SPIRO SPORT FOODS SPIRO BITES
Initial
Report - September 2007
Field Report - November 2007
Tester
Information:
Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in
(1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77
kg)
E-mail
address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western
West Virginia, U.S.A.
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Backpacking Background:
Pursuing
a long-time interest, I started backpacking four years ago, beginning
with
day-hiking and single overnights. Currently
I’m mostly a ‘weekend warrior’ and mainly hike and backpack in the
hills and valleys of West Virginia, but have section hiked longer parts
of the southern portion of the Appalachian Trail (AT) the past two
years. My usual
shelter is a hammock, but occasionally use a tent. In general
my backpacking style is
lightweight and
minimalist, and I try to cut as much pack weight as I can without
sacrificing
warmth, comfort, or safety.
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Initial Report - September 2007
Product
Information:
Manufacturer: Spiro Sport Foods
Year of manufacture: 2007
Advertised net weight: 1.5 oz (42.5 g)
Measured net weight: varies by package
[from 1.5 to 1.7 oz (42.5 to 48.2 g)]
Measured packaging weight: .2 oz (5.7 g)
Package size: 4.5 x 6 in (11.4 x 15.2 cm)
Bite size: approx. 1.25 x .75 in (3.2 cm x 1.9 cm)
Website: www.spirosportfoods.com
MSRP: not available
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Product Description:
The Spiro Sport Foods Bites are packaged
bite size meat-based snacks, available in four flavors at the time of
this report - Original Beef, Cranberry Beef, Glazed Turkey, and Smoked
Turkey. According to Spiro Sport Foods, the bites are minimally
processed with no artificial ingredients. This claim is
consistent with the ingredients listed on the package of each variety,
although I had to look up potassium lactate to find it was a natural
food additive, an acid produced by bacteria in fermented foods (and
also produced in the large intestine). The ingredients of each
variety are as follows:
Original Beef - beef, water, brown sugar, salt, sugar, spices,
hydrolyzed soy protein, potassium lactate, garlic powder.
Cranberry Beef - beef, water, sugar, sweetened cranberries
(cranberries, sugar glycerine), salt, potassium lactate, spices, garlic
powder.
Glazed Turkey - turkey, sugar, water, salt, fructose, potassium
lactate, black pepper, paprika, natural honey flavor, spices, natural
smoke flavor.
Smoked Turkey - turkey, water, sugar, brown sugar, salt, potassium
lactate, hydrolyzed corn protein, soy sauce powder (soy sauce, wheat,
soybeans, salt, maltodextrin), paprika, red pepper, spices, natural
lemon flavor (corn syrup, lemon juice solids, natural flavor), natural
smoke flavor.
The Bites are packaged in a flexible, protective plastic packet with a
small hole at the top, undoubtedly intended to hang the package from
store displays. The color of the package varies by flavor, but
each uses earth-tones such as brown, orange, white, and gold or
yellow. Near the top of the package is a 'tear here' notch.
I opened one package of each flavor for a taste test, and found them
easy to open by hand, tearing cleanly across the top with moderate
pressure. The name of the variety is printed near the bottom of
the package in a white oblong, making it easy to tell them apart.
The front of the package also gives information about the naturalness
of the product. The Beef Bites state "ALL-NATURAL* BEEF",
*Minimally Processed-No Artificial Ingredients" and also "BEEF USED
RAISED WITHOUT ADDED HORMONES OR ADDED ANTIBIOTICS - NO MSG ADDED - NO
NITRITES. The Turkey Bites sport similar language,
"ALL-NATURAL*FREE RANGE TURKEY, *Minimally Processed-No Artificial
Ingredients", and TURKEY USED RAISED WITHOUT ADDED **HORMONES OR ADDED
ANTIBIOTICS - NO MSG ADDED - NO NITRITES." The bottom of
the packaging explains the double asterisks "Federal Regulations
prohibit the use of hormones in poultry".
The back of the package gives nutritional information, an ingredients
list, the company address, phone number, and web page, and has a small
clear window on the bottom right side to view the bites.
