This Wired article is neat, but I think the Wired author takes the wrong lesson at the end.

It seems to connect with the "diet soda is bad for you thing" in some way.

Basically, taste is an important tool in telling the body how much to risk in performance, and the body is less easily fooled than one might believe.

when im going for 12+ hours of straight climbing ... gatorade or some other drink with tons of calories definitely helps me ...

water alone wont do it especially if on the face under the summer sun ...

When I am doing a very long dayhike, I carry one bottle of water, and one bottle of Gatorade. If I am only thirsty, I drink the water. If I am only tired, I drink the Gatorade. By the end of the day, I've consumed about 50-50.

--B.G.--

I agree with Jonah Lerher on this one. Sports drinks are disgusting. I'll get my sugar and salt some other way. Cool beuroscience, though.

"Sports drinks are disgusting."

Just like beer, it is an acquired taste.

The whole secret is in never drinking it full strength.

--B.G.--

I have moved over completely to nuun - http://www.nuun.com/

I am a believer.

Nuun is good stuff, but way to expensive for everyday use, really a splurge for me.

I run trails in 100F or near temps almost daily during the spring and summer, Gatorade is inexpensive, readily available, and works just fine. I go with the classic Lemon.

I'll usually run with 2 handhelds, fill one up with water, and the other with 2/3 Gatorade, 1/3 water.

At the trailhead after a run, I replenish with water and Gatorade... like I said it's cheap. Not the best tasting for sure, but Eric hit it on the head, after a hard effort, whatever it is you're doing outdoors, anything besides just straight water.

Sports drinks are fine for those times when you can't stop to eat, or it's hard to snack while on the move, like running or a cycling race. You need those nutrients and it's hard to get them.

But backpacking? I eat pretty well. And it's easy enough to have some dried banana or salty nuts to snack on while you hike.

The marketing has led everyone to believe that you can't function at a high rate with sports nutrition products. All those nutrients are easily available from food.

If you're doing it for taste, that's fine. I like to take some lemonade powder that has a ton of vitamin C in it just to allow for some variety.

Az

All I need to know about electrolytes is that with an awful hangover some nuun or pedialyte definitely brightens the rest of my day!

I feel like if a childhood of organized sports didn't give me a taste for it, it's probably not in the cards. :p

"I go with the classic Lemon."

I'll go for the classic Orange.

A Yosemite ranger friend of mine goes for classic Lime.

We were on a Nepal trek in 1983, and one other person on the trek got sick from Giardia and was treated by a doctor. The treatment is almost as bad as the illness, and the patient lost everything within her gastrointestinal tract within 24 hours. Then the patient was weak as a kitten. So, we gave her Orange Gatorade one day and Lime Gatorade the next day. She hated the stuff and called it "Orange Death" and "Green Death," but she knew that it would keep her alive until her system got back to normal. Three days later, she was standing on top of the high peak, surviving only on Gatorade.

--B.G.--

I must be the only one who occasionally drinks gatorade for no other reason than enjoyment. Orange or red, I drink both voluntarily for the taste...I must be weird.

Purple Gatorade mixed 50/50 with Vodka... enough said.

Your carrying too much weight with the vodka. The only acceptable ultralight alcohol is Ever clear.

I perfer spicy tang. 3/4 tang 1/4 everclear.

Considering how much really bad stuff is in it - and by that I mean a ton of artificial coloring and flavoring - a person would do far better to instead have a cool swig of water and a serving of kettle style potato chips, lightly salted. Potassium, mild sodium and water. It is what you need.

chips are exactly the healthiest thing either

nor can you eat em easily while climbing ... and they make u more thirsty

it all depends what you are doing ...

if youre just trotting along on a nice trail ... or going to do a workout at the gym ... gatorade prob aint gonna do anything for ya ... i dont use it when i climb at the gym

however for a full day of constant climbing under the summer sun where you are sweating like a pig ...

gator juice or the equivalent is a godsend ... im humping 3+ litres of water anyways up the climb ... might as well make sure its full of those nasty calories

i will tell you that 20+ pitches on bread and water aint fun ...

Not going to disagree with that - except there are better choices out there and you can DIY with faux-Gatorade that isn't full of junk.

Gatorade is popular because it is colorful, flavorful and well marketed. It doesn't mean it is any better than other options.

I, like Sarah, am a potato chip fiend. You can find nice kettle cooked chips in just about any gas station.

Also, perhaps nasty-sounding, but surprisingly good (not so much for backpacking, but just for electrolyte snacking on daytrips: salty bananas! Just peanut butter (the kind that's only peanuts) and some mild miso paste and spread it on a banana... mmm... Come to think of it, if you used miso powder and those banana chips, this would make a pretty good backpacking snack!

Of course, the cream of all electrolyte beverages is fresh coconut water... Which comes in cans and tetra packs and even a handy powder form (google CocoHydro). I just discovered the powder--not as good as the fresh stuff, but great for travel. A definite splurge item but beats Emergen-C, my other favorite drink-mix, hands down.

Oh yeah, coconut water. Wow. Awesome stuff! Costco is carrying it now in the tetra-paks. Great for keeping in the car at the TH if one is feeling pretty worn out on a long day back to the car in summer.

Mmmmm....tortillas with PB and bananas. Drizzled with honey and granola.

I carry a 1/2 liter platy just for gatorade- 1/2 liter in the am around 10-ish and another in the pm around 3-ish, something I always looking forward- especially when it's hot

I'm confident I'd survive w/o it, but it will continue to have a place in my pack- I prefer the lemon-lime, my wife likes the punch, I like the orange too but for some reason don't see it for sale any longer

never heard of nuun, might have to give it a go :)