Name: STEVEN H. MILLER
Age: 53
Gender: Male
Height: 5'8" / 1.73 m
Weight 178 lb / 81 kg
Email address: metaphorce(at)earthlink(dot)net
City : Pacific Palisades, CA, USA

Backpacking background:
I began backpacking in the early 1980's, trekking in the mountains and deserts of California. I stopped backpacking after I got married in the late 80's. Now my sons are 10 and 14, and I've had to resurrect my equipment, my skills, and many long-neglected muscles. I recently took my first backpacking (as opposed to car-camping) trip in 20 years. I tend towards short tenting trips, pack too much and end up carrying over 40 lb. / 18 kg in the desert (including water). I'm looking for ways to cut it down without sacrificing creature comforts. I go car camping with my younger son, usually bringing a more spacious tent.

PRODUCT INFORMATION:

Product: Probar Nutty Banana Boom
Manufacturer: Probar LLC
website: http://www.theprobar.com
Year of Manufacture: 2006
MSRP: not given
Listed Weight: 3 oz / 85 g
Measured Weight: variable from 3.10 oz / 87.7 g – 3.27 oz / 92.7 g, in twelve bars sampled. (See list below in Product Description) Average: 3.20 oz / 90.6 g
Size:
Bar: 3.75 in X 3.75 in X 0.75 in / 9.5 cm X 9.5 cm X 2 cm
Wrapper: 3.87 in X 6 in / 7.3 cm X 15.2 cm

FIELD INFORMATION

Description of locations and conditions:

1. Camping in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, Big Sur, CA, elevation 400 ft / 125 m. Temperatures ranged from about 60F / 16 C to about 95F / 35 C.

2. Car-camping in the Los Padres National Forest at about 1800 ft / 550 m. Temperatures reached about 110 F / 43 C at the height of the day, got down to about 75 F / 24 C at night.

3. Dayhiking around home (Santa Monica Mountains in West Los Angeles) at around 1500 ft / 450 m. Temperatures range from about 65 F / 18 C to about 95 F / 35 C on different hikes.

4. Backpacking in Big Sur in Los Padres National Forest, altitudes starting at 400 ft./ rising to 1600 ft / m. Temperatures ranging from 50 F / 10 C to 75F / 24 C.

For a description of the product, please see my Initial Report.

My initial experiences with the Probar Nutty Banana Boom were in car-camping and local hiking situations. These proved to be remarkably different from my experiences eating the Probar during a more strenuous hike with a 30 lb / 14 kg backpack and gaining about 1200 ft / 365 m of elevation.

I first tried the Probar Nutty Banana Boom as a between-meal snack while out car-camping, and found it tasty, convenient and satisfying. Its blend of flavors can lend a bit of variety to a dull afternoon.

MEAL REPLACEMENT OBSERVTIONS:

I was very interested to see how the Probar would work as a meal substitute. My initial experiences with it had been something of a mixed blessing: very tasty, but hard to eat much of it without feeling queasy. I wasn't sure if I could stomach enough bars for it to take the place of a complete meal.

I decided to sub the Probar for lunch. That way, I would have the basis of my usual breakfast as the start of my gastronomic day. Breakfast, in this case, was a couple of Turkey Italian Sausages (sweet, not spicy) and a slice of bread.

Me, eating a Probar in the Los Padres National Forest, warily

I was a bit wary of eating two whole bars
on a relatively empty stomach,
but it worked out quite well.

Around noon, I began eating the Probar. The first few bars I'd tried when the product initially arrived had taught me that I needed to eat it slowly. On this July afternoon, I consumed two whole bars over the course of about 45 minutes.

I was again struck by variation, from one bar to another, of the concentration of ingredients. The first bar I ripped into had lots of almonds. By the time I realized the bar was unusually almond-laden and started counting, I had already eaten some of them, but the remainder of the bar had no fewer than 30 almonds. It also had dense clusters of raisins. By contrast, there was no piece of banana chip in it large enough to be identified without magnification. The second bar had no single dominant ingredient, but it did sport some very sizable banana chips.

This Probar had a lot of almonds, and major clusters of raisins.

You can clearly see two whole almonds,
and a small herd of raisins.
I think the yellow-whitish thing
to the right of the raisins is
a hunk of pineapple.

I consider this variation to be one of the most fun aspects of this product. The ingredients list limits the overall possibilities of what can be in the bar, but exactly what will dominate any particular bar is always a bit of a surprise.

This time I felt none of the queasiness I'd experienced with previous bars. Was it the fresh mountain air? Exercise? Eating it slowly and savoring all the flavors? Being ready for it this time? It was fun eating with no bad after-effects.

