Over the years, I've gotton into the habit of drinking Gatorade for hydration. I know the electrolytes help - mainly salt and potassium. The flavoring and sweetness also help me get the water down, as sometimes I lose any appetite for water/food when I exert myself.

I'm getting ready for a 3 day/2 night trip. Using my new knowledge of weighing out everything I carry, I measured out enough Gatorade powder for 3 days, at 2 quarts per day. I wound up with over 18 ounces, most of which is sugar. This would have been my single heaviest food/beverage ration for the trip.

I said no way to this. While I was at my local City Market, I checked out the powdered drink aisle, and found a store brand (Kroger) hydration drink mix - the stuff in the little "stick" packages. Each package is 2.2 grams net, for 16.9 oz. water. My weight for a 3 day ration, 2 quarts per day is 1.3 oz. total, including packaging and a ziplock to carry it in! Of course, there are other brands of this stuff - Gatorade, Powerade, etc., but it all looks pretty comparable.

This stuff is mainly salt, potassium and sucralose, with some artificial flavorings and colorings mixed in. The flavor and sweetness are definitely concentrated; those little tiny envelopes pack a punch.

This is not the kind of stuff I drink daily; mostly I stick to water and tea, but it seems like a real benefit for low-weight hydration on the trail.

I read about this kind of stuff in a thread here somewhere, but I was really interested to put some numbers up on the weight savings.