Best Electrolyte Supplements for Hiking in Extreme Heat (2026)
The best electrolytes for hiking in desert heat, what actually works, what's overhyped, and how much sodium you really need on hot trail days
HikeDesert Team
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Most hiking guides focus on how much water to drink. Almost none of them mention the thing that actually kills endurance athletes and backcountry hikers in heat: drinking too much plain water.
Hyponatremia, low blood sodium, happens when you consume large volumes of fluid without replacing the sodium you’re losing through sweat. The symptoms are nearly identical to heat exhaustion: nausea, headache, fatigue, confusion. The treatment is the opposite. You stop drinking water and add sodium. Getting that wrong in the backcountry is serious.
The fix is simple and cheap. But you have to know the problem exists first.
Hyponatremia: Why You Can Drink Too Much Water
Your blood maintains a narrow sodium concentration range. When you sweat, you lose both water and sodium. If you replace only the water, the concentration of sodium in your blood drops.
This is most common in well-intentioned hikers who drink aggressively, often encouraged by “drink before you’re thirsty” advice. The advice is correct, but only if you’re also replacing electrolytes.
A 2002 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 13% of Boston Marathon finishers had hyponatremia. Many endurance events since have documented similar rates among participants who hydrated heavily without electrolyte replacement. It’s not rare.
On desert trails, the combination of aggressive sweating and aggressive drinking makes this a real risk. The practical prevention is one electrolyte serving per 500, 750ml of water you consume on any hike over 90 minutes.
What Electrolytes Actually Do
Sodium: controls fluid balance inside and outside cells. The most important one on hot days. Your body loses it fastest through sweat.
Potassium: works with sodium to regulate muscle contractions. Depletion causes cramps and fatigue.
Magnesium: involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions. Depletion is harder to detect but contributes to muscle weakness and poor heat tolerance.
Calcium: affects muscle function and nerve signaling. Often overlooked in electrolyte products, but SaltStick includes it.
Most commercial electrolyte products get sodium right and treat the rest as supporting cast. That’s mostly correct, but if you’re cramping despite adequate sodium, look at your magnesium intake.
Top Picks
1. Nuun Sport Hydration Tabs
Nuun is the reliable baseline that most desert hikers start with and many stick with permanently. Each tab delivers 300mg sodium, dissolves in about 2 minutes in any temperature water, and comes in flavors that don’t taste medicinal.
It’s the right call for hikes under 4 hours in moderate heat (below 95°F). The sodium dose is enough to prevent hyponatremia for most people at reasonable exertion levels. At $7 per tube of 10 tabs, it’s also the most affordable electrolyte on this list.
One note: at 300mg sodium per serving, Nuun underdoses heavy sweaters in extreme heat. If you finish long hikes still cramping or with persistent headaches despite drinking enough, step up to the PH1000.
2. Precision Hydration PH1000
This is the serious desert hiking electrolyte. Each serving delivers 1000mg sodium, which is the high end of what endurance athletes use for full-day efforts in heat.
PH1000 is built for heavy sweaters and long efforts, a 6-hour canyon hike in July, a rim-to-rim crossing in August, back-to-back desert days on a long trail. The formula is mild in flavor and not overly sweet. It mixes cleanly in a hydration bladder.
The cost is higher ($22 per pack of 8 sachets), but the per-use cost for a heavy-sweater situation is justified. If you’ve tried other electrolytes and still felt poor on long hot hikes, this is likely the missing piece.
3. SaltStick Caps
SaltStick is the electrolyte for hikers who don’t want to flavor their water. Each capsule covers sodium (215mg), potassium, magnesium, and calcium in proportions that mimic sweat composition. You swallow the cap and drink plain water separately.
This works well for people who carry both a hydration bladder and a plain water bottle. You can drink your plain cold water and take a cap every 30, 45 minutes rather than mixing anything. It’s also the cleanest option for people sensitive to sweeteners in electrolyte drinks.
