As apparent from this rapid literature review, the reaction paths followed during activation have been studied independently for each activator and under varying conditions. The present article aims at providing a more comprehensive and unified picturean experimental reviewby investigating the influence of the three types of activators (NaOH, Na2CO3, and Na2Si1,7O4,4) on the reaction path of slag hydration under similar conditions. This was done by combining the results of different analysis and characterizing methods, namely isothermal micro-calorimetry, 29 Si and 27 Al nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR), { 1 H} 29 Si cross-polarized MAS NMR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), quantification of bound water by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and measurements of the mechanical strength.