Best Electrolytes for Hiking in the Heat: A 2026 Guide
Water alone isn’t always enough in desert heat. After hiking year-round in the Sonoran Desert for a few years, we’ve learned which electrolytes actually help you stay steady, avoid the crash, and keep moving. Here are the best electrolyte mixes and tablets for hot hikes!
Hiking in the Sonoran Desert teaches you something fast: water alone doesn’t always cut it. When the sun is loud, the rock is radiating heat back at you, and you’re grinding up a Sky Island climb with no shade, you’re not just losing water! You’re losing salt (sodium) and other electrolytes through sweat. And once you’re behind, it can feel impossible to catch up.
This guide is built around what’s worked for us hiking year-round in desert heat including long, exposed days and backpacking trips where hydration strategy mattered as much as route-finding.
Remember, every body is different, and what works great for us may not be the perfect pick for you. Test out different electrolytes to find out what your body responds to the most when in doubt!
Be sure to check out our handy dandy guide to hiking in the heat!
Quick picks (if you just want the answer)
- Best overall for hot hiking: Skratch Labs Hydration Sport Drink Mix (solid sodium + some carbs for steady energy)
- Best for “salty sweater” days: LMNT (high sodium, zero sugar)
- Best for convenience & flavor on the go: Nuun Sport (tablet format, easy to pack)
- Best when you want electrolytes + quick carbs: Liquid I.V. (higher sugar; tastes awesome)
- Best sugar-free, light taste (everyday-style): Ultima Replenisher (0 calories, lower sodium)
Why electrolytes matter more in desert heat
In desert conditions, dehydration can sneak up even when you think you’re doing everything right. A few desert realities:
- Sweat evaporates fast, so you don’t always notice how much you’re losing.
- Long, steady climbs (hello, Sky Islands) keep your output high for hours.
- Salt loss adds up, and low sodium can look like fatigue, headache, cramps, nausea, or that weird “I’m drinking water but still feel wrecked” feeling.
Electrolytes help you replace what you’ve lost, especially sodium, the main electrolyte lost in sweat.
How to choose the best electrolyte for hiking in heat
Use these three questions to pick the right option for your desert days:
1) Are you hiking for 60–90+ minutes in heat?
If yes, you’ll usually feel better with electrolytes in the mix, especially if you’re sweating a lot.
2) Do you feel better with carbs while you hike?
Some mixes include carbs/sugar on purpose (useful for energy and steady output). Others are zero sugar (better if you prefer to fuel separately).
3) Are you a heavy/salty sweater?
If you finish a hike with white salt marks on your clothes/hat, or you cramp easily in heat, higher sodium options often feel like a cheat code. You should always have electrolytes on hikes regardless of duration.
Electrolyte Balance: Why Sodium, Sugar, and Water Work Best Together
Electrolytes don’t work in isolation. For hydration to actually stick, especially in heat, you need the right balance of water, sodium, and often sugar working together. This is where a lot of hikers get tripped up.
Sodium: the key electrolyte in heat
Sodium is the primary electrolyte lost through sweat. It helps regulate fluid balance, supports muscle function, and prevents issues like cramping and dilution from drinking too much plain water. In hot, arid environments, replacing sodium is often more important than replacing other electrolytes.
If you’re sweating heavily and only drinking water, that water can pass right through you without fully rehydrating your cells.
Why sugar helps electrolytes work better
Here’s the part many people don’t realize: sodium is absorbed more efficiently when glucose (sugar) is present.
In the small intestine, sodium and glucose are absorbed together, which helps pull water into the bloodstream more effectively. That’s why many endurance-focused electrolyte mixes include some sugar not just for energy, but to improve hydration.
This matters most during:
- Longer hikes (90+ minutes)
- Sustained climbs or heavy packs
- Hot conditions with steady sweating
- Days when appetite is low
In these situations, electrolyte mixes with both sodium and carbohydrates feel more effective than sugar-free options.
The hydration takeaway
Effective hydration in heat is a balance of:
- Water to replace fluids
- Sodium to retain those fluids
- Carbohydrates to improve absorption and support sustained effort
If water alone stops working, it’s usually a sign you need electrolytes, and often more sodium, sugar, or both.
