FeatherSticks · Water
How Much Water to Drink Hiking: Hydration, Dehydration Signs & First Aid
Thirst is a late signal. Drink little and often, before you feel dry.
Quick facts
- Plan from
- The water calculator – not a fixed number
- Best habit
- Little and often, before you are thirsty
- Field check
- Urine colour: pale straw is fine, dark means drink more
- Emergency
- Confusion, fainting, no urine: call 112 (EU), 999 (UK), 911 (US/Canada)
What you need
- Bottles or bladder with a total capacity from the calculator
- Water treatment (filter, tablets, stove)
- Insulated bottle or flask for winter
- Salty snacks, tea bags, instant broth
- Oral rehydration sachets from a pharmacy
- Hat and a bandana to wet
Step by step
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1 Plan your water
Enter weight, temperature, effort, altitude and distance between sources into the water calculator. Use its drinking figure, not a fixed number.
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2 Start hydrated
Drink normally the day before and have a glass or two with breakfast. Do not force large amounts.
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3 Sip little and often
Take a few swallows every 15 to 20 minutes and a proper drink at every break, before you feel thirsty.
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4 Refill and treat
Top up at every safe source and treat the water. Carry only what the next dry stretch needs plus a reserve.
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5 Check urine and signs
Pale straw urine is fine. Dark urine, headache or dizziness mean: drink more and slow down.
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6 Dehydrated? Act early
Stop, shade, small sips, a salty snack. Confusion, fainting or no urine is an emergency: call 112.
Common mistakes
- Waiting until you are thirsty before drinking.
- Drinking nothing for hours, then a litre in one go.
- Skipping a source because the bottle is still half full.
- Not drinking in the cold because you do not feel thirsty.
- Treating alcohol or a hot sweet drink as a cure for dehydration.
- Forcing more and more water into someone who is confused.
- Ignoring dark urine and a headache because "it is only tiredness".