Vitalyte 4 Serving

[...] I was really sick and was going through heavy treatments for my ovarian problems and he recommended this product to help with my dehydration. IT LITERALLY SAVED MY LIFE! And it got me through the day. Not only did it taste great, but it was great for me. With the almost entire glucose content and sodium/postassium make-up, Vitalyte was exactly what I needed, without all the stuff I didn't need to weigh me down and sit in my stomach. I have been an athlete my whole life and this is by far the most superior product I have ever come across. I am a brand loyalist for life!! It is my mission to tell everyone I can about this product. Thank you Bill Gookin! But, also thank you REI for carrying this product [...] To all who are reading, try it! You won't regret it. Hopefully it will make an impact on your life, as it has on mine. I drink it everyday and will continue for as long as I can. Cheers!!

I have used Gookinade in climates as varied as the Grand Canyon in summer to the White Mountains in New Hampshire in winter. It is absolutely the best hydration mix I've found. It does not have heavy sugar additives, so it doesn't leave any sticky residue in your Nalgene bottle. I prefer its subtle sweetness to the more sugary flavor of Gatorade and other mixes. I don't go on any backpacking trips without it, and I have even started using it regularly at home to stay hydrated. This is an excellent all around product.

after meeting & listening to bill gookin's lecture at a sar convention, i had to try his free samples. bill gookin is a biochemist, marathon runner & even tried out for the 1968 olympics. it made sense. he purposely left out the loads of sugar (fructose corn syrup) that the other sports drinks add to make them palatable to the general public. this also makes it readily absorbed into the body, unlike gatoraide & other sweetened drinks. it has become the sports drink of choice for the search & rescue community both for our own hydration as well as to aid in fatigue/heat stroke victims. the free sample worked. i now buy loads of packets [...] there's always a nalgene bottle of gookin aid in the fridge and a few packets in my backpack. works great when you're sick in bed with a cold or flu. better than mom's chicken soup at making you feel better in no time. i do agree with the other reviewer & try to keep it cold for best taste.

Ah, Hydralyte.
I was introduced to this by a girl at Burning Man who saw me sweating buckets through my jumpsuit. She parked me down in the shade with a 32 oz Nalgene full of this and said, “You don’t move until you’ve drunk two of them.”
By that time my sweat tasted like warm water and I had nothing in my system. One of the tests for lack of salt and dehydration is to sample dill pickle juice – if the pickle juice tastes like it came from sweet gherkins, your body needs the salt and electrolytes. Once the pickle juice tastes bitter and salty, you’ve had enough.
Since then, I’ve had one or two of the five gallon tubs in my gear kit at all times, and have six or more of the envelopes handy in the camping kit. Hydralyte does taste sweet, but unlike Powerade, Gatorade, or any other “ade” out there, it’s got minimal sweeteners to get in the way of what you’re going for. The taste when warm is….questionable, which is why making it with extremely cold water is the best idea – ice-cold, it not only cools down your core but replenishes your system.
After chugging through two of the Hydralyte Nalgenes, I was able to get back up and keep moving. Look, if you’re looking for cheap energy and bad calories, go ahead and roll back to the Gatorade. But this stuff is actually decent to drink and doesn’t have the bad “low-carb” garbage that keeps your system in a spin.
It’s also exceedingly useful if you’re not feeling well; four quarts of it in a single day mixed with the cold water usually gets me back on my feet the next day, and I don’t feel like I’ve just chugged sixteen liters of Sprite.
Hydralyte is also fine to put in your Camelback – since it’s not got a huge amount of sticky sugar, it tends to rinse through the system fairly well. For my 70 oz camelback I usually throw a single package in and take off; the strength is diluted down and I still get the electrolytes.
I do not recommend the fruit punch or the orange, however. Citrus or Lemon, only.