Printed on the window is a 'best by' date (July 5th or July 6th 2008 on
the packages sent to me) and a lot number. Above the bar code on
the bottom left side of the package is an advisory to refrigerate the
bites after opening and consume within 3 days. I should have read
this before I opened a couple of packages to weigh the contents and for
taste testing - I repackaged the Original Beef Bite variety in a
snack-sized Zip-lock bag and left them unrefrigerated. In spite
of the labeling to refrigerate after opening, they still tasted fresh
and good after a week at room temperature.
Each package contains one serving, varying from 106 to 122 calories,
with the Smoked Turkey Bites being the lowest in calories and the
Glazed Turkey Bites being the highest. The Original Beef Bites
have 110 calories and the Cranberry Beef Bites have 120. They
have from 15 to 17 grams of protein per package, and from 5 to 13 total
grams of carbohydrate. None of the Bites have any fiber (not
surprising as they are mostly meat). Sodium varies from 560 to
600 mg. Surprisingly, none of the Bites have any saturated fat,
and they vary in total fat from 1 to 2 grams.
Taste testing and preliminary
impressions:
My taste
test turned out well - all of the Bites are palatable. So
far, I'm not sure which is my favorite, but I know my least favorite -
the Glazed Turkey Bites. I found them a little sweet for my
taste.
I should note here that I follow a controlled carbohydrate diet and
rarely eat foods with significant amounts of sugar.
Interestingly, the Original Beef Bites have only a gram less sugar (8
vs. 9), and the Cranberry Beef Bites have more (11 g), but neither beef
variety tasted as sweet as the Glazed Turkey, although the Cranberry
Beef Bites tasted sweeter than the Original flavor to me. Both
the Original Beef Bites and the
Smoked Turkey Bites have a slightly peppery, smoky taste and the
Cranberry Beef Bites have a sweeter smoky taste. The bites are
brownish in color, with the Glazed
Turkey Bites being slightly lighter in color than the other varieties,
and having a slightly stickier feel. The texture of all the Bites
is chewy without
being tough - somewhat like a dry version of summer sausage.
Since the packaging is fairly light and minimal (the plastic pouch with
an oxygen absorber inside), I am likely to carry the bites in their
original packages instead of repackaging them into small zippered bags
as I often do with other foods. Hm... gram weenie that I
am, I wonder if I can trim the package edges without breaking the seal
of the package, for a tiny weight savings?
I found a single package was satisfying as a small snack one
afternoon. I also found that I could easily consume two packages
as a late night snack without feeling overly full. (Hey, I had to
try all varieties for reporting purposes, right? And they are
supposed to be used within 3 days of opening so I couldn't keep them
around too long.)
So far, I'm quite pleased with the Spiro Bites. I always have a
hard time finding commercial packaged snacks that I like which are low
in carbohydrates, and I'm happy to find the Spiro Bites are also
low in fat. I'm also happy that they're tasty, and look forward
to yummy trail snacks over the next couple of months.
Final Report - November 2007
Field Conditions:
In mid-September, I took 2
packages of the Spiro Sport Bites on a day hike of about 6 mi (10 km)
to scout some trails in Watoga State Park in south eastern West
Virginia, and another 2 packages on a short
(approx. 4 mi/6km) overnight backpacking trip in part of the area we
scouted. Temperatures were in the 40 to 70 F
(4 to 21 C)
range. Trails were a combination of wide dirt forest roads with
not much elevation change, and single width woods trails consisting of
soil/mud, rocks, and tree roots with some steep up and down hill
sections. The campsite was a maintained grassy knoll, surrounded
by
mostly deciduous trees.
In early October I took 6 packages on a 30 mi (48 km) weekend
backpacking trip in the Cranberry Backcountry in southeastern West
Virginia. Temperatures ranged from around 50 F to 80 F (10 to 27
C) and the weather was mainly dry with only a few sprinkles of rain one
evening. Trails varied widely from sections of old logging roads
that had fairly smooth dirt surfaces, to rocky passages through
rhododenron thickets with their accompanying roots across the trail, to
a short section of graveled forest service road. Elevation varied
considerably from 2700 to 4000 ft (800 to 1200 m) with some tough
climbs.
