When the temperatures started climbing on the East Coast and I started sweating
The bottom line: it depends on your individual chemistry, what type of exercise you're doing, and what works best for you. But here's a list of those I've tried and my impressions of each. I found the addition of any electrolyte supplement helpful, but definitely had my preferences (see "comments" sections). All criteria use one liter as a serving size. This requires more than one Nuun or Elixer tablet.
Nuun - Active Hydration Tablets
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| Photo from REI.com |
Electrolyte content: 720 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium, 100 mg magnesium per liter
Sugar content: 0 g per liter
Carbohydrate content: ~1 g per liter
Taste: Not great. All flavors were pretty bland. Mildly effervescent, even though the website states the drink is flat once it has dissolved. Make sure to vent closed Nalgene bottles!
Ease of transport: Piece of cake. The tubes, once open, provide easy access even for gloved hands (think mountaineering).
Comments: Nuun's creators intentionally left out the carbs and sugar, and I think the reasoning is perfect. They want you to be able to manage carbohydrates and sugar separately. The goal is to give you more control over how you refuel and to provide a drink that just gives you electrolytes. The ingredient list contains "natural flavors," which might mean artificial sweeteners are used. If they are, I couldn't tell; the recommended serving size gave me a drink that tasted slightly different from water. If you're the kind of athlete who needs something easy on the stomach and doesn't taste strongly, this might be your drink. But I'm not sure it's mine.
CamelBak Elixer Tablets
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| Photo from REI.com |
Electrolyte content: 620 mg sodium, 100 mg potassium, 25 mg magnesium per liter
Sugar content: 0 g per liter
Carbohydrate content: ~2g
Taste: The only flavor I've tried is the lemon lime and it tasted slightly salty, which I really liked. Not much lemon or lime in there, but the fact that it had a strong taste at all was refreshing. If you don't enjoy effervescent drinks, stay away.
Ease of transport: Piece of cake. The tubes, once open, provide easy access even for gloved hands.
Comments: Although lower than Nuun on all counts of electrolyte content, the Elixer tabs fall within what the internet says are acceptable ranges of electrolytes. And I liked the taste of these better. They also contain more than 1.5x our daily recommended dose of Vitamin C, and although I'm not convinced that matters much in how I feel, it did mean I could leave the Vitamin C supplements at home while I climbed Rainier. If you only have a 16 oz. water bottle or want the perfect serving size for your liter bottle, Camelbak made it easy for you to break them in half, which is awesome. Elixer does contain artificial sweeteners, which, in moderation, I'm fine with. Overall, I'd definitely buy these again!
Clif Shot Electrolyte Replacement Drink Mix
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| Photo from REI.com |
Electrolyte content: 720-800 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium
Sugar content: 40 g
Carbohydrate content: 80g
Taste: No doubt about it, it's salty, and pretty potent. If you don't like strong tasting drinks while you're exercising, this isn't for you. It's not at all effervescent, but you might want to let it sit a few minutes to let the crystals dissolve.
Ease of transport: Bad. Powders are messy and difficult unless you take the time to pre-mix the drinks. You won't want to haul the whole container around, and if you're on an extended trip, this will be a serious issue. I've seen it sold in individual serving packets once, but haven't found them since.
Comments: It's more like a typical sports drink, but over 90% organic. It has a higher sugar content, stronger taste, and might not appeal to everyone. I, however, really like it and wish it came in tablet form. I like the salty taste, and it's still sweet, which is likely a result of the high sugar content. It's a great drink for extended trips and days where you'll need as many calories as you can get. I found it particularly good at altitude; when everything else was tasteless, I could still taste this, which is definitely a plus! Just make sure to mix everything up before leaving base camp.
1. The American College of Sports Medicine found needs were different for individuals depending on a variety of factors, including sweating rates. Visit http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&CONTENTID=7650&SECTION=20071&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm for details.
2. REI's website states one tablet works per liter, but the nutrition information provided by Camelbak states 1 tablet makes a 24oz serving. I opted to stick with their metrics. All posted nutrition information follows this as well.