I Tested 6 Popular Hydration Products For 1 Week & It Wasn't Easy

Drinking water feels like one of those things that should be effortless, but for some reason it’s not. I know I should be doing it; it’s just easy to forget and put off. So it makes sense that hydration has turned into its own category of products: electrolyte packets, flavored mixes, powders that promise energy, etc.

Personally, I’ve never been naturally good at drinking water, and I think a lot of it comes down to one very specific habit: I only really like drinking with food. The second problem is I also don’t eat that often. Most days, I’ll have one proper meal — maybe a late lunch or dinner — and that’s when I’ll drink the most water. But that also means I’m going long stretches of the day without really hydrating at all, and by the time I realize it, I’m already trying to make up for it all at once.

I’ve tried the usual fixes — keeping a cute water bottle next to me, setting mental reminders, buying chic decanters — and none of it has really stuck. It always ends up being something I’m aware of, but not actually following through on.

So instead of trying to rely on willpower again, I wanted to see if I could make it easier on myself. For one week, I committed to actually staying hydrated — not in a hyper-disciplined way, but in a way that felt realistic. I kept my routine the same, but added in a mix of hydration products to see if they’d actually help me drink more throughout the day, including:

A Smart Water Bottle That Tracks Your Intake

I didn’t think a water bottle would make that much of a difference, but this is the one thing that actually made me more aware of how little I was drinking throughout the day. The LARQ Bottle PureVis 2 connects to an app that tracks your intake automatically, so you don’t have to log anything manually. It basically turns hydration into something you can see, which for me made it way harder to ignore.

What makes it feel a little more worth it than a regular bottle is everything else it does. It uses UV-C light to help keep the bottle clean and reduce bacteria, and there’s a built-in filtration system that improves taste by filtering things like chlorine and other contaminants. It’s also insulated (so your water actually stays cold all day), and the battery lasts a couple of weeks at a time, which makes it low-maintenance.

The biggest difference for me was the tracking. Seeing how little I had actually drunk by mid-day made me more intentional about finishing the bottle. Once I started doing that, it was way easier to stay consistent without overthinking it.

A Smart Bottle Alternative

ULLA’s Drink Water Reminder is a tiny device that attaches to any bottle you already have and lights up at intervals to remind you to drink. There’s no app or syncing, just a quick visual nudge.

Most of the time, my issue is that I forget about water completely. I’ll get distracted, go hours without drinking anything, and then try to make up for it later. This interrupts that pattern without making it feel like a whole system I have to manage. If you like the idea of a smart bottle, but don’t actually want another device to charge or keep track of, this does the same job in a simpler (and less expensive) way.

The Game Changer

Liquid I.V.’s Hydration Multiplier was the first thing that noticeably changed my behavior. It uses a mix of electrolytes (like sodium and potassium) plus glucose, which helps your body absorb water more efficiently.

The bigger impact for me was taste. It made my water feel like something I wanted to drink, not something I had to remember. I’d mix one packet into a bottle in the morning, and without really thinking about it, I’d finish the whole thing. It’s slightly sweet, a little salty, and definitely more noticeable than plain water, which was a good thing for me.

An Electrolyte Drink Mix For ~Off~ Days

LMNT is way less subtle. It’s high in sodium (much more than typical electrolyte drinks), with potassium and magnesium added in, and you can taste it immediately. It’s more intense and not something I’d sip casually all day.

But on days when I felt slightly dehydrated or off (especially after coffee or walking a lot), this made a difference quickly. It felt more functional than enjoyable, but that’s kind of the point. I didn’t use it daily, but when I needed it, it worked.

The Easiest Habit To Keep

If I’m being honest, Propel Powder Packets are the most realistic option. They’re inexpensive, easy to throw in a bag, and lightly flavored without being overwhelming.

It doesn’t feel like a “wellness product,” which is probably why I used it the most. It just made water slightly better, which was enough to keep me consistent.

A Surprisingly Helpful Option

I didn’t expect this to make much of a difference, but having flavored water already ready to go made me drink more without thinking about it. Hint is super subtle — no sugar, no sweeteners, just a light fruit flavor.

It’s not exciting, but it removes the friction of having to mix something yourself, which matters more than you think.

What Actually Made The Biggest Difference

By the end of the week, it wasn’t about finding the “best” hydration product, it was about removing friction. Here’s what helped the most:

• Having something that made water taste better (so I’d reach for it without thinking).
• Keeping options visible and easy to grab.
• A constant reminder to keep drinking.
• Not relying on willpower alone.

I didn’t suddenly become someone who drinks water perfectly every day, but I was noticeably more consistent and I didn’t have to think about it as much.

TL;DR

Drinking more water isn’t hard in theory, but actually doing it consistently is a different story. For me, the shift wasn’t about suddenly becoming more disciplined or setting stricter goals. It was about making hydration feel easier and a little more automatic throughout the day.

What ended up helping most wasn’t one specific product, but having options that fit different moments — something more functional when I felt off, something lightly flavored when plain water felt boring, and something effortless when I didn’t want to think about it at all. That flexibility made it easier to stay consistent without forcing it.

I didn’t leave the week as someone who drinks water perfectly every day, but I did stop forgetting about it entirely — and that alone made a noticeable difference. If you struggle with hydration the way I do, it’s less about finding the “best” solution and more about finding something that makes you actually want to keep going.