I looked up the Emergen-C drink at http://www.yearstoyourhealth.com/supplements/vitamin_c/mixed_berry_vitamin_c.html and it looks quite good, actually. There are some vitamins, including several sources of Vit. C, plus some other vitamins, and some potassium, magnesium, calcium, etc. Fructose is the sweetener, and the flavorings are natural. They seem to come in 36-packet containers, at $.50/pkt from a random look online (I was here: http://www.yearstoyourhealth.com/supplements/vitamin_c/mixed_berry_vitamin_c.html )

The Clif Shots are rather expensive for what they are: brown rice syrup, with various flavors and various additives (mind you, none of them look like they're seriously bad news). But at a dollar per 100-calorie dose and a possible shelf life of only a year or so...

But if you don't mind shopping around at your local health food stores, there is something more reasonable: Pure Brown Rice Syrup.

Brown rice syrup is a sweetener derived by culturing cooked rice with enzymes (usually from dried barley sprouts) to break down the starches, then straining off the liquid and cooking it until the desired consistency is reached. The final product is roughly 50% soluble complex carbohydrates, 45% maltose, and 3% glucose. The glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream immediately, the maltose takes up to one and a half hours to be digested, and the complex carbohydrates take from two to three hours, providing a steady supply of energy. Rice syrup has a shelf life of about a year, and once opened, should be stored in a cool, dry place. (from Wikipedia)

A 21-oz bottle has approx 2600 calories, providing about 21 1-oz doses of 125-calories each. It also contains (per ounce): Sodium: 11mg; Potassium: 101mg; Carbohydratess: 32grams; Sugar: 20grams; plus small amounts of Calcium, Thiamine, Niacin, Folate, Magnesium, Riboflavin, Vitamins B-5 & B-6.

Sweet Dreams Organic Brown Rice Syrup, 21 oz for $5 (about $.25/1-oz dose) at ShopNatural http://www.shopnatural.com/Merchant2/mer...;Category_Code= (found through random Google search).

[BTW, Bjarte, here at ETS, products are frequently endorsed (or not), or simply put up for opinions or thoughts. This is usually regarded as entirely separate from blatant advertising from the source.]

Sue

Unless you are planning for LONG (months long?) survival situations, vitamins are pretty much unnecessary. For example, you don't get scurvy, beri beri, ricketts etc. for a really long time. Despite the bizillion claims out there that megavitamins are helpful or needful, you would have a hard time finding good enough research to support putting vitamins in a short-term survival kit. There are exceptions that arise with certain major medical conditions (Crohn's disease, for example) and medications that predispose some people to vitamin deficiencies. Probably best to discuss the issue with your doctor if you have a significant medical history or are taking prescription medications.

As far as energy pills go, I would ask "why?" Adrenaline works pretty good in the short term. For the longer term, sleep works equally well. In a survival situation, I would think you would be better off dealing with injuries, getting camp set up, and then settling down into a camping-style routine with lots of naps and relaxation. That's pretty much what they taught us in survival and SERE schools. The problem with go-pills is that they have significant potential for degrading your performance. The US military has some experience using go-pills in combat, but they are trying to sustain days-long performance for individuals who absolutely cannot take a nap. Even then, last I heard, Naval Aviation (the community of which I was a member) still refuses to use go-pills under any circumstances due to concerns about side effects and performance degradation. Anyone is welcome to correct me if I am wrong on that. So, that leaves you with caffeine pills which I think are pretty mediocre.