Datrex food bars vs. Snickers

[barf_jay]

During my quest to find a high calorie low weight food snack for backpacking trips, I found an odd reference on a hiking blog to a Datrex food bar? Never heard of these before so I began researching and was surprised by my findings.

http://www.datrex.com/

These little bars main goal were to be used in survival rafts, below are some details:

• 18 individual wrapped bars
• 3600 kcal per package.
• High energy value and ready to eat.
• Non thirst provoking.
• Small and lightweight.
• All natural ingredients.
• No preservatives.
• 5 year shelf life.
• USCG approved.

So I bought a couple packs off of amazon and gave them a try. The Datrex bar tastes pretty good, it has a coconut flavor. It is also not thirst provoking, so little water is needed to eat one of the bars.

Datrex (1 bar) 1.33 oz. $.47
200 calories

Item	Weight	Weight per oz.
Protein	2.8 g	2.1
Fat	8.73 g	6.56
Sugar	5 g	3.75
Carbo	24.7 g	18.6

Size = 2.5" x 1.75" x .5 " = 2.19" Volume
Calories/ oz. = 150.4
Calories/ $ = 425.5

Size = 2.5" x 1.75" x .5 " = 2.19" Volume
Calories/ oz. = 150.4
Calories/ $ = 425.5Snickers (1 bar) 2.15 oz. $1.28
280 caloriesSnickers (1 bar) 2.15 oz. $1.28
280 calories

Item	Weight	Weight per oz.
Protein	4 g	1.86
Fat	14 g	6.51
Sugar	30 g	13.95
Carbo	35 g	16.3

Size = 4" x 1.25 " x .75" = 3.75" Volume
Calories/ oz. = 130.2
Calories/ $ = .58

The clear overall winner is the Datrex food bar. The only downfall of the Datrex bar is that it is crumbles easily? Does not take much to break it apart and are fragile. I normally carry mine in a lightweight container that I use for my freeze dried meals, this helps protect them and so far has worked out very well.

Therefore, anyone out there looking for another alternate food source while out hiking, I would strongly suggest giving the Datrex food bars a try. Of course, I will still bring a couple of Snickers, need my chocolate fix!

[mikec]

I've used them before. Taste OK and they do provide energy. The only problems with them are that you have to drink a bunch of water with them and since you have to buy them in large quantities, yiu get sick of them after awhile.

[Deadeye]

I couldn't find the indredient list on the webiste - is it short & readable? The math on calories per $ didn't quite work, it should be 219 per $ for the Snickers, but Datrex still wins at 425.

BTW, I'm a bit leery of relying on food reviews from a guy named Barf!

[barf_jay]

I couldn't find the indredient list on the webiste - is it short & readable?

Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Vegetable Shortening, Cane Sugar, Water, Coconut and Salt.

[skinewmexico]

Long history of these bars, read sailing blogs. A lack of flavors is probably the biggest downfall. They used to have a lot of coconut oil.

[Drybones]

Great review and info...thanks.

[Deadeye]

Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Vegetable Shortening, Cane Sugar, Water, Coconut and Salt.

Yuk! To me, that sounds like emergency rations only. I'll take a Lara bar, please. Here's the ingredient list for one I just grabbed from the pack (gingern snap flavor): Dates, Almonds, Pecans, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves. 1.8 oz, 240 calories, real food, real good. OK, it won't win the calories per $ equation, but good & tasty & many flavors, all with just a small handful of ingredients that you can pronounce and eat.

[Odd Man Out]

these are my favorites

http://www.planters.com/varieties/nu...uct=4300002724

[kayak karl]

it would remind me of Soylent Green a little too much

[TunaSlayer]

Datrex and 3 other brands of food bars along with freeze dried foods can be purchased from emergency essentials. I have tried the sos bars and they are not bad. They have some called new millenium in 9 flavors but they are a more $ than the datrex.

[CarlZ993]

these are my favorites

http://www.planters.com/varieties/nu...uct=4300002724

Those sound good. May have to try these.