The 9 Best Electrolyte Powders to Keep Your Sweaty Self Hydrated

Look at you, being all active and shit! Good on you. Whether you’re on the treadmill, at the climbing gym, biking to work, or hiking the trails on the weekend, you’re up and moving around. But while your body is getting all healthy for you, are you being kind to your body?

By “kind,” I mean are you not just hydrating, but also replacing the dissolved minerals it needs to keep functioning as you sweat them all out? You need to replenish your body with electrolytes as you sweat, and it couldn’t hurt to do so after you’re done. Water alone is not gonna cut it. Adding electrolyte powder to your water is an easy (and tasty way) to get hydrated and boost your energy during, or after, a tough workout.

It sounds like yet one more thing to keep track of, and it is. You’ll feel better, though, if you hydrate with water before strenuous activity and mix in some electrolyte powder during your activities. No gimmicks. Just your good, old pals from the periodic table in the form of electrolytes.

We trust this high school chem stuff is easy enough to grasp (right?). We did the real hard part—that is, finding and testing tons of products to find the best electrolyte powders on the market today. Read on to see which ones made the grade.

What even are electrolytes?

Well, yeah, they actually do have something to do with electricity. It’s not just a random bit of a name. “Electrolytes are substances that have a natural positive or negative electrical charge when dissolved in water,” writes the Cleveland Clinic.

Potassium serves to help ward off cramping, which is important when you’re straining your body in any activity. Magnesium is an electrolyte necessary for maintaining cell function and nerve conduction by allowing them to turn nutrients into energy.

Salt, in the form of sodium, is crucial for maintaining hydration. It might sound counterintuitive, but you need to take in salt as you sweat, since salt helps you hold onto the water you’ve ingested. There are more, but electrolyte powders tend to focus on these three.

As you sweat, you lose not just water but also—you guessed it—electrolytes. You have to replenish them to keep your body in tip-top shape. If you don’t, you’ll begin to feel lethargic and fatigued as your body struggles with low electrolyte levels. In the extreme, it can even become dangerous.

quick look at the best electrolyte powders

• Best electrolyte tablets – SaltStick FastChews
• Best electrolye powder overall – Dr. Berg Zero Sugar Electrolyte Powder
• Best tasting electrolyte powder – LMNT Chocolate Salt
• Our favorite tablet, in powder form – SaltStick DrinkMix
• Best electrolytes to use on the go – Nuun Sport Hydration Tablets
• Don’t inject it – Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier
• Chews ’em – Honey Stinger Caffeinated Chews
• Sweet, sweet hydration – Vitalyte Electrolyte Replacement Drink Mix
• Ride the wind – Tailwind Rapid Hydration

how we evaluated the best Electrolyte Powders

Because being comfortable is way overrated, I’m heavily into long solo hikes and alpine mountaineering. And, well, I sweat a lot doing these activities, so I need to constantly replenish not just my hydration but also my electrolyte levels.

The air at 10,000 feet in glaciated environments is awfully dry, and I have a special affection for hiking deserts in California’s (and Nevada’s) Death Valley, Texas’ Big Bend National Park, and Arizona’s Grand Canyon, not to mention various forests and rainforests elsewhere.

I can feel a distinct and not insignificant difference when I’m using electrolyte replenishments versus when I’m not, so my primary criteria for those we’ve tried is how we (and in some cases, customer reviewers) felt. Reenergized, non-cramping, and otherwise less fatigued is what we were hoping for.

Next up is taste. If you’re anything like me, you’ll drink less if it tastes putrid. And then lastly there’s how well it mixes. Chalky drinks are tougher to choke down, so if it blends smoothly into water, then it’s one I’d rather drink.

Best electrolyte tablets – saltstick fastchews

These chewable tablets are surprisingly tasty, given their utilitarian function. I’ve had orange, lemon-lime, watermelon, peach, and green apple. All were good. There are now mixed berry, mango, and coconut pineapple, too, which I’ve yet to try.

Each tablet has 100 mg of sodium, 30 mg of potassium, 10 mg of calcium, 6 mg of magnesium and 10 calories, complete with natural flavors and no artificial colorings. Two tablets equal one serving. Although I generally don’t like Stevia as a sweetener, it doesn’t bother me here.

SaltSticks says FastChews “provide a similar ratio of electrolytes to what your body loses through sweat,” as well as that by absorbing the electrolytes through your mouth’s lining, your body takes in the nutrients two to four times faster than the intestines.

I felt more energized on a number of very strenuous hikes compared to when I withheld from using FastChews, and I also had no muscle cramping, even after seven straight days of hiking mountainous terrain.

Best electrolyte powder overall – dr. berg zero sugar electrolyte powder

Most electrolyte supplements are designed to mix into water, like Dr. Berg’s. And at about 75 cents per serving, VICE’s own Brad Clarke (who helped with product testing for this piece) says they provide “way more bang for the buck” than a lot of other electrolyte powders.

There’s hardly sodium—only 40 mg per serving—which can be a boon for those who already need to reduce salt in their diets. Know your needs on this one, as it’s a bit of a double-edged sword.

