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First I need to say that I have followed the Chaos and Pain blog for years now. I love it. So when Jamie started releasing supplements it was only a matter of time before I tried them out. I would have done so sooner but I was actually out of work at the exact time. In any case, while I am a fan, I'm far from swinging on his nuts. I agree with him on most things, but not everything. So let it be know that I like to support C&P, and at the same time I'm not a huge fan of wasting money on shit that doesn't do anything, regardless of who made it. So you're getting an honest review here from someone who likes the company, blog, and philosophy so much I rep CnP shirts as part of my regular wardrobe, but is far from a fan-boy who will blindly do anything as long as it's CnP approved. And if I don't get anything out of a supplement I'm not buying it, and I won't claim it's the greatest thing ever, fooling myself with placebos, just because I like the guy who made it.
Cannibal Ferox has gone through several changes since its inception. As of this writing there are three versions of Ferox, plus one for international customers. My actual review is going to be of Ferox 3. The first version of Ferox apparently tasted like complete shit, to the point it was difficult to choke down, but people loved the stim-packed goodness so much they took it anyway. That problem was remedied with version 2. It tasted (I guess) like Ferox does now, which is awesome. Version 2 also had AMP Citrate in it, and it is touted as the holy grail of pre-workouts by fans. I've never had it, because as I mentioned, I didn't have disposable income at that time. AMP Citrate got targeted by the FDA and as such it had to be removed. So now we have Ferox 3, which doesn't have the AMP Citrate. Fans of version 2, as said, still claim it was the greatest thing ever. And to test that theory I went ahead and got some AMP Citrate, and brewed up my own hybrid of Ferox 3 plus 300mg of AMP Citrate to mimic the Ferox 2 formula. I'll get to that at the end so read on.
The next thing to say is that other reviews range wildly with some claiming it's akin to methamphetamines and others saying they "can't even feel it." First, it's pretty obvious that taking a teenager who has never done drugs' opinion on the similarity between a pre-workout supplement and an illegal addictive hard substance they've never even tried is bad advice. This is not meth. If it was you'd be on the street sucking dick for your next Ferox fix. As such, use logic. Next, for those who can't feel it, they either don't know what to look for or they are so stim tolerant that they need to take a step back and let their body reset because they are apparently running on stims 24/7. Case and Point:
450mg caffeine
75mg Synephedrine
3mg Yohimbine
If you can't feel that, lay off the starbucks for a few months and try again. But you'll notice there is no Beta Alanine in this product. As such, you won't get that itchy tingley feeling. If that's what you want, you can add your own. So as with most things the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the extreme opinions you see online.
When I want "energy" I'm looking for that "bouncing off the walls" just want to get up and move kind of feeling. It's like when you're a kid on Christmas Eve. You can't sleep, you're so excited. This seems intricately tied to two things for me. One is happiness. There is no supplement for this. Things are very different on my Saturday sessions because it's Saturday. I don't have work. It's awesome. The same is not the case for Tuesday. This is likely the reason I could fuel my Saturday sessions with nothing but Ferox and 2 hours of sleep (when I used to work nights and don't want to waste my Saturday so I take a nap after work and get up Saturday morning like a normal person.)
The other component is calories. It should go without saying, but usually doesn't. If you're trying to run the machine on nothing but stims you're not going to have a good time. It works for a little while but not long term. You can't empty your gas tank and then think the NOS button is going to win the race. You have to be fueled. Otherwise what you will feel is akin to red lining an engine while in 1st gear. Your CNS and heart might be going hard but it doesn't translate to throwing around heavy weights. And you might feel hyped until you try to rip that PR off the floor. When you fail and feel drained you might understand my point. Calories > Caffeine, every time. Calories + Caffeine > Calories alone.
A quick note about me, before Ferox I hardly every used stims. I never drink soda or energy drinks, rarely drink coffee, and I can't even remember the last time I took a preworkout, which was C4. My stim tolerance, in theory, should have been rock bottom. I started with half a scoop, felt fine, so next time took the full scoop and still felt fine. I have since stacked it with aggro (just for lols) which kicked me up to 650 mg of caffeine in one blast, still felt fine, but not necessarily better. So I usually stick to just a scoop of ferox. I have also done a super blend, where I add 5mg of Beta Alanine and 300mg of AMP Citrate, which I'll address at the end of this article.
And finally a note about Chaos and Pain. Their labels are completely transparent. They list every ingredient and how much of each is in the tub. Most of these came from Jamie's own formulas that he was making for himself using bulk ingredients. There is a reason for everything in there and you can straight up ask him the purpose for his decisions to include an ingredient if you want to. But more than that, the label is transparent so you can decide for yourself if the formula is something that will work for you. No guessing games here, just science.
THE REVIEW
One glance at the label will tell you that Cannibal Ferox is a stimulant heavy product. If that's not what you're looking for then obviously you'll have to look elsewhere. They have a non-stim pump based preworkout called PermaSwole and also an energy drink style product called Aggro, which is superior to Monster and Redbull in numbers, price, and taste. Ferox is very much for those who want to stim up like a Marine in Starcraft.
The picture above shows the ingredients. 450mg of caffeine, 75mg of Synephrine, 3mg Yohimbine, 75mg Higenamine, 75mg Hordenine; all stims. Plus Noopept for focus and some other stuff for good measure.
If you want to "feel" Ferox you have to pay attention to what your heart and CNS are doing. You might feel a little jittery and your heart will be beating faster. As I mentioned there are many factors that contribute to your level of perceived energy. If you are excited and happy , that helps. If you are depressed, Ferox isn't going to change that. If you are on a cut Ferox isn't going to give you caloric energy. But if everything is sorted, Ferox is like a slap in the face to get your going. Pressing the accelerator when there is fuel in the tank results in increased performance, obviously. That's what stimulants can do for you. They also suppress your appetite and can burn more calories but that's not the role of Ferox. If that's what you want look for Cannibal Inferno for that purpose.
You should also note that this is not an endurance product. You don't take Ferox and expect to be fucking shit up 3 hours later. You take it, you lift, and you're done. CnP has a product called Mercury that is supposed to be for endurance sessions. I've never taken it because I only lift for about 90 minutes, so I don't know how well it works. Ferox really isn't something you should take for a night shift, for example. Ferox is more like dropping a bomb. Aggro is better suited to shift work, although blackout curtains so you can sleep properly is far better. I don't need to stim to get through work and I work 12 hours a night. Bt then again, I'm single so it's no problem for me to then sleep 8 hours a day, get up at 2pm, and basically eat/lift/work the week away with nobody to bitch at me or kids to take care of.
Cannibal Ferox tastes fantastic. I'd give it an 8 out of 10. It depends on how much water in which you mix it. I would say a full scoop needs about 12 to 14 oz of water to maximize the taste. 8 oz of less and it starts getting pretty intense. It's not bad, but it starts getting more like a sour candy. You could argue that this is a pre-preworkout kickstart as usually the first sip of Ferox combined with heavy music is a kick to face when you do this. As of right now I've only tried the Watermelon flavor but I haven't heard any complaints about he others. It's basically what I remember C4 tasting like (which is known for tasting awesome). So if you're looking for a new preworkout and you aren't hypersensitive to stimulants, give ferox a try. Start light so you can assess your tolerance to it.
*Note: A handful of you may have caught this article before this edit. I have since tried Ferox Amped and I've been experimenting with various mixes of CnP products and bulk ingredients to dial in a super pre-workout formula. Instead of tacking it onto this article I have decided to make a separate one, so stay tuned for that. For now, if you want to try Ferox, head over to chaosandpain.com and get you some.
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