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Reviews > Food > Energy Bars and Drinks > Probar Fruition bars > Test Report by Andrea MurlandPROBAR fruition Bars Tester Information
I began hiking frequently in 2006 and have since hiked in Western Canada, Australia, and spent 2 months backpacking in the Alps. I spend most weekends either day-hiking or on 2-3 day backpacking trips, with some longer trips when I can manage them. I also snowshoe and ski in the winter, but don’t have a lot of experience with winter in the backcountry yet. Elevation is typically 500-3,000 m (1,600-10,000 ft), in the Canadian Rockies and the Selkirk, Purcell, and Monashee ranges. I try for a light pack, but I don’t consider myself a lightweight backpacker. Initial Report – December 8, 2009 Product Information
Product Description PROBAR fruition bars are organic, vegan, non GMO (genetically modified) snack bars. The basic ingredients of all four flavours are the same: organic date paste, organic rolled oats, organic brown rice syrup, cashews, white chia seeds, black chia seeds, tocopherols, natural flavour, ascorbic acid, citric acid, and arabic gum. The other ingredients, which differ among the flavours, are fruit extracts for flavouring, such as strawberry puree, apple juice infused blueberries, natural raspberry flavour, and peach extract. All of the bars have 160 calories, 2 g of fat, 3 g of protein, 34 g of carbohydrate, 20 mg of sodium, and no cholesterol.Initial Impressions 
My first impression upon ripping open the shipping box was that the
packaging of the bars is pretty appealing. The front of the packages
are clearly labelled with the company, product, and flavour. A few
images of fruits, leaves, and flowers around the edge of the package
complete the look. No shiny logos – just simple labelling. The back of
each bar gives the nutrition facts for the bar, the list of ingredients
in English, and allergy information. Under the flap of the packaging is
some information about PROBAR, their contact information, an organic
certification, “Made in the USA”, and an expiry date.Excited and starving, I promptly dove into one of the cran-raspberry bars, and was pleasantly surprised. It was sweet – really sweet – but not in an artificial sweetener or sugary kind of way. It tasted like it had concentrated fruit sugar or syrup in it...which it does, of course. The seeds in the bar are clearly visible, and when I broke off a piece of the bar there was a big piece of fruit staring back at me from inside. The bar was soft and chewy, but not sticky in my mouth. I felt satisfied when I finished the bar – not full (but I had been pretty starving), but no longer hungry. I did have to eat something later though; these are definitely a snack bar and not a dinner replacement! Summary The PROBAR fruition bars are soft, chewy, and tasty bars that are a good size for a trail snack. I am looking forward to testing these bars out on cold snowy outings in the next few months!Long Term Report - March 7, 2010 Field Conditions  Over
the test period, I munched on the fruition bars while snowshoeing,
geocaching, backcountry ski touring, and occasionally as a quick snack
while on my way to an evening climbing session.We had a mild winter, so for most of the outdoor activities, the temperature hovered around freezing, down to about -5 C (23 F). The bars were never exposed to hot temperatures. I usually had the fruition bars stored in the top pocket of my backpack, though I did put one into the dry-bag that contains my emergency gear for search-and-rescue calls, and it stayed there for the entire test period. Observations
When out in below-freezing temperatures, the consistency of the fruition bars didn’t noticeably change. The bars were cold to the touch, but they were still soft and chewy. Energy: The fruition bars gave a perfect boost of energy for a snack. If I was a bit hungry, they would leave me feeling satisfied, though not full. I didn’t experience a sugar high and crash with the bars, which was great. It was also easy to save some for later, since the bars held together really well. Summary
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