TREKKING
Product 2018
Femme, Homme, Enfant
The famous Clif Bar! Found everywhere in America and now you can find them here in France, especially in REI shops; the bar for endurance efforts.
We tested three flavors, Chocolate Chip, Crunchy Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. Of course taste is personal, so go with what turns you on.
The flavors are not too strong and so you just need to be careful not to eat too many! That sickly sweet tendency that is so often linked to this sort of energy bar comes later rather than earlier. The 68grams of energy provided in the packet means that you should avoid eating them too often…
Opening the packet is not the easiest thing to do when at full throttle, you need both hands and when they’re cold it’s even worse. On the plus side the plastic is so tough you can keep it kicking about in your pack for a long while before eating and it won’t get damaged.
Once open the bar is like a thick biscuit, quite dense but not tough on the teeth. Easy to bite, chewing takes a little time but it has a good consistency. There is a delicate crunchiness of bits of cereal; organic oats. The rest of the ingredients are not marked as organic. For no gluten eaters, the ongoing polemic of whether oats are to be avoided or not is a choice you must make yourself. Once it’s been chewed it is easy to swallow and the only thing that stays in the mouth a little are little bits of oats.
We tested the bars whilst trail running and before swimming sessions (triathlon). Whilst trail running, so long as you don’t swallow large mouthfuls at once and spread out the portions eaten we didn’t have any digestive issues. Swimming you must eat it well before you do your swimming session, nothing new or surprising for this type of product married with this type of sport. You don’t have an overpowering sweetness, but the after taste of cinnamon is ever present – an antioxidant that you either love or hate the taste of.
Your hunger is abated immediately and your energy levels start going up rapidly and noticeably. Clif suggest using the bar before, during and after effort. Before and during, yes ok, but afterwards a recovery drink seems more appropriate, especially as you will have had enough of eating bars by then! A recovery drink would be richer in proteins and BCCA, etc.
We suggest using these bars for endurance efforts (gels are easier to ingest on shorter efforts), perfect for trekking, mountaineering, climbing and long distance trail running. For triathletes the packet is too difficult to open, time is prime whilst racing; maybe pre-opening the packets would be a good idea…
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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