The two bars proved to be enough to carry me through most of the afternoon. We spent the day hiking through a rocky stream and swimming... not very strenuous activity, but definitely activity. By 5:00 PM, I was ready for a snack, but who wouldn't be? I considered this a success for Probar as a meal substitute.

SHELF-LIFE IN HOT STORAGE

My previous test of Probar's ability to withstand hot storage (see my Initial Report) was such a success that I decided to try a more extreme test. I was interested to see how it would stand up to being stored under hot conditions such as one might encounter on an extended trek. Since I don't do three-week hikes, I couldn't create those actual conditions for testing, but I thought I might simulate them by leaving the Probar on the back seat of my car. As it turned out, the Probar's first five days in the car were during this summer's record-smashing heat wave, and outdoor temperatures reached about 110 F / 43 C. Things cooled down a few days later. In all, I left the Probar in the car for 24 days during the height of summer, in and around Los Angeles.

The Probar did not fare as well through this second test. It tasted decidedly stale, though not disgustingly so. The taste of stale peanut was distinctive, though. (Surprisingly, since I had never really tasted the peanut butter before in any of the bars I had eaten.) Nonetheless, having committed myself to the test, I started eating. I had already consumed a light breakfast, so I wasn't tackling it on an empty stomach. Once again, I ate slowly, this time while strolling in the Santa Monica Mountains. I again noticed how convenient the oversized wrapper is for storing a partly-eaten bar in a pocket.

After eating about 2/3 of the bar, I was feeling a bit queasy. I abandoned further consumption of the bar. The queasiness persisted for another hour, but never got really bad.

Personally, I consider this a pretty extreme test. However, there are folks who do three-week hikes in hot climates, so perhaps an extreme test is valid.

My last outing with the Probar Nutty Banana Boom was also the first really serious piece of mountain backpacking I'd done in many years. I was carrying about 30 lb / 14 kg, but the hike was 5 miles and included several significant uphill stretches that gained as much as 1200 ft / 365 m over a distance of less than half a mile. I have, within recent memory, carried more weight, but that was on relatively flat ground over shorter distances, and I was not physically prepared for this mountain expedition.

PERFORMANCE UNDER STRENUOUS ACTIVITY

The mountain workout was where the Probar really shined. Both my 14-year-old-son and I were feeling significant fatigue after the first big uphill push, and when we hit the second one, we weren't sure we could make it. My pack seemed to double in weight and my pulse shot up around 130. To say that my body was eager for nutrition is a gross understatement. I started eating the Probar cautiously at first, but I felt absolutely no sensation of queasiness, and eventually devoured it. I think I must have digested it almost as fast as I could chew it. What I DID feel was a huge gain in energy and strength. Within about 10 minutes, the pack (apparently) returned to its normal weight and that mountain seemed much more climbable. This effect was repeated several times over a period of 3 hours. My stamina and mood improved, and my pulse peaked around 120 after that and came down fairly quickly. I attribute the success of the trip largely to the Probars we had with us. We came to value our Probars very highly.

PACKAGING VS. AROMA

Another observation gained during this last trip concerned the Probar packaging. I was curious whether an animal could smell the Probar through its air-pillow package. I accidentally found out. Inadequate storage of our food led to a raid by some small critter; probably nothing larger than a chipmunk. He nibbled through a baggy of beef jerky, but apparently found it not to his taste. Likewise, a package of instant oatmeal was only lightly sampled. The Probar package, however, was nibbled open along 2 in / 5 cm of its length. The marauder consumed about one quarter of the bar. I must assume this was enough to thoroughly satisfy him, because there was no sign of him, and nothing else was touched.

Something small and furry enjoyed about 1/4 of this bar.
If you look closely, you can see the nibble marks on the package.

SUMMARY:
In all, I enjoyed eating the Probar, most of the time. I would probably pack one for a snack anytime I go out hiking. I will definitely include a few when I go backpacking, as they have proved very valuable for instant energy and stamina improvement. They seemed overly sweet while I was sitting around doing nothing, but under strenuous conditions, that combination of sugar and protein was a lifesaver.

THINGS I LIKE:
Excellent energy source, especially under strenuous workout
Good Taste
Variety of flavors that reveal themselves unexpectedly
Reasonably satisfying as a meal replacement
Handy for carrying
Large wrapper is good for re-wrapping partially eaten product

THINGS I’D LIKE TO SEE IMPROVED:
The ingredients list should be cleaned up (see initial report)

I again want to thank Probar LLC and Backpackgeartest.org for giving me the opportunity to participate in this test, and try out these really scrumptious bars.

Read more reviews of Probar gear
Read more gear reviews by steven miller

Field Report

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