Planning your water intake can make the difference between finishing your hike feeling good and ending the day with the dreaded hiking hangover: headache, fatigue, nausea and heavy legs.
How Much Water Should You Drink While Hiking?
A good starting point is around 500ml per hour during moderate hiking in mild conditions. You may need closer to 750ml–1 litre per hour when it’s hot, exposed or you’re working hard.
Your needs will depend on:
- Temperature and humidity
- Track difficulty and elevation gain
- Your pace and how heavily you sweat
- The distance between reliable water sources
Drink small amounts regularly rather than waiting until you feel thirsty or drinking a large amount at once.
Start Hydrated
Hydration begins before you start walking. Drink regularly the day before a long trip and aim for approximately 500–600ml in the two to three hours before starting.
Adding electrolytes can be useful before a hot, long or demanding hike, particularly if you know you sweat heavily. The goal is to begin comfortably hydrated—not to quickly drink litres of water just before leaving.
Work Out How Much Water You Need
Start with your estimated hiking time and multiply it by your expected hourly intake.
For example:
6 hours × 500ml per hour = 3 litres
Increase this amount for hot weather, exposed terrain or a strenuous route. If reliable water is available, you may be able to carry less and refill—but always check current information and carry a suitable water-treatment method.
If you’re unsure where the next reliable water source will be, carry enough to reach the next confirmed source, plus an emergency margin.
For an overnight trip, remember to include water for:
- Drinking while hiking
- Rehydrating freeze-dried or dehydrated meals
- Hot drinks
- Breakfast
- Camp and morning hydration
- A safety buffer
Dinner, breakfast and hot drinks can easily require another 1–2 litres, depending on your meals.
A lightweight storage container such as the HydraPak Seeker 3L is ideal for carrying extra water into camp without taking up much space once it is empty.
Bottles or a Hydration Bladder?
This mostly comes down to personal preference.
Water bottles make it easy to see exactly how much you have consumed and how much remains. They are also simple to refill and share.
Hydration bladders allow you to drink while moving, which can encourage regular sipping. However, because the reservoir sits inside your pack, it can be harder to monitor how much you have drunk—or discover that you are nearly empty.
Whichever system you choose, check your water level regularly rather than assuming you still have plenty left. Explore our hydration reservoirs, bottles and soft flasks.
Don’t Forget Electrolytes
Sweat contains water and electrolytes, especially sodium. During longer, hotter or harder days, replacing some of that sodium can help your body retain fluid and support normal muscle function.
Electrolytes can be used:
- Before your hike to begin well hydrated
- During long or sweaty days
- Afterwards to support rehydration and recovery
Different products contain different amounts of sodium and carbohydrates, so choose one that suits the conditions, your sweat rate and the length of your trip. Follow the product’s mixing instructions—more is not always better.
Explore our hydration and fuelling options from PURE, GU Energy and Precision Hydration.
Leave Water in the Car
One of our simplest tips is to leave a full bottle of water or electrolyte drink in the car. You can begin rehydrating as soon as you finish rather than waiting until you get home.
Keep sipping over the next few hours and have something salty to eat. If you want to calculate your needs more accurately, weigh yourself before and after a training hike. As a general recovery guide, replace each kilogram of body weight lost with approximately 1.25–1.5 litres of fluid, consumed gradually.
A little planning before you leave can help you stay safer, move better and avoid that post-hike hydration hangover.