Sports drink

From Trail-Finder -- Dedicated to getting you outside

Before sports drinks, extreme athletes drank water and swallowed salt pills. Then came Gatorade. The world was never the same.

Sports drinks were created to replace water and electrolytes in Florida football players while also providing sugar for quick energy. While it may work well for them, it's generally overkill for most of us. That's not to say it has no place in recreational outdoor enthusiast's gear.

Because the amount of sugar and salt in sports drinks is so high, it's generally best to cut it with plain water. There are two main ways to do it.

1. Dilute the sports drink with water. Recommendations are anywhere from one to six parts water for each part sports drink.
2. Alternate sports drink at full-strength with water.

Sports drinks are mostly available pre-mixed, which is fine for short trips, where you don't really need a sports drink anyway. You can also find them in sports and larger grocery stores in powdered form, which is much more convenient for carrying larger quantities in your pack.