True Lemon and True Lime Spotlite Review

I have been using this product for several years, not just in my drinking water but in the kitchen at home in soups, on fish, in salad dressing and more. It's a great versatile item.

A caution perhaps if you don't use the packets often. I've got some samples from a few years ago that crystalized (?) within that fancy packaging rendering them a major pain to use. There isn't any date on the little packets but they were at least 3 years old. Here's a pic of the sticky substance that you would need to scrape off.

I also bought some boxes of packets direct from the factory in Aug 2010, which have a date of 070812 (July 2012). I just opened a packet, and it was fine.

Guess I should start using them for normal cooking since I don't go packing often enough.

…

Thanks Roger,

Must get some.

Roger,

Thanks for that review. I am going to try this product. I encourage you to continue to think outside of the box for your reviews. Instead of just gear reviews, maybe you can try a few more of these sort of reviews. Perhaps even reviews of 'techniques' or 'skills' for the backcountry.

Thanks again,
Rodney

I've tried other powders that weren't so good.

Currently I take some juice I squeezed from a lemon.

I'll have to try this.

I sometimes have trouble drinking enough water when backpacking/hiking, so I flavor it with Nuun tabs, which contain good doses of electrolytes as well as vitamins (roughly 60% dv of vitamin c per tablet for example). This product will keep your salts balanced and flavor your water – seems like a much better solution. Also comes in a ton of flavors. I never experience cramping from dehydration since I started using Nuun tabs.

Also has zero sugar, less than one carb, and under 8 calories per tablet.

The tablets are packed in water-tight, durable tubes. I'm not a fan of sachets, as this creates more waste that you're going to have to pack out. The powder is also much more messy than a compacted tablet. The tubes can be reused for lots of purposes when you're done with one, I use it to transport waterproof matches, tinder, an emergency fishing kit, etc.

You can find it as running and cycling shops, as it is primarily used by endurance athletes. REI also carries it.

What's wrong with plain water?

I used to use Koolaid with cyclamates to hide the iodine taste. It was light to carry. Then the government banned it. Been drinking plain water ever since. Last year I tried a drink mix on one hike, it was a pain to deal with.

I wonder if dehydrating a lemon or just its zest and turning the dried fruit into a powder would work nearly as well…even a few minute floaties aren't going to hurt anyone? RE: the need to bring sugar and this product, why not just bring some sweetened lemonade mix and use that to enhance the taste of water?

I usually bring dehydrated lemon slices, add to my water bottle or add to a cup of tea with honey. Really tasty. This powder sounds like a much lighter alternative with no lemon rind trash.

+1 to Alex on the Nuun tablets. They give good flavor to the water with no sugar.

Any thoughts on things like zipfizz or mio?

I have also used the Lemon and Lime powders in my trail recipes and at home and they work well for me. Did not know the powders came in other flavors or sizes. Thank you for the update

This sounds like a good mixer if you carry pure grain. Backcountry margaritas should be great with the lime.

I've used the lemon and the lime quite a bit in the past. It's really hard to find drink mixes that don't have any sugar or sweeteners and this is one of the only ones I've found. I've added coconut oil and the lemon/lime powder to hot water, it's pretty tasty and you get some good added calories. I've also added maple syrup crystals to get a little sweetener.

Never knew there was a bottle version of it. I will have to track that down.

The lemon, lime, and also orange powders work pretty good for freezer bag cooking. Basically, you are carrying a bag of dry powders and chunks of food, and the citrus flavors just add an interesting spin to an otherwise-plain recipe.

If you like the powder packets, you can purchase them by the box, or else singly at minimus.biz

–B.G.–

I used these with powdered freeze dried fruits and veggies to smoothies on the JMT.

The whisk ball was worth the weight.

The grapefruit flavor is my personal favorite, unfortunantly it does not come in a shaker. I use these products with my sodastream (obviously not while backpacking).