In reply to Pesda potato:
So money's a bit of an issue for me so i guess that factors into the decision making stuff. But i do use 'em occasionally, and do like them. Mostly I use them on special occasion stuff - usually alpine climbing. In my experience they do make a difference, and are definitely worth the weight and money. I feel better during the day, and perhaps more importantly, notice a marked difference in recovery. Without fail, i bring these on multi-day efforts.
However, generally speaking i don't use them running. I find a perfectly adequate solution (pardon the pun!) is to mix 50/50 water and orange juice + and two thirds of a teaspoon of salt per liter. I dilute so the sugar content is not too high. apparently >6% you're in the territory of gastric distress. i'm not sure i buy this, but for what ever reason i do find straight orange juice disagrees with me.
Day to day this works for me, though perhaps not quite so well as the powders. However, running you've usually got a plenty of time the rest of the day to gradually re-hydrate and take in some salty foods
Anyways, my view is yea, they work and help, but the ol' diluted orange juice is my go to option!
Post edited at 20:00