I began backpacking in the late 1960s. My hiking experience varies widely in a variety of terrain, desert, mountain, and forests. My experiences include hikes in 4 seasons in most Eastern and Western states, many European countries and other locations. Temperatures have ranged from 5 F (-15 C) to 110 F (43 C). Elevations have ranged from sea level to 13,000 ft (3900 m). My gear has evolved from pack weights of 60+ lb (27+ kg) to my current loads of between 12 to 20 lb (5 to 9 kg).

PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION:

Item:	Probar High Performance Energy Bar
Manufacturer:	Probar, LLC
URL:	http://www.theprobar.com
Year of Manufacturer:	2005
MSRP:	$30.00 per box (12 bars)

Product Description:

Probar is an all-natural, blended energy bar comprised of 17 whole foods and is 100% vegan. For extensive information on the nutritional value and ingredients of the Probar and other observations please review my Initial Report or my Field Report

UPDATE

Probar updated this energy bar after the initial and field reports were posted for this product. A new flavor was added that incorporated the addition of dried blueberries and strawberries. Additionally, the packaging was changed and improved. I feel these changes enhanced this product, and the new flavor, "Whole Berry Blast", now allows a choice between these energy bars. Probar added an allergy alert notification on the new Whole Berry Blast label that the product contains tree nuts and seeds and is packaged on equipment that processes peanuts.

Sheltering in Place:

On the night of September 23 and into the early morning of September 24th, 2005 my hometown suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Rita. Living on the Texas Gulf Coast all of my life, I had experienced hurricanes before, and had what I thought was a sufficient "hurricane survival kit" to get me through a few days without power, water or food. Hurricane Rita changed all of my thinking about that. Initially, just my wife and I were going to "ride" out the storm, since we were unable to evacuate due to her nursing obligations. Unbeknownst to me was that our home would end up sheltering 7 other people from the wrath of "Rita". My provisions were only for two for an expected short duration. We ended up having to shelter 9 people total for 8 days. To complicate this further, we were isolated from being able to get any supplies due to trees and utility lines down on our road. I scrambled to come up with a plan that would keep all of us fed at least minimally until we could get out. The additional Probars that I received for the long-term testing played a key role for us. We all skipped breakfast except for coffee, and used the Probars as a meal replacement for lunch. This and the other food supplies I had stored worked out sufficiently, though skimpy, for our needs. The bars were well received by my guests. Each bar is very filling, and did a really good job of providing us the nourishment we needed. A few of us halved the bars and had one portion for "brunch" and the other portion in the afternoon as a snack. This worked well also. Once the storm had passed Saturday evening, there was a tremendous amount of work to do over the next several days to recover and "dig out" from the storm. The extra energy we gained from the bars really helped us to get through the next few days of high stress and activity. An additional side effect from consuming the bars was that the fiber in the bars enabled us to remain "regular" for the several days that we could not eat our "normal" food while being held captive by the trees across the road. Overall, I was very grateful to have the bars at such a tremendous time of need. When my guests learned they were consuming my backpacking food, and as a surprise to me, each one skipped a meal for one day and left me 8 bars to use on my upcoming activities.

My street after Hurricane Rita. I am the last house on a 2 mile (3 km) dead-end road.
We were trapped for several days until we could cut ourselves out. The Probars proved themselves
as an excellent meal replacement in this time of need.

Once all the recovery work was done and I had gotten back to a normal existence, I was in desperate straits to get away for a hike or bike trip to unwind from all the stress of the hurricane. I headed up to East Texas for a long, welcoming bike ride. I thought I may have gotten tired of the Probars from the storm recovery, but this was not the case. I used them for my snacks over 4 days of riding, and the new bars worked just as well as the original in providing me with increased energy and stamina.

SUMMARY

I plan to continue to carry these energy bars with me on my hikes and outings. I have found them to excel as a meal replacement while on the trail. I will also use them as a trail snack. I like the new flavor, Whole Berry Blast, better than the original bar; that being said however, if I could change anything I would add a few more berries and large carob chips to the mix. Probar improved the wrapper size and material, and this works much better than the old, thinner foil. I have not become tired of the taste of the bars. I plan to continue to use them when I bike or hike, they really excel for me in this capacity. They re-strengthen and increase my energy level, and sustain me much longer than the snacks I was using previously. The Probar Energy Bar is an outstanding product that does what it claims to do.

Thanks to Probar and BackPackGearTest for awarding me this product for testing.

Russell Curry

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