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3 new ways to refuel for the fight

ORLANDO, Fla. — Looking for a quick fix of caffeine or electrolytes to keep you going on deployment but don’t have the space to lug around a case of Red Bull or Gatorade?

Take a lesson from the world of hot cars, where designers figured out how to put more power in smaller engines. The new buzz in power drinks is the same — concentration.

Here are three of the latest entries:

• Lifexpand Lyte’n Go. They may look like overgrown vitamins, but Lyte’n Go puts the electrolytes you need to refuel in convenient tablet form. Where most sports drinks load up on sodium, potassium, carbs and sugar, these chewable tablets are full of vitamins and minerals, are low on carbs and have no sugar. The company generally recommends chewing one citrus-flavored tablet per 20 minutes of strenuous exercise, though dosage needs will vary from person to person. A box of 15 two-tablet packets sells for $29.95.

See http://www.lytengo.com.

• CamelBak Elixir. Have you ever tried putting something other than water into your hydration system? If it had sugar in it, you probably had a sticky mess inside after you drank off your beverage of choice.

The Elixir tablet is CamelBak’s answer, an electrolyte-loaded and sugar-free sports drink alternative. Each tablet makes 24 ounces of lemon-lime drink right in your hydration bladder — just drop it into the water and go. The tablets will be sold in easy-to-transport tubes at Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores and outdoor retailers starting in April; pricing information was not available by press time.

Learn more at http://www.camelbak.com.

• Bevolution Brands AMMO. We like our ammo to pack a little kick.

Enter AMMO, a caffeine-loaded liquid concentrate designed to add a burst of flavor — and as much as 130 milligrams of caffeine, in the same weight class as a strong cup of coffee and stronger than a can of the Crimson Bovine — to the average bottle of water or other tasty beverage.

The concept is so incredibly simple that we’re kicking ourselves for not thinking of it first. Take a one-ounce bottle of AMMO, pour it into 12 ounces of water, shake or stir, then drink.

We tried all three flavors — blue raspberry, fruit punch and lemon-lime citrus — and found that they taste a lot like MRE beverage base powder. The caffeine kick was a bonus.

The product is still in the prototype stages, but the final packaging also will have a measuring line on the side, should you decide to squeeze out a lesser dose. The creators from Bevolution absolutely, positively, in no uncertain terms, recommend against drinking it unmixed, for obvious reasons.

They’re so new that you probably won’t see them on the commercial market until later this year, but we think they’ll be an instant hit. Expect each dose to retail for less than $2, comparable to other high-caffeine drinks.

Check them out at http://www.dxsammo.com. h