CamelBak Elixirs: Getting a Better Boost From Your Hydration System

While a cool drink of water may be refreshing when you are engaged in strenuous physical activity, your body actually needs a lot more. The problem is that if you drink to much water alone, you run the risk of an electrolyte imbalance. The symptoms of electrolyte imbalance include headache, nausea, muscle twitching, and even disorientation; all of which can serious impair your ability to compete and in some circumstances can even be physically dangerous. This is why so many professional athletes use sports drinks and other beverages that include electrolytes instead of plain water.

In the early years of hydration packs, this was a major problem because it was very difficult to clean out the older style reservoirs, so if you put anything other than water in them your reservoir would soon suffer from various microbial growths: bacteria, mold, fungus, and others. Today, most of the leading hydration pack reservoirs are designed to make cleaning much easier, so it is now more practical to put substances other than pure water into them. However, what should you add to your hydration pack to get the desired effects? Realistically, almost any sports drink or gel will work, but you may want to consider something that was specifically designed to work with your hydration pack.

CamelBak has been the industry leader in hydration pack technology for years now and they have developed their own series of elixirs that are specifically designed to work with hydration packs. Coming in three different flavors – berry, lemon-lime, and orange – the CamelBak elixirs are sugar-free effervescent tablets that are rich in electrolytes. At only ten calories per twenty-four ounce serving, the elixirs also contain other vitamins and minerals including Vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and potassium. However they also contain sodium and chloride, which means they may not be appropriate for all users if there is a pre-existing medical condition.

In that the elixirs were specifically designed for use with hydration packs, they offer a couple advantages that other more mainstream sports drinks and supplements do not. For example, there is no pre-mixing or stirring necessary, instead you simply drop the tablet into your water – one tablet for every twenty-four ounces of water – and it will dissolve without any further effort on your part. Further, unlike many other sports drinks, the CamelBak elixirs do not leave behind any sort of residue, sticky or otherwise, that has to be thoroughly cleaned out of the reservoir after use.

Although cleaning out the residue of other drinks is not as much of a problem as it once was for hydration pack users, many users remain wary of what they put in their packs for fear of damaging them. If you have this concern, the using the CamelBak elixirs may well be the ideal solution for you since these tablets are completely compatible with your hydration system. Further, since the elixirs come in the form of a solid tablet, they can easily be securely carried in your pack until they are needed, without having to carry an additional bottle with you. All said, the CamelBak elixirs may offer an excellent option for people that need a bigger boost than just water alone can provide.