality Awaken

Taste: The box says "A peppy peppermint with a dash of ginseng," and it's a peppy peppermint, indeed. You get the initial blast of freshness you do with most pellet gums, especially those with a liquid center, and when the candy shell dissolves you're left with a soft mint that's easy on the taste buds and sinuses.

Texture: Sub-par. It starts off nice, with a tiny burst of goo in the middle, and then just goes downhill. It gets way too soft, way too fast. I suppose some might like this kind of softness, but it's really stringy and sticky. There'll be no cracking, snapping or popping with this gum.

Presentation: I don't know what's going on here. It's your average pellet pack, placed inside a fancy-looking box. Why? It seems like overkill. It's also kind of annoying. Traditionally, pellet packs are in cardboard sleeves, so you can push the pack out from one end so that it pops out the other. With this box, it's only open on one end, so there's nowhere to push the pellet pack out from. You have to either shake it, or get a little fingernail's grip on the pack to pull it out. The whole thing seems really unnecessary, and kinda pretentious to me. The graphics themselves are nice, a metallic silver with a simple dew-speckled peppermint leaf, but I think it would have been just as effective on your standard pellet pack sleeve. (ETA: I found an article that said one of the purposes of the box was so that the pellet pack wouldn't fall out. Has anyone ever had an issue with pellet packs falling out of their sleeves? I haven't... and we all know how much gum I chew.)

Overall: Move over Extra Dessert Delights, Trident Vitality has caught the attention of the Gum World. Everyone's talking about it. However, in the opinion of this Gum Girl, the "Latest and Greatest" falls short. In the interest of science, I popped a piece of "Awaken" on this fine Monday morning as I got into the car to drive to work, before drinking my coffee. I arrived at my job still as tired and dragging as I would any other Monday morning. It's a Gum Gimmick, pure and simple. Much like Stride Shift, and 5 React, there's really nothing special about Trident Vitality. They just like to make you think there is.

Rating: oo (two gumballs)