Reviewed
Verified by SAC team
+10
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Gorilla Mind Gorilla Mode Nitric (Stimulant-Free), Cherry Blackout tub — caffeine-free 32 g nitric-oxide pump stack
Best pump (non-stim)
Gorilla Mind · 10g citrulline · 5g creatine · 0mg caffeine · ~40 servings

Gorilla Mode Nitric (Stimulant-Free) Review

Gorilla Mode Nitric is the stim-free pump specialist of this lineup, and judged on its own terms it's excellent. It's a fully-disclosed 32 g nitric-oxide stack — 10 g of L-citrulline, 5 g of creatine monohydrate, 4 g of HydroPrime glycerol, 4 g of betaine, 1.5 g of agmatine, plus nitrates and VasoDrive-AP — engineered for blood flow and cell volumization with zero caffeine. Those citrulline and creatine doses sit at or above the premium clinically-dosed tier, all printed on the label with no proprietary blends. We credit it as a stim-free pick rather than penalizing it for omitting caffeine — but the honest framing cuts both ways. It deliberately provides no energy or alertness on its own, so it isn't a one-product solution unless you add your own stimulant. It also carries no beta-alanine, because it's a pump formula, not an endurance-buffer one — and the flavors are artificially colored and sweetened. It sits at #7 because, scored against a rubric that values a well-judged stimulant and a complete active profile, a deliberately caffeine-free, beta-alanine-free stack scores lower on those axes by design. For evening training, caffeine-cutting, or stacking your own stim, it's the best pump pick here.

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▸ THE SCORE

How we built the SAC Product Score™7.7/10

Clinically-dosed actives30%7/10

Elite on the pump, incomplete on the rest. The nitric-oxide doses are best-in-class — 10 g citrulline and 5 g creatine at or above the premium tier, plus glycerol, betaine, agmatine, nitrates and VasoDrive-AP, all disclosed. But the score is held back honestly: there's no beta-alanine (a named active on this axis) because it's a pump formula, not an endurance one, and no caffeine-paired focus active. A maximal pump stack with a deliberately partial active profile.

Label transparency25%9.5/10

Exemplary. The entire ~32 g serving is disclosed ingredient-by-ingredient with no proprietary blends — you can see all 10 g of citrulline, 5 g of creatine, 4 g of glycerol, 4 g of betaine and 1.5 g of agmatine, exactly the honesty the ranking rewards. Among the most transparent labels in the lineup; nothing is hidden behind a combined number.

Stimulant profile20%6.5/10

Scored on its own terms, not zeroed for lacking caffeine. As a deliberate stim-free pump pick it's exactly what an evening trainer or caffeine-cutter wants, and it stacks cleanly with any stimulant. But this axis also measures whether the product delivers energy and focus — and on its own it provides none, which is a real functional limitation for a buyer who wants an all-in-one. Credited honestly: ideal for its niche, incomplete as a standalone.

Value per serving15%7.5/10

Fair for what it is. At about $1.13 a serving it's mid-priced here, but each serving is a loaded ~32 g of disclosed actives — you're paying for genuinely big doses, not a sprinkle. Note the full dose is 2 scoops, so a tub yields around 20 full servings. Reasonable value for a maximal stim-free pump stack, though not a budget play.

Taste & mixability10%7.5/10

The Cherry Blackout flavor is well-liked and a large two-scoop dose mixes acceptably, though glycerol-heavy pump formulas can settle and need a good shake. The knock for the honesty-minded is that it's artificially colored and sweetened, unlike the naturally-flavored top picks. Pleasant and functional, with an artificial-additive caveat.

▸ SPECS

The product at a glance

L-Citrulline
10 g pure L-citrulline (full 2-scoop dose) — at/above premium tier
Beta-Alanine
None — pump-focused formula, not an endurance-buffer one (recorded as absent)
Caffeine
0 mg — completely stimulant-free by design
Other actives
5 g creatine, 4 g HydroPrime glycerol, 4 g betaine, 1.5 g agmatine, nitrates, VasoDrive-AP
Transparency
Fully disclosed doses, no proprietary blends (~32 g actives per serving)
Servings
~40 servings by scoop (776 g tub); ~20 full 2-scoop servings
Price
$45 ≈ $1.13 per serving
▸ TRUTH CHECK

Marketing claims vs. reality

Verified

A fully-disclosed, no-proprietary-blend nitric-oxide stack.

Accurate and a real strength: the entire ~32 g serving is itemized — 10 g citrulline, 5 g creatine, 4 g glycerol, 4 g betaine, 1.5 g agmatine, plus nitrates and VasoDrive-AP — with nothing hidden behind a combined number. Exactly the transparency the ranking credits.

Verified

Delivers massive pumps without stimulants.

Supported by both the doses and the design. The 10 g of citrulline alone exceeds the 6-8 g shown to drive nitric-oxide blood flow (Pérez-Guisado 2010), and it's stacked with glycerol, nitrates and agmatine — all with zero caffeine. A genuine, well-formulated stim-free pump product.

Partial

A complete pre-workout for your training.

