For years, I bought premium hydration mixes, trusting that athlete endorsements meant "proprietary science."
They didn’t always work. In fact, when I first started doing long endurance events, they were actually hurting me. It took me years to find a brand I could trust to get me through a 12-hour grind—and even then, it wasn't perfect.
Then I looked at the label.
I realized most "premium" brands used the exact same cheap ingredients, often loaded with sugar or artificial flavors I didn't want.
As a die-hard DIYer and a regular guy who just wants to stay hydrated, I decided to do my own research. The solution I found was simple: Build it myself.
The results were immediate:
Total Control: I created a mix that supported my physiology, not a generic formula for the masses.
Zero Junk: No sugar, no artificial sweeteners.
Massive Savings: By buying the raw ingredients, I cut my costs by 90%. For a daily user, that’s a savings of nearly $50 a month.
Here is how I did it.