At $18 for 30 caps, the cost per use is slightly higher than Nuun but lower than PH1000 for moderate-intensity hiking.
Also Worth Knowing
LMNT is expensive ($45 for 30 packets) but gets the formula right: 1000mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60mg magnesium, zero sugar. The desert hiking and endurance running communities have adopted it widely for good reason. If budget isn’t a concern, it’s as good as PH1000.
DripDrop ORS uses a medical-grade oral rehydration formula. It’s overkill for most day hikes but genuinely useful for heat exhaustion recovery or anyone hiking through GI illness. Worth keeping a few packets in a first aid kit.
Skip Liquid IV. The formula leads with sugar (11g per serving) and delivers only 500mg sodium, less than LMNT and far less than PH1000 at a higher price. The marketing is better than the product.
How to Use Electrolytes on the Trail
Timing: don’t wait until you feel bad. Take your first electrolyte serving within 45 minutes of starting a hike over 90 minutes. Pre-loading with a salty breakfast also helps, eggs, toast with salted butter, or even a small sports drink before you leave the car.
Amounts: start with the product’s recommended serving and adjust based on sweat rate and duration. Heavy sweaters (you finish hikes with visible salt crusting on your clothes or face) should start at the higher end and go up from there.
Reading your sweat rate: white salt residue on dark clothing means you’re losing a lot of sodium per liter of sweat. These are the people who cramp on Gatorade and feel fine on LMNT. Know what your sweat looks like and choose your electrolyte dose accordingly.
If you end a hike thirsty but not cramping and without a headache, your electrolyte strategy is working. If you end a hike nauseous or with leg cramps despite drinking enough fluid, sodium was probably too low.
For more on desert hydration strategy, see how much water to carry desert hiking.
Electrolyte needs vary significantly by individual. If you have a heart condition, kidney disease, or take blood pressure medications, talk to your doctor before increasing sodium intake aggressively.
Frequently Asked Questions
What electrolytes do I need for hot weather hiking?
Sodium is the most important by a wide margin. You lose more sodium through sweat than any other electrolyte, and it's the one most directly tied to hyponatremia risk. After sodium, potassium and magnesium matter for muscle function and cramping prevention. Most electrolyte products cover all three. The products that skip sodium or dramatically underdose it (under 200mg per serving) aren't built for serious heat.
How much sodium do I need hiking in the desert?
A general starting point for heavy sweaters in serious heat is 500, 1000mg of sodium per hour. Most sports drinks deliver 100, 200mg per serving, far too low for a 4-hour desert hike. Precision Hydration PH1000 and LMNT both deliver 1000mg per serving, which is why they're popular with endurance athletes and desert hikers. If you're a lighter sweater or hiking in mild heat, 300mg per hour is sufficient. Electrolyte needs vary significantly by individual. If you have a heart condition, kidney disease, or take blood pressure medications, talk to your doctor before increasing sodium intake aggressively.
Can I just drink sports drinks instead of electrolyte tablets?
Gatorade and similar drinks deliver roughly 160mg of sodium per 20 oz serving. That's not enough for serious desert heat. You'd need to drink several liters of sports drink per hour to hit adequate sodium levels, which also means consuming a large amount of sugar. Electrolyte tablets and powders let you dial in the sodium independently of how much sugar and liquid you want. For casual hikers doing short trails, sports drinks are fine. For anything over 3 hours in real heat, use a dedicated electrolyte product.
What are signs of low electrolytes while hiking?
Muscle cramps are the most obvious sign, especially in the calves and hamstrings. Nausea that doesn't go away when you rest is another. Headache combined with fatigue that doesn't improve after drinking water suggests electrolyte depletion rather than simple dehydration. In advanced cases: confusion, weakness in limbs, and inability to regulate body temperature. If someone shows confusion or stops sweating despite obvious heat exposure, treat it as an emergency and get them to shade and medical care immediately.
HikeDesert Team