“(It) can be a bit harsh on stomach at first, maybe because of so much potassium,” says Brad, who notes that its 1000 mg of potassium per serving is quite a lot.

Rather than cane sugar, it’s sweetened with Stevia, which is plant-based. Brad says the raspberry lemon is very tasty, although there are eight more flavors if raspberry lemon isn’t your thing.

Best tasting electrolyte powder – lmnt chocolate salt

This chocolate-flavored drink mix, in contrast to Dr. Berg’s, is heavy on the salt and lighter on the potassium. There’s 1000 mg of sodium, 200 mg of potassium, and 60 mg of magnesium in each serving. If your diet is light in salt, this is a good option.

Without enough of it, you can intake all the water you want and your body won’t be able to hold onto enough of it. The flip side of such a salt-heavy electrolyte mix is that if your diet should be low in salt for health reasons, such as hypertension, you should look elsewhere.

It’s unusual to come across an electrolyte mix that isn’t fruit flavored. LMNT makes these too, but VICE’s Brad Clarke says the chocolate salt version has an “awesome chocolate flavor that tastes like chocolate milk.” There’s also a chocolate caramel salt and chocolate medley salt.

“Rich and subtly salty, Chocolate Salt is meant to be enjoyed hot,” says LMNT. “Half a stick in your morning coffee makes a mean mocha.” But it can be drunk cold, too, in smoothies or, as Brad does, as a frosty glass of chocolate milk.

Our Favorite tablet, in powder form – saltstick drink mix

Don’t want to chew your electrolytes? SaltStick also makes an electrolyte powder. Its 430 mg of sodium, 22 mg of magnesium, and 120 mg of potassium are balanced rather down the middle, so it’s is a solid choice if you’re not abstaining or severely lacking in any one mineral.

This mix will provide you with the crucial salts to retain hydration and potassium to ward off cramps without overloading you on any of them. Customer reviews are torn on whether it’s too sweet, though, and whether they can taste the Stevia plant-based sweetener.

At about 50 cents per serving (currently on Amazon), it’s also on the affordable end of things, although it usually sells for a bit more. There aren’t as many flavors to choose from compared to the FastChews, but orange, lemon lime, and mango are crowd pleasers.

Best electrolytes to use on the go – nuun sport hydration tablets

These are also tablets, but don’t eat ’em. They dissolve in water, like Alka-Seltzer. That makes them easy to transport, compared to tubs of loose powder, and so they’re popular in the outdoors space among hikers and climbers.

I thought the lemon lime flavor was fine, but Brad and I both thought the drinks ended up on the chalky side. That said, they did the job. I had noticeably more energy on a multi-day climb of Mount Baker when I was dropping Nuun tablets into my water bottles.

Their 300 mg of sodium, 150 mg of potassium, and 25 mg of magnesium warded off cramps, even when I was lugging a 50-pound backpack for days on end. My calves thanked me at the end of the week. What, your legs don’t talk to you? Liar.

don’t inject it – liquid i.v. hydration multiplier

These are large packets that require mixing with 16 fluid ounces of water. A pint of electrolyte drink is more than typical. But hey, you’re here to hydrate, right? There’s 560 mg of sodium, 370 mg of potassium, and no magnesium.

That’s on the higher end of moderate amounts for the first two, but not too high of either. There’s more of a focus on Vitamin B and amino acids, per Brad, who also praises the strong flavors, particularly the sugar-free lemon lime.

chews ’em – honey stinger caffeinated chews

Not down for a drink mix, but you want something tastier than the SaltStick FastChews tablets? Check out these chewable gummies. If you’ve ever been in an REI, you’ve walked past these at the checkout line. Why didn’t you stop and grab one? They’re delicious.

Flavors like cherry cola and stingerita lime (like margarita…) stand out from the crowd of plain fruit flavors. They contain 50 mg of caffeine per serving of six chews. For comparison, a 12 fl. oz. can of Coke has 34 mg of caffeine, and Diet Coke has 46 mg.

There are also 80 mg of sodium and 27 mg of potassium in each serving. Those numbers are on the low side, especially given that all that flavor comes with 28 g of added sugar per serving. The caffeine are the flavors are the real stars here.

sweet, sweet hydration – vitalyte electrolyte replacement drink mix

Overlook the fact that there are 90 calories and 21 g of added sugar in each serving of this drink mix if you’re looking for pure flavor. There are 135 mg of sodium, 193 mg of potassium, and 3 mg of magnesium, as well.

“Orange has a definite ‘tang’ to it, but keep in mind that even as the strongest flavor it’s milder than a lot of other sports drinks,” says one customer. Across the board, customers rave about the flavors, but also say that it’s not too sweet.

ride the wind – tailwind rapid hydration

If you’re stuck neck-deep in Tailwind’s product line, wondering which one is right for your needs, know that Rapid Hydration is lower in calories than Tailwind Endurance Fuel, at 45 calories per serving versus the latter’s 90 calories.

“Easy to dissolve and good flavor. No saltiness,” reads one customer review. With 320 mg of sodium per serving, that’s an impressive feat. There are also 90 mg of potassium and 10 mg of magnesium per serving, making this a sodium heavy-hitter with moderate amounts of the latter.