Bear Valley Pemmican Bars, Fruit & Nut, 3.75-Ounce Bars (Pack of 12)

Forget Clif, Luna, Builder's, Power Bar, Nature Valley or any other goop/grain brick you see in the stores. They can't carry the wrapper for a Pemmi Bar. Tasty, energy-packed, nutritionally balanced and all natural, these gems rock. I discovered the Raisin Nut variety 30 years ago, and they've been saving me ever since. They banish hunger, taste great and don't punish you with a sugar crash (I'm sensitive to this). NOTE: Eat these babies slowly. If you don't take small bites, you'll think you just bit into a chewy cotton ball. Pemmi Bars need saliva. So if you give them the space and time to generate it, you'll be a happy camper, biker, worker, traveler, spectator, parent or any other human who needs quick, big-time sustenance. BONUS: Pemmi Bars keep amazingly--probably indefinitely in the freezer, where I store mine. But I've eaten unrefrigerated bars literally years old. Taste and consistency suffer, but they still get the job done. At 420 calories a bar, Pemmi Bars outpunch all the rest and can easily replace a meal in a pinch. Don't want the whole thing? Rewrap it, and save it for a week. Or two. Or...yeah, I've eaten open ones pretty far down the road--with no problem. I'm obviously a major booster, and I put Pemmi Bars in the elite class of brilliantly effective, bombproof products including bow saws and the Concept 2 rowing machine. So do yourself a big favor. Try a bar.

I recently purchased these after being reminded of the original pemmican that native Americans, 19th Century explorers and other such hardy type used to survive. I really wanted to try a meat based product, but found these early in my search and decided that maybe the meatless version might be a better introduction. Since no one in our family has any type of nut allergy, this is a fantastic alternative. These bars are high in protein without being insanely over-juiced with carbohydrates. At first blush I thought the bars were border line "chalky", but after getting used to the the texture and the density, I really like these. Great flavor, don't seem to be effected by intense heat, and they are compact. I felt so good about these I sent a box with my boys to summer camp, and I even keep a few stashed in the desk at work for those days when a meal just isn't an option. We have several back-packing trips planned within the family this summer, and I can see more of these bars in our immediate future.

The Good: its a big hearty bar, not terribly expensive. The Bad: Pretty bland to me, though apparently some people like it. My biggest annoyance: It's NOT Pemmican. Pemmican is a meat-based product, usually rendered fat and meat of some kind, maybe with some berries/nuts tossed in. This bar is almost entirely a grain based, with some nuts thrown in. Its first ingredient is MALT SYRUP. I'm sure it would do in a pinch, but not my choice for semi-regular nutrition/energy.

I was introduced to Pemmican bars at Philmont Scout Ranch. Specifically the cocoa karob. I ate pretty well when the kids I was with turned up their noses at these bits of real food. The cocoa karob, specifically, was just too far removed from the candy they wanted in a bar. This was food. These things rock. It's really a food bar, though they get lumped with energy bars a lot. They have a ton of complex carbs, good fats, fruits, fibers, food, etc. lumped into a hunk that you can easly find room for in a backpack. Then, provided you have enough water to get some portion of it down... you're good to go. The flavor is not very exciting, and the bars are very dense. The fruit and nut is fairly sweet, but not what I would call a fruit bar. I prefer the cocoa karob, which is less sweet and seems to have less of the malty flavors going on in the fruit and nut. I've taken these for ultra trail runs that had no aid stations. They are a must on backpacking trips. I grab them when I need food during the day, but am not going to get a full meal in. I can eat these fairly regularly without getting too tired of them, and unlike all the other bars out there, when I eat a Pemmican bar I feel like I have eaten something. I feel full, and ready to move on.

Ignoring the whole subjective taste/texture thing for a moment, this bar is certainly great for emergency/travel/trail rations. This is the sort of thing I'd keep in my backpack on a day hike, in my car's glove box (not in the summer), and kept in the freezer if I'm the type to prepare for the Big Earthquake expected in my area. The ingredient list is simple and nutrition information quite solid--besides the bar itself being solid. In terms of texture, this is very dense and firmly packed yet soft and easy to bite into. I can't think of any "real food" that's analogous, but I didn't find it difficult to eat in that sense. No, my problem with this particular flavor is that upon opening the wrapper, it smelled like Play-Doh to me. I'm sure it doesn't taste like Play-Doh though I have no idea what Play-Doh tastes like, but the smell was very similar to me, and that sort of impacted my palate expectations in a negative way. I'll see if I can gift away the rest of the box and then try the carob cocoa version.

Before we moved to our current location, I use to buy these bars at a local health food store. I haven't found them locally where we are now so I was pleased to find them at Amazon. I like to take these bars to work for lunch or take them when I am traveling. When I am on the road I have had them for breakfast as well. I like the taste and they are really filling and curb your hunger for some time, although I often have a little something else with them at lunch. They keep well, do not require refrigeration, and are just so convenient. You would need to try them for yourself to see if you like the flavor and texture but I like them very much. I feel good about eating them too as they are a sensible food.

Pros: High in Calories (great as a meal replacement bar), simple ingredients, high fiber, high protein, good source of vitamins, relatively healthy bar, yummy tiny walnut and pecan pieces Con: Tastes so bad. The sour wheat flavor was so unbearable that I felt sick trying to eat it. I tried eating the majority of the bar, but I just couldn't finish it. I almost felt like vomiting because I could not stand the strange sour wheat flavor. It even smells sour too..almost similar to the faint smell of toe jams. Overall, the concept was great, but the flavor and smell was too much for me to handle. I really wanted to like it, but I didn't. This bar may be great if you don't mind the flavor and smell. I'm gonna try freezing them and attempting to eat them another time. I'll see if I will grow to like the unique flavor and smell. I have so many bars to finish :(

Great rich taste, great nutrition (just look at the ingredients). Pack well in the backpack for long/overnight hikes. NOT loaded with chemicals and crap. Have used these off and on over the years and to me they always give a welcome boost compared to the typical "energy bar" from the supermarket which seems like air and fluff. These are more filling by far. Would be perfect for the BUG OUT bag. A lot of food in small space (even their rectangular shape helps). Each bar is close to 1/4 pound. Highly recommend them.