u/TotalCatskills

I got suspicious paying big money for electrolyte products, so I went full nerd and compared fifteen popular options, electrolyte by electrolyte, and costs. I looked at sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, cost per serving, and then calculated the cost per milligram of electrolyte so they all could be compared fairly.

Here’s what stood out:

1. Venture Pal was the best value among dedicated electrolyte mixes.
2. LMNT is excellent, but it’s much more expensive than a nearly identical alternative.
3. SaltStick isn’t nearly as good a value as I expected.
4. Energy chews like Clif Bloks and Honey Stinger are basically expensive sugar with very few electrolytes.
5. The biggest surprise: Salt & Vinegar potato chips are actually a remarkably inexpensive source of sodium for long hikes.

Since switching from Gatorade and SaltStick to LMNT and now Venture Pal, I haven’t had the headaches and leg cramps that used to kill me on long summer hikes.

I can also post the full comparison table here if people are interested. Otherwise it’s on my website if you’d rather see the raw numbers.