I've looked all over the website, through the stickies, and raped the search feature into oblivion... still can't find answers. I'm looking into finally buying creatine. First time user, so I've got some questions:

1) What are some reputable brands? On Nutraplanet I can find a kilo of the stuff (manufactured by Nutraplanet) for less than $20, but others that are twice as much for 45 servings. Everyone seems to say that I need to be careful of what brands to buy, but I can never find recommendations of which brands are ok? Budget is a big factor with me (college..), but I don't want to buy crap. I know that I need to look for monohydrate.

2) I've heard arguments for and against loading phases. Are they really necessary?

3) Regarding dosages... every different product has different instructions on how much to take, when to take it, and so forth. Is there really that much of a difference that I should follow the instructions of whatever brand I buy? Or is there a more general set of guidelines?

bonus question: I'm also looking for some dex/malto, up to this point I've just been using grape juice. Is that stuff all pretty much the same that I could pick up pretty much anything?

Maybe I'm retarded and missed something huge, but I couldn't find answers to this stuff anywhere on the website. Thanks in advance.

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