Water.

I tend to bonk easy and may have a bit of hypoglycemia. I really like cytomax and prefer it. I first used it on the White Rim trail while mt biking and found my energy levels were way more consistent and I needed less water overall. I have used just about every one of these drinks from Heed, Gu, gatorade, etc. They all work nicely when hiking and I do see improved recovery at the end of the day. Cytomax is my favorite though.

Most people I hike with just don't need this stuff necessarily, but my body seems to rail through the glucose. I also need to eat a few hundred calories an hour to keep myself stepping lively. It's really more of maintaining my blood sugar. A drink with some protein helps digest food and aids in recovery as well.

I guess it's just how much you pay attention to and/or need this stuff. My body seems to really react to snacking and these drinks. I'm also 6'2" and 225 lbs so I need alot of fuel to haul my ass around.

JasonH wrote:Water.

Bourbon and WATER? Generally is just bring a Vitamin Water, spring water and a few energy type bars and I'm fine. But I don't eat breakfast or lunch, and that's probably not real healthy, so it make sense to have a supplement drink. My metabolism is such that dinners only work for me, even with some exercise mixed in, my thinking though for some real tough/long hikes my body might retaliate.

After trying a lot of different types of sports drinks and not seeing any real benefits, I have been using plain old inexpensive water. I do sometimes add a cheap drink mix like crystal light because my nalgenes have developed a funky flavor over the years...