Only if 'complete' means the pump. It deliberately provides no caffeine for energy or focus and contains no beta-alanine for muscular endurance, so on its own it covers one job, not all of them. Excellent as a pump stack or a stacking base; not a standalone all-in-one pre-workout.

▸ THE DEEP DIVE

What our test actually found

01The best pure pump stack in the lineup

On disclosed pump doses, nothing here beats it: 10 g of citrulline (above the 6-8 g clinical mark), 5 g of creatine, and a supporting cast of glycerol, betaine, agmatine, nitrates and VasoDrive-AP, all printed on the label. If your single goal is the biggest, most transparent muscle pump, this is the formula — it spends its entire ~32 g serving on blood flow and cell volumization rather than splitting the budget with a stimulant.

02Stim-free is the whole point — credit it, understand it

We score this as a deliberate stim-free pick, not a deficient stim one. Zero caffeine is exactly what an evening trainer, a caffeine-cutter, or a stacker wants — it gives the pump and performance support without touching sleep, and layers cleanly on top of any stimulant you choose. The honest flip side: on its own it provides no energy or alertness, so it isn't a one-product answer unless you add your own stim. Bought for its niche, that's a feature; bought as an all-in-one, it's a gap.

03No beta-alanine — recorded plainly, by design

This is a pump formula, so it omits beta-alanine entirely — and we record that exactly, rather than rounding up. Beta-alanine saturates muscle carnosine over weeks to buffer fatigue in 1-4 minute efforts; it does nothing for the acute pump this product targets, so leaving it out is a defensible formulation choice. But if you specifically want the endurance benefit (and the tingle), it isn't here — you'd add it separately or pick a formula that includes it, like #1 or #2.

04Artificial flavors are the one transparency-adjacent knock

For a product this honest on doses, the artificial coloring and sweetening are the notable caveat next to naturally-flavored leaders like Transparent Labs (#1) and Legion Pulse (#2). It doesn't affect efficacy, and the Cherry Blackout flavor is well-liked — but for a buyer who weights clean, natural formulation, it's a real difference worth flagging.

▸ THE TRADE-OFFS

Pros & cons, no sugar-coating

Pros
  • The biggest disclosed pump stack here — 10 g citrulline + glycerol + nitrates + agmatine + VasoDrive-AP
  • Completely stimulant-free — ideal for evening training and clean to stack with any stim
  • Includes 5 g creatine monohydrate at a full research dose
  • Fully disclosed ~32 g serving with no proprietary blends
  • Well-liked Cherry Blackout flavor at fair value (~$1.13 a serving) for the dose
Cons
  • Zero caffeine — provides no energy or alertness on its own (by design)
  • No beta-alanine — none of the endurance-buffer benefit or tingle
  • Artificially colored and sweetened, unlike the naturally-flavored top picks
▸ THE BOTTOM LINE

The best stim-free pump here — bought for its job, it's a standout.

Judge Gorilla Mode Nitric for what it is, and it's excellent: a fully-disclosed 32 g nitric-oxide stack with 10 g citrulline and 5 g creatine, engineered for serious blood flow with zero caffeine. For anyone who trains late, is cutting back on stimulants, or wants to build their own total caffeine dose by stacking, it's the best pump pick in the lineup — and the transparency of its label is exactly what this ranking rewards. It sits at #7 because the rubric values a well-judged stimulant and a complete active profile, and a deliberately caffeine-free, beta-alanine-free stack scores lower on those axes by design — not by failure. We credit the stim-free choice rather than penalize it, and we record the gaps plainly: no energy on its own, no beta-alanine, artificial flavors. If you want the pump without the stimulant, buy it with confidence. If you want energy and focus in a single scoop, choose a stim formula like Transparent Labs BULK (#1) instead.

Check Gorilla Mind · 10g citrulline · 5g creatine · 0mg caffeine · ~40 servings on Amazon
▸ ALTERNATIVES

If this doesn’t fit — try these

▸ RESEARCH

Sources & further reading

  1. Pérez-Guisado 2010Pérez-Guisado J, Jakeman PM · 2010 · Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research · PMID 20386132

    Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness

    A single 8 g dose of citrulline malate significantly increased bench-press repetitions and reduced muscle soreness versus placebo. Direct support for the nitric-oxide pump mechanism this stack is built on — and its 10 g citrulline dose sits above that clinical mark.

  2. Hobson 2012Hobson RM, Saunders B, Ball G, Harris RC, Sale C · 2012 · Amino Acids · PMID 22270875

    Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis

    Beta-alanine improved exercise outcomes versus placebo, concentrated in 60-240 s efforts via muscle-carnosine saturation over weeks. Explains why this acute pump formula legitimately omits beta-alanine — the ingredient targets a different, endurance-buffer job entirely.

  3. Saunders 2017Saunders B, Elliott-Sale K, Artioli GG, Swinton PA, Dolan E, Roschel H, Sale C, Gualano B · 2017 · British Journal of Sports Medicine · PMID 27797728

    β-alanine supplementation to improve exercise capacity and performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    An updated meta-analysis of 40 studies found a small but significant ergogenic effect of beta-alanine, greatest in 30 s-10 min efforts. Confirms beta-alanine is an endurance buffer, not a pump agent — context for its deliberate absence from this nitric-oxide stack.

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