Four flavors, one job each
Every stick carries sodium, potassium, magnesium and B vitamins. What changes is the balance: from 250 to 500 mg of sodium, more magnesium at the finish, no flavor at all for the bladder.
Ridge Salt, Switchback Citrus and Summit Recovery have 2 g sugar and 15 kcal a stick. Base Camp has 0 g sugar and 0 kcal. One stick to 16 to 20 fl oz of water.
Flip a card for its per-stick facts.
Ridge Salt, per stick
- Sodium
- 500 mg
- Potassium
- 200 mg
- Magnesium
- 50 mg
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Calories
- 15
Salted grapefruit, sweetened with a little cane sugar.
Full Supplement Facts for Ridge Salt
Switchback Citrus
The climbing stick. Lemon and orange.
The first long climb, and steady miles after it.
Switchback Citrus, per stick
- Sodium
- 300 mg
- Potassium
- 200 mg
- Vitamin B6
- 1.7 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 2.4 mcg
- Sugar
- 2 g
Lemon and orange, sweetened with a little cane sugar.
Full Supplement Facts for Switchback Citrus
Summit Recovery, per stick
- Magnesium
- 150 mg
- Potassium
- 300 mg
- Sodium
- 250 mg
- B complex
- B1, B2, B3, B6, B12
- Sugar
- 2 g
Tart cherry, sweetened with a little cane sugar.
Full Supplement Facts for Summit Recovery
Base Camp, per stick
- Sodium
- 400 mg
- Potassium
- 200 mg
- Magnesium
- 50 mg
- Sugar
- 0 g
- Calories
- 0
No sugar, no flavor. Made for the bladder.
Full Supplement Facts for Base Camp
Which stick, when
The pack builder sets the order from your route, and the trail sleeve prints it. Citrus starts the climb, Ridge Salt carries the middle and the heat, Summit Recovery closes it out.
Over 75 F the builder adds a Ridge Salt and the sleeve says why. On a short, cool walk it may tell you to skip the stick and drink water.
First
Switchback Citrus, on the first long climb.
Middle stages
Ridge Salt and Switchback Citrus, taking turns, one stick per 6 trail miles.
Heat and altitude
Ridge Salt: one over 75 F, one more over 85 F, one for a high point over 9,000 ft. Just before the finish, or last on a one-stick day.
Last
Summit Recovery, on the final stage or at the car.
In a bladder
Base Camp, at any stage, one stick to 16 to 20 fl oz of water.
Picking for yourself
You never have to pick: the count does it. If you mix your own Season Box, a rough guide:
- You finish hikes with salt on your hat. Lean on Ridge Salt.
- The last third is where you feel it. Keep a Summit Recovery for the final stage.
- You drink from a bladder. Base Camp, so the hose tastes of water.
- You want something easy to sip on the way up. Switchback Citrus.
Let the route pick the sticks
Enter the miles, the climb and the forecast. You see the count, the flavors and the cost before you buy anything.
Hydration guidance here is general information, not medical advice.