Brand-by-brand: how they feel on real hot hikes
1) Skratch Labs (best overall for desert hiking)
If I had to bring one electrolyte for hot hiking, Skratch is the easy answer. It sits in that sweet spot: enough sodium to matter, plus carbs that help you keep working when the sun is doing the most. Skratch’s Hydration Sport Drink Mix is around 400mg of sodium per serving with additional electrolytes, and it includes 19–20g of carbs.
When we reach for it: long desert miles, sustained climbs, and any day where the effort is steady and the shade is… theoretical.
Pro tip: mix it a little stronger than normal on the hottest days if your stomach tolerates it. Otherwise, keep the concentration normal and drink more consistently.
2) Nuun Hydration (best for packability)
Nuun is what I throw in my pack when I want electrolyte backup without fuss. Tablets are compact, easy to share, and great for people who don’t want a sweet drink mix. Nuun Sport lists 300 mg sodium per tablet (plus potassium, magnesium, calcium, and chloride).
When we reach for it: shorter hikes, shoulder-season desert days, and “I want something light and simple” missions. It's form factor is great for backpacking.
Watch-out: if it’s truly scorching and you’re sweating hard, you may want more sodium than a tablet alone provides.
3) Liquid I.V. (best when you need electrolytes + flavor)
Liquid I.V. is popular for a reason: it’s convenient, tastes good, and feels like it “does something.” It’s also sweeter than most options. Sometimes that’s exactly what you want, sometimes it’s not. The nutrition panel shows 490 mg sodium and 11g added sugar per serving.
When we reach for it: big-output days when we’re also trying to stay fueled, or when we’re bonking-adjacent and need calories that go down easily.
Stomach note: if you’re sensitive to sweetness in heat, this might feel like too much mid-hike. Save it for breaks, the car, or post-hike recovery.
4) LMNT (best for heavy sweaters & brutal heat)
LMNT is the high-sodium hammer. It’s not subtle, and that’s the point. One stick has 1,000 mg sodium, plus potassium (200 mg) and magnesium (60 mg), with no sugar.
When we reach for it: the hottest days, long traverses, big climbs, and any time we feel that creeping “water isn’t fixing this” slide.
How we use it: not always as an all-day sip! Sometimes it’s a strategic bottle you finish during a climb, or a recovery drink after. You can usually tell when you need something as strong as this!
5) Ultima Replenisher (best sugar-free, light flavor)
Ultima is a great pick if you want a clean, light-tasting electrolyte drink with 0 calories and 0 sugar, and it includes several minerals and vitamins. But: it’s low sodium at 55 mg per serving, which means it may not be enough on its own for true desert heat exertion.
When we reach for it: casual hydration, travel days, or as a “keep sipping fluids” helper then we add sodium elsewhere on big heat days.
Desert-hiking hydration strategy (what actually helps)
Here’s the approach that’s treated us well in the Southwest's deserts:
- Start salted. Don’t begin already behind- have electrolytes early if the day will be hot.
- Drink consistently, not heroically. Small sips often beats chugging.
- Match electrolyte intensity to effort.
- Easy hike: Nuun or Ultima might be plenty
- Big climb / traverse: Skratch or LMNT tend to shine
- Fuel matters. If you’re not eating, carbs-in-your-drink (Skratch/Liquid I.V.) can help.
- Don’t overdo electrolytes when you don’t need them. Too much can be a problem, especially if you’re not sweating heavily or you have certain medical considerations.
(Standard disclaimer: hydration needs vary; if you have kidney/heart issues or are on meds that affect electrolytes, check with a clinician.)
FAQ: electrolytes for hiking in heat
What’s the best electrolyte for extreme heat hiking?
If you’re hiking hard in real heat, prioritize sodium. LMNT is the highest-sodium option here (1,000 mg). Skratch is a balanced all-arounder (about 400 mg + carbs).
Are sugar-free electrolytes better for hiking?
Not automatically. Sugar-free (LMNT/Ultima) is great if you prefer to fuel separately. But carbs can be helpful during long efforts (Skratch/Liquid I.V.).
Can I just drink water?
Sometimes, yes; especially for short, cool hikes. In desert heat and longer efforts, electrolytes can make the difference between “fine” and “I feel terrible.”
SouthwestHikes.com contains affiliate links, which help fund our website. When you click on the links to purchase the gear, we get a small commission that keeps our website running.
