Bladder Electrolyte Mix
A dry mix you dump into a hydration reservoir at the trailhead. Salt, sugar, and enough citrus to hide both.
- calories
- 190
- weight
- 1.8 oz
- cal / oz
- 106
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 2 min
- water
- 2000 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- No cook
- Day hike
- Backpacking
- Bikepacking
- Thru-hike
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Table sugar or dextrose | 3 tbsp | dextrose dissolves faster in cold water |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | fine grain, not flake |
| Lite salt (potassium chloride blend) | 1/4 tsp | |
| Powdered lemonade or citrus drink mix | 2 tbsp | the unsweetened kind, for flavor only |
| Baking soda | 1/8 tsp | optional, softens the sour edge |
Method
- Fill the reservoir with 2 liters of cold water, leaving the top few inches empty.
- Pour in one bag of mix through the wide opening. Do not use the drink tube port.
- Seal it, lay it flat, and roll it end to end for about twenty seconds. Sugar sinks and stays sunk if you skip this.
- Blow the tube clear back into the reservoir after every drink so sugar water does not sit in the bite valve all day.
- At home, rinse hot, hang open until fully dry.
Sugar in a hydration reservoir is a tradeoff, and it is worth naming. Carbohydrate in solution moves water across the gut wall faster than plain water does, and the sodium is what keeps that water in you rather than passing straight through. Roughly 6 percent sugar by weight is the range where absorption works; heavier than that and it sits in your stomach. Three tablespoons in two liters lands close enough.
The cost is cleaning. Any sweetened liquid left in a bite valve overnight grows something, and a reservoir is hard to scrub. Blowing the tube clear and drying the bag open handles most of it. If you will not do that, carry the mix dry and dose a bottle instead.
Packing
Premix single-reservoir doses into snack bags at home. One bag per fill means no measuring at a trailhead spigot.
Variations
- Halve the sugar and drink it as a plain electrolyte on cold days when you are not burning much.
- Swap the citrus powder for a tablespoon of powdered ginger and a pinch of cayenne in winter.
- Keep a plain-water bottle alongside it so you have something to take pills with and something to rinse a cut.
https://www.cleverhiker.com/hiking/cherainti-hydration-bladder-review