Field Report

Probar - Nutty Banana Boom
Field Report
August 15, 2006
Nutty Banana Boom Probar

Personal Biographical Information:

Name: Ken Bigelow
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.8 m)
Weight: 205 lbs (93 kg)
Email address: krb84108 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Backpacking Background:

I was first dragged on a backpacking trip eight years ago and have been addicted to it ever since. My adventures vary in length from a weekend to over two weeks. I am slowly shifting my backpacking style to a lightweight approach. I recently upgraded to a hammock to reduce weight. From spring through fall I typically backpack in the mountains or desert, while in winter I often go snowshoeing. I typically see a wide variety of climates ranging from 10 F (-12 C) with snow to 90 F (32 C) and sunny with just about everything in between.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Probar, LLC
Website: theprobar.com/
Listed Weight (on package exterior): 3 oz (85 g)
Average Measured Weight: 3.2 oz (91 g)
Year Produced: 2006
Flavored Tested: Nutty Banana Boom
Packaged Dimensions: 6 in x 3.5 in (15 cm x 9 cm)
Energy Bar Dimensions: 3 in x 3in (8 cm x 8 cm)
MSRP: None listed (approximately $3 US/bar based on numerous retailers)

Field Conditions:

For the last two months I have been hiking/camping or backpacking in Utah almost every weekend and have eaten the Probars on every trip. I have used the Probars as sustenance in the Grand Gulch Primitive Area, Yellowstone National Park, the Wasatch Mountains and the High Uintas Wilderness. The terrain I encountered during the test period has included wet and muddy corridors, slickrock, steep and rocky terrain as well as plain old dirt paths. Temperatures have ranged from 30 F (-1 C) to 95 F (35 C). I have seen all types of weather ranging from heavy rain and hail to sunny. The elevations experienced have been between 4,000 ft (1,200 m) and 11,000 ft (3,300 m).

Field Report:

For more information on the Nutty Banana Boom flavored Probar and its ingredients please see my Initial Report.

The Nutty Banana Boom Probars are appropriately named in my opinion as I can taste primarily banana and nuts when the bars hit my taste buds. While I can still taste a hint of seeds and something else I can’t quite place, the banana and nuts stand out above all the others by far. I do find myself needing a little water to wash down the Probars, but I can honestly say that about any food I eat (both on the trail and off). They do leave a slight banana flavored aftertaste in my mouth after eating them, but I do not consider this a bad thing as I like bananas.

Eating a single bar does an excellent job of silencing my hunger pains. I once tried eating two at a single lunch break, but I had to sit and wait for a bit and let them digest before hiking onward. One bar seems to fill me up quite well without leaving me stuffed and unable to move. Picking out ingredients can be a challenge unless the Probar is either hot or cold at which point its contents can be removed without too much trouble. When cold the almonds and other large items shear off with a little effort. When hot I can pull some of the ingredients out, but this again requires some effort and considering I like the taste of the Probars this was more of a test to see if it could be done.

For three days in the Grand Gulch Primitive Area my daily food consisted of one Probar and a few snacks for breakfast, two Probars eaten separately as snacks and then my typical dehydrated meal for dinner. I never was starving at dinnertime and my energy level never plummeted even after hiking with 200 oz (6 L) of water in temperatures that were as high as 95 F (35 C). I usually carried at least one Probar in my shorts' pockets (for easy access) and was surprised that they did not completely melt in the extreme heat. They were extremely flexible, but remained completely intact during consumption.

After a night of no sleep in Yellowstone National Park I had one Probar for breakfast before hitting the trail. This was the only thing I had to eat all day until dinner that night. My energy level did hit the wall in the afternoon, but considering I only had one bar and I was operating on no sleep I’d have to say I was surprised I lasted as long as I did.

On a couple of occasions (an 11 hour day in Grand Gulch and a 14 hour day in the Wasatch Mountains) I ate only Probars and dehydrated fruit for the entire day. I still had enough energy to continue hiking at the end of each day, but the motivation to keep going (much less to do so without severely whining) is something no energy bar can be expected to supply. On both trips I was able to pull the Probar out of my pack or pocket, remove the wrapper and eat without stopping. I should note that the packaging is slightly harder to open while wearing gloves, but it is still a quick and easy process.

I have discovered that the Probars will freeze when the temperatures dip below approximately 40 F (4 C). They become extremely hard to chew and if it drops below freezing I am more likely to break my teeth than the Probars when trying to chew. When this does happen I either fire up the stove and thaw the Probar or put the Probar in my pocket and start hiking. Both treatments seem to work fine and I have not noticed any loss in taste after the Probars have been frozen.

Thawing a frozen Probar

In the last month of testing I started packing Probars for a quick overnight trip when I noticed the packaging had opened on one side of two separate Probars. I have no idea how long the Probar had been open (or how the packaging came open), but the taste suggested it lost its freshness well before eating it. It tasted stale and substantially different from the other Probars I have eaten. I ended up sharing one of these opened Probars with my girlfriend at dinner and it produced a very unpleasant feeling in both of our stomachs. She felt queasy the rest of the trip and she eventually expunged the digested food.

I searched through my remaining stock when I returned, but could not find any similar problems with the rest of my Probars. I have no way of knowing if the package opening prematurely is a packaging flaw or a result of something I did. I store the bars in my kitchen cupboard at home until I pack them prior to a trip so I have my doubts about me causing them to open, but anything’s possible. Throughout the test period I have carried the energy bars in my shorts' pockets, on my pack’s side pockets as well as my pack’s main compartment. The seams have not opened in any of these conditions so I believe it could very well be neither scenario and could simply be one of those fluke incidences caused by environmental factors. This, however, is purely speculation on my part.

With the exception of the two opened bars I like the taste of the Nutty Banana Boom flavor. I enjoyed them enough that after eating 24 bars over a two-month period I still managed to make multiple trips everyday to Probars booth while attending the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City to consume some of their free samples. They sit well in my stomach (again excluding the two stale bars) and do not have any negative effect on my intestinal tract as far as I can tell. I have even used them once for food at home when I was too busy to go to the store.

Things I like:

Tastes good
Provides me with enough energy to keep hiking on long days
The Probars do a good job of satisfying my hunger
Does not melt in hot weather
Quick & easy to open

Things I didn’t like:

The Probars freeze below approximately 40 F (4 C)
Potential packaging problem makes for queasy campers

Thanks to Probar and BackpackGearTest for allowing me to participate in testing the Nutty Banana Boom Flavored energy bar.

Read more reviews of Probar gear
Read more gear reviews by Ken Bigelow

Reviews > Food > Energy Bars and Drinks > Probar Nutty Banana Boom > Ken Bigelow > Field Report

All material on this site is the exclusive property of BackpackGearTest.org.
BackpackGearTest software copyright David Anderson