ProView – Bobo’s Oat Bites + Bars
Finding the right food that works for you is hard. I, personally, have probably tried every possible bar /gels/gummies that fill up the aisle of major outdoor stores. My stomach is as sensitive as it can be while pushing hard at running races. While I don’t think Bobo’s will work with my ultra races, it is a great addition to hikes, climbing trips, mountain long runs, and endurance trips.
Bobo's Oat Bites + Bars
Product Name: Bobo's Oat Bites + Bars
Product Description: Our Oat Bites Favorites Variety Pack gives you three of our favorite bites flavors; Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Apple Pie Stuff'd, and Original with Chocolate Chip. This variety pack will satisfy any sweet tooth, but without the guilt. Great on-the-go, these bites will leave you feeling satisfied.
Offer price: MSRP: $12.99-29.99
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Quality
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Taste
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Calories
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Eco-Friendly
Summary
Oh the calories!! This dense Bobo’s bar has a good balance of weight:calorie ratio for all ultralight outdoor people. For around 160 calories for Bobo’s bites and 360 calories for Bobo’s bars, they are filling yet flavorful.
Overall
4Pros
- Tons of calories
- Plenty of flavor choices
- It tastes good!
Cons
- Heavy
- Dense and a bit dry
Nutrition has always been a battle for me, especially during my ultra races. So I’m always on the lookout for types of food that might work for endurance events. I’m talking about 24 hr+ kinds of events. And I’m not lying when I said I’ve tried a LOT of different types of food from liquid calories, different types of gels, and a variety of real foods from different world’s cuisines.
Bobo’s had come into my radar awhile back when one of the ultra runners I followed swears by it. To say I was skeptical was an understatement but I’m willing to try anything!
Performance
I brought a couple of Bobo’s Peanut Butter and Chocolate bites and a Lemon Poppyseed bar for a 14 miles hike with a couple friends. It was a nice fall California temperature. After a 2.5 hour hike to the summit at 8600 ft, both bars kept their shape in my running vest. The Lemon Poppyseed bar has a strong lemon smell at first when you open the packaging but it disappears after a while. While I’m not a huge fan of the flavor, my vegan friend (Yes, they are vegan, dairy free, gluten free, kosher, and soy free) and my other friend’s two years old daughter loves it!
I prefer the Peanut Butter and Chocolate bites. The smaller size (half of the full bar) is perfect if you like to eat in small doses. It still has 160 calories in one bite size which is perfect since our body can only process up to 300 calories per hour during activities.
Use
While I didn’t mind the density of both bite size and full bar, I did find it a bit dry — I had to drink quite a bit of water afterwords. This will not be ideal for ultra races as I figured, it would be a bit hard to eat it while running. Even while hiking, it was a bit hard to eat while moving. That being said, it might be a perfect food for the Aid station where there is time for runners to sit down and eat.
The bars are great in a variety of weather, cold or hot.
Causes
Bobo’s as a company supports a lot of different causes by giving 100% profit to a variety of non profit organizations or by volunteering at community service events. A more complete list can be found on their website.
The Final Word
There is definitely a place for Bobo’s for any multi sport athletes out there. The best use seems to be a lower intensity type of activity (even though some runners said they don’t have issues with it during higher intensity runs). It is filling and tastes good. It can be a bit dry so make sure you have enough water with it. By being vegan, soy free, dairy free, non GMO, and kosher, this product is for every athlete out there.
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About the Gear Tester
Rini Sugianto
Rini has a day job as an Animation Supervisor, which means more motivation to spend any of her spare time outside whether it is climbing, ultra trail running, or skiing in the mountains. Rini has been writing trip reports and articles for the Outdoor Project since 2016 covering the trips all over from the Sierra Nevada to the French and Swiss Alps. Connect with her on Instagram @rinisugianto