Does the creatine brand matter, or is monohydrate just monohydrate? Label & Testing

Chemically, monohydrate is monohydrate — there's no premium molecule hiding in the expensive bag. What you're buying with the logo is a testing programme. The two you'll see are NSF Certified for Sport and Informed Sport: Informed Sport's pitch is every-batch testing before release, NSF's is a broader programme covering banned substances plus label, formulation and facility review, and they retain samples afterwards. Both cover the WADA list. If you're drug-tested, that logo is the product. If you're not, it's assurance you can price.

On the heavy metals noise: the testing that made headlines was on protein powders, not creatine, and the pattern skewed heavily towards plant-based, organic and chocolate-flavoured products. A Clean Label Project analysis of 160 products found a large share over California's Prop 65 lead threshold, and Consumer Reports found lead in popular products too. Don't transfer that straight onto creatine, but do take the general point that 'supplement' is not a regulated quality bar.

Free test: good monohydrate is a fine powder that mostly dissolves in warm water and tastes of very little. Gritty, sandy, faintly sweet or oddly bitter is worth a second look. Not a lab, obviously, but it has caught two bad bags for me.

I've used the cheapest bulk bag for six years and the only difference I can detect is that it dissolves worse. I'd rather buy 5 kg cheap than 1 kg certified — but I'm not tested, and I'd say the exact opposite to anyone who is.

Ask the seller for a certificate of analysis for the batch. Reputable bulk suppliers send one over without fuss. The ones that go quiet have told you something.

Micronised just means finer particles, so it dissolves better. It isn't a different compound and it isn't stronger.