The thing with deer antler and pro sports is that it
is a supplement that naturally contains insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which is a banned substance. Its found in minute amounts however, and taken orally is most likely not even absorbed. That said, it's still banned. It does have many other beneficial compounds in it, "growth factors" and such.
This is the brand I'm currently taking, which I bought in New Zealand. It's amazing stuff, very strong, very motivating, very "yang" and I'm not sure what prices will be in terms of shipping outside of NZ.
http://www.healthpos...650mg-pldv.htmlI really like Dragon Herbs products and have used many to great effect, but not their Deer Antler product. I would assume it's pretty high quality however, and they claim to use only the tips of young antler, which is where the goodies are. You can visit the link below to learn a bit more about Deer Antler in general.
http://www.dragonher....asp?number=006Jing Herbs is another quality brand for Chinese Herbs, but their deer antler extract has also has he shou wu and goji berry extract, two "yin" herbs to balance out the very "yang" energy of deer antler.
Other than that I can't speak for any other quality products out there. Since the majority of the extracts today are using the middles or bases of deer antler, which are basically inert, you can rest assured that the cheaper the product, the lower in quality it is. Considering how cheap the badmonkeybotanicals extract is, I would personally avoid it. The more expensive does not necessarily mean the better either, which is why I like to stick to Dragon Herbs or Jing Herbs for this type of thing as they know what they're doing, or go straight to the source in New Zealand. You could also touch base with your local Chinatown and check out their herbal shops if this is an option for you, it will probably be the cheapest option.
I always like using more natural substances before using synthetic or isolated compounds, so I definitely recommend trying a good deer antler product when you can afford it - and if it's a quality product, you'll definitely feel it. At the same time though, L-Tyrosine is so cheap, safe and pretty effective, and even sulbutiamine, if used responsibly, is a good pick as well. Maybe just run down to your local Vitamin Shoppe or wherever and pick up some L-Tyrosine and try that out, then branch out to deer antler if you so choose.