In late October and early November, I took 10 packages on a section
hike of the Appalachian Trail in northern Georgia and southern North
Carolina. We had originally planned to divide the trip into a
2-day segment followed by a night at a motel (and showers) and another
4-5 day segment, but due my friend developing severe blisters, and
situations at a couple of shelters that made us uncomfortable, we ended
up spending 3 nights in hotels and 2 nights on the trail. Over a
6 day period, I hiked a total of 56.1 mi (90 km) at elevations ranging
from 2660 to 5220 ft (810 to 1590 m). The elevation range doesn't
tell the whole story, since there are a lot of ups and downs in between
the two extremes. Suffice it to say we were normally either
ascending or descending, often over 700 ft (200 m) within 1-1.5 miles
(1.5-2.5 km). Temperatures were in the 40 to 70 F (4 to 21 C)
range.
Field Use:
On the trip to Watoga State Park, I wasn't carrying a lot of food, so I
left the Spiro Bites in their original packaging. On the trip to
Cranberry Backcountry, I removed the contents of 2 packages and placed
them in small zipper lock bags (about 2 x 3 in/60 x 90 cm) that I
purchase in the craft supply section of our local mega discount
store. I carried the other 4 in their original packaging.
On my Appalachian Trail trip, I repackaged 2 and carried 2 in original
packages for the first 2-day segment; carried 2 in original packaging
for the next segment, a 15.6 mi/7.4 km 'slackpack' ( a term often used
on the Appalachian Trail to describe a distance
hiker who does a segment as a day hike without carrying overnight
equipment); and repackaged 4
for the next segment (which turned out to be a 2-day rather than a
3-day segment as planned). One thing I've found about hiking the
Appalachian Trail is that for one reason or another, a trip seldom goes
exactly as planned.
On each
trip, I found the Spiro Bites tasty, although I have to admit that I
found myself growing a little tired of them after eating 10 packages in
5 days on the Appalachian Trail. On my various trips, I found one
package worked well to maintain energy for about an hour, but if I
needed a little extra push for a steep uphill or didn't want to eat
each hour, I needed to either eat two packages or eat an additional
snack with a single package of the Spiro Bites. Supplementing a
pack of the Bites with an energy bar or a few nuts worked very well to
sustain my energy longer, and gave me a little more variety.
One disturbing thing I noticed with several packages (primarily the two
turkey flavors, but also with a couple of the Original Beef flavor) was
that some of the bites had fibrous bits protruding. See photo at
right for an example. Some even looked like tiny hairs. I
assume they were bits of tendon or other connective tissue, and pulled
them out and ate the rest
of the bite. I have to admit that it was a little off-putting
though.
I found the packaging to be a little bulky for the amount of calories
the Bites provided (106 to 122 per pack), especially when I wanted to
pack several for longer trips. Each pack contained about 8
pieces, and had ample room for several more. I'd like to either
see the packaging made smaller or more pieces put in each pack.
If a dozen pieces were packaged together, that would make a snack in
the range of 150 to 180 calories, which is in line with many energy
bars I eat.
While Spiro Sport Foods instructs to refrigerate any leftovers once a
package is opened, I did not observe any sort of deterioration from
repackaging the Bites for a few days at a time. I would not
hesitate to repackage a weeks worth as long as temperatures are
moderate, but would be more careful of this in the hot summer
months. My food would have been quite a bit bulkier had I not
repackaged, especially on the last segment when I took 4 packages.
On the trail I found my favorite flavor was the Smoked Turkey, followed
by the Cranberry Beef. I found the Glazed Turkey a little sweeter
and stickier than I liked, and the Original Beef had a bit more spice
than I wanted.
Summary:
Overall I was very happy with the performance of the Spiro Sport
Bites. They were tasty and provided good energy that normally
took about 15 minutes to kick in and lasted about an hour per
package. They were convenient to carry, even more so when I
repackaged them.
It's always been difficult for me to find high protein snacks that I
enjoy on the trail, especially those that will keep well without
refrigeration, and the Spiro Sport Bites have fit that bill quite
nicely. Unlike some other high protein snacks such as nuts and
cheese, it's nice to know that Spiro Sport Bites are low in fat.
The only recommendations I have for change are to reduce the packaging
and/or increase the portion size, and for some sort of process to
eliminate the occasional fibrous bits from the Bites.
Outfitter stores are pretty limited in our area, but I'll be watching
for these bites in the future, and would happily buy them for future
hiking and backpacking trips.
Thanks to Spiro Sport Foods and BackpackGearTest.org
for
the
opportunity to test the Spiro Bites.
Read more reviews of SPIRO Sports Food gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant
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