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Reviews > Food > Energy Bars and Drinks > Shar - Next Level Trail Mix > Test Report by Kurt PapkeShar Snacks Trail Mix
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Name: | Kurt Papke |
Age: | 64 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 6' 4" (193 cm) |
Weight: | 230 lbs (105 kg) |
Email address: | kwpapke (at) gmail (dot) com |
City, State, Country: | Tucson, Arizona USA |
Product Information |
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Manufacturer |
Shar Snacks |
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Manufacturer website |
https://sharsnacks.com |
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Model tested |
Original Mix |
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Year manufactured |
2018 |
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Size tested |
4.5 oz (128 g) 6 packages were supplied for testing |
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Country of manufacture |
USA |
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MSRP |
$8.99/bag |
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Warranty |
Not stated |
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Weight |
4.9 oz (139 g) total weight with packaging and carabiner |
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Materials |
Plastic packaging, almonds, pecans, pistachios, dark
chocolate, cranberries, cherries, cashews, wild blueberries,
coconut. Also includes evaporated cane juice (sugar), and sunflower oil. |
This trail mix looks and sounds pretty delicious and filling. I can't wait to get out on the trail and tear into a package.
Date |
Location |
Trail |
Distance |
Altitude |
Weather |
September 1-8, 2018 |
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness near
Ely, Minnesota |
Canoe |
Our base camp was about a 12 mile (19 km)
paddle from the drop-off point. We paddled several
hours each day in pursuit of fish and scenery. |
About 420 ft (128 m) |
45-70 F (7-21 C), Sunny several days, all day rain one day |
October 4-6, 2018 |
Long Valley campgrounds near Payson, Arizona |
Arizona
National Scenic Trail |
1.3 miles (2.1 km) |
6750-7300 ft (2055-2225 m) |
38-65 F (3-18 C) Sunny and clear |
October 22-25, 2018 | Gila Wilderness in Western New Mexico | Middle
Fork |
24 miles (39 km) | 6800-7350 ft (2073-2240 m) |
32-65 F (0-18 C) Rain and more rain |
This was an 8-day/7-night canoe expedition into the wilderness of northern Minnesota right near the Canadian border. I took three packages of the trail mix with me and demolished them all, with some assistance from the other seven paddlers.
This stuff is dang tasty. There is a "clean" flavor and aroma to it that I have not experienced in a trail mix before. I don't know if it's the freshness of the ingredients, but it's a real treat. I really like the pecans in the mix, they really add a nice crunch and flavor. The blueberries are exceptionally flavorful - they actually taste like real blueberries. The only issue I had with it was if I left a bag out in the sun the chocolate had a tendency to melt. I understand the goal to have pure chocolate in the mix, but a candy-coating, like an M&M, might be prudent.
I shared the snacks with my fellow paddlers and they judged it "excellent".
This was an annual weekend get-together of the hammock aficionados of the desert southwest held at a campsite on the Mogollon Rim just north of Payson, Arizona. We do a bit of hiking, but the main activity is consumption of adult beverages and eating massive quantities of grilled meat.
I took a package of the Shar mix on our one hike along the Arizona National Scenic trail, descending down the Rim to an attempt at making a railroad tunnel in the last century. I was a bit ahead of my fellow hikers, and lunchtime was nigh, so I managed to consume a half-bag of the snack mix as shown in the photo at left. FWIW, I find that half a bag is just right for a snack, and since I typically have two snacks per day on the trail, one whole bag is perfect.
I enjoyed partaking of the Shar snack mix for the last few months. It is delicious and I felt healthy somehow eating it. It can be hard to get fruit into the diet on the trail, and the cherries and blueberries in the mix were a welcome addition to my normal trail diet.
The weak link in the mix is the chocolate chips: they melt in the
heat, and it eventually "bloomed" in the unopened package. I
guess there's a reason why so many trail mixes use M&M's or
their equivalent as they don't melt and if the chocolate blooms
inside the candy coating it is not visible. I also think the
mix could do with a bit lighter packaging: use a lightweight bag
and lose the carabiner. When I was carrying 3-4 bags of the
stuff I thought the overall weight was a bit on the high side.