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freq Approved: PROBAR Meal Bars
If you’ve spent a lot of time in the backcountry, chances are you’ve eaten your fair share of energy bars. And if you’re anything like me, chances are you’re sick of pretty much all of them—especially the ones that require downing your whole water bottle just to get them out of your throat and into your stomach. Now you might be asking, why the hell is this guy reviewing an energy bar? Well, because I like PROBAR’s meal replacement bars. Even after eating about five boxes of them.
Case in point: This March, I went on a road trip—a short one, just down to Crystal Mountain, WA, to shoot both resort and splitboard-based backcountry stuff with Matt Edgers. I slept on the floor for three days and went full low-budget style, then drove to Stevens Pass, WA, and slept in the parking lot before a sunrise rendezvous with the Absinthe Films crew. I went through a full box of PROBARs. Pretty much lived off the things. And while I wouldn’t recommend them for fulfilling your dietary needs for, say, a month, they were all I ate for breakfast and lunch for those four days. And at the end, I could still stand the sight, and even the taste of them. That’s saying something.
Maybe it’s because they were developed in Snowbird, UT, by backcountry riders, but PROBAR seems to get it when it comes to that energy bar stashed in your riding pack. Not overly dry or chewy, PROBARs avoid the whole plastic astronaut food vibe by using raw whole foods, and healthy, nutritious things like flax seeds, dates, nuts and oats. They’re easy to eat, provide plenty of energy for the ascent, and taste good. There are no unpronounceable chemical creations included to satisfy my inner hippy as well. Plus, they come in 12 flavors to avoid oatmel-and-raisin burnout. And that’s why you’ll find a PROBAR next to the gummy bears in my backcountry bag this winter.
Disclaimer: I recieved free PROBAR samples for this review. After a year actually eating the things while traveling, riding and shooting, I still like them. End disclaimer.