Reviewer Information

Name: Becki Stacy
Age: 32
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 3" (1.6 m)
Weight: 150 lb (70 kg)
Email address: becki_s19 at yahoo dot com
Location: Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

Background:
I got bitten by the backpacking bug in 1994 when I was a volunteer at the Grand Canyon. My first backpacking trip was the same week I arrived, with gear borrowed from trail crew supplies. My husband and I enjoy car camping and backpacking (we use a double-wall tent), mostly in Michigan. We've pared down our pack weight a little (a necessity for a recent 12-night trip with no resupply), and we are continually re-working our gear list to cut weight without giving up the luxury items we enjoy (such as food that involves more than boiling water).

Basic Product Information

Manufacturer: ProBar, LLC
Website:http://www.theprobar.com/

Product: ProBar High Performance Energy Bar (Original Flavor)
Year of Manufacture: 2005
MSRP: Not Listed
Listed weight: 3 oz (85 g)
Weight as delivered:
Cookie Mean Average: 3.2 oz (89.5 g)
Cookie Minimum: 3.0 oz (84 g)
Cookie Maximum: 3.25 oz (92 g)
Wrapper: .07 oz (2 g)
Size:
Wrapper, flat: 3.7" x 6.2" (9.4 x 15.8 cm)
Cookie: approx. 3" x 2.5"x 0.6" (7.6 x 6.4 x 1.6 cm)

Product: ProBar Whole Berry Blast
Year of Manufacture: 2005
MSRP: Not Listed
Listed weight: 3 oz (85 g)
Weight as delivered:
Cookie Mean Average: 3.1 oz (89.0 g)
Cookie Minimum: 3.0 oz (84 g)
Cookie Maximum: 3.25 oz (92 g)
Wrapper: .07 oz (2 g)
Size:
Wrapper, flat: 3.7" x 6.2" (9.4 x 15.8 cm)
Cookie: approx. 3" x 2.5"x 0.6" (7.6 x 6.4 x 1.6 cm)

Long Term Performance

Please see my Initial Report and Field Report for more details about the energy bars.

I've taken both the revised Original Flavor and the Whole Berry Blast bars on two-night trips at the Manistee River Trail and Nordhouse Dunes in Michigan, and on several day hikes. Although the level of exertion isn't close to the Isle Royale trip the first version of the bars came along on, they have continued to prove to be a good addition to my pack. The bars served as twice-daily snacks on the trips, and at Nordhouse Dunes they served as breakfast for my brother and I when we changed plans and decided to move camp.

Both flavors performed equally well at keeping my energy up, and both tasted better when I was 'hungry' and/or exerting myself as opposed to eating one for breakfast at home. The Whole Berry Blast continues to be my favorite, and tastes good even when I'm not overly hungry. The Original Flavor still tastes blandish to me, and I've had a hard time convincing myself to eat those instead of going through all the Berry Blast bars first.

While I appreciate the intent of keeping the ingredients "whole", I still have a problem with the occasional large nut. The large nuts still cause problems with the consistency of the surrounding matter, and even when I'm careful I sometimes lose part of the bar due to gravity. Other than continuing my cry "give me *real* chocolate!", this is my only complaint about the bars. Though I don't think I'll be buying the Original Flavor bars for future trips, the Whole Berry Blast bars have found a prominent place in my pack line-up of energy bars.

I would like to thank ProBar and the Backpack Gear Test organization for the opportunity to try this product.

Read more reviews of Probar gear
Read more gear reviews by Rebecca Stacy

Long Term Report

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