Energy bar review: CLIF Bars

I'm often asked about what snacks and food I take when going for a walk. My answer is: it depends on the length of the walk!

The food you take on a walk or hike is more than the energy you need to keep going. It's the morale boost you look forward to when you're running out of steam or want to take a break and rest your feet. Some of my best walking moments are those where I am tucking into a squashed egg sandwich in a field or a well timed jelly baby. But beyond your foil wrapped sandwich or sugar laded treats, energy-giving snacks are a must.  I take a snack of some kind with me on most of my walks, unless they're very short. There is nothing worse than being a long way from civilisation and realising you're starving and have nothing to keep you going. 

So when I was sent a box of CLIF Bars to try out, I was very pleased as it meant I could keep a ready stash of them in my backpack. CLIF Bars are a US brand, which claim to be America's favourite energy bar. They use natural ingredients (even if some of them sound a bit scientific) and include things like organic rolled oats and organic dates plus 11 vitamins, protein and fibre. In short, they are designed to slowly release energy as you need it. 

The bars comes in seven different flavours in the UK: Chocolate chip, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, Blueberry Crisp, Chocolate Almond Fudge, White Chocolate Macademia Nut and Coconut Chocolate Chip. 

I took these bars on my West Highland Way walk of 96 miles and they were my 'keep me going' food on the longer days.

The positives

• The bars are tasty. My favourite was the blueberry followed by the White Chocolate and macadamia nut. 
• They aren't too sweet. I find many of the energy bars available are sickly sweet. Even homemade flapjacks I find too sugary. These somehow are both sweet and slightly savoury all at once.
• Unlike many other energy bars, they don't give me a sore stomach. I have no idea what goes into other energy bars (probably too much sugar), but many of them seem to give me stomach cramps about 30 minutes after eating them! These don't.  Hoorah.
• They retain their shape even after being bashed about in a backpack for ages, without turning into a bag of crumbs like some cereal or granola bars do.
• Their rectangular shape makes it easy to slip them into your pocket or side pouches on a backpack.
• They give you sustained energy, without making you feel full or heavy.
• They are easy to snap pieces off of. I typically have a chunk of my bar then wrap up the rest until I need another energy hit.
• They last you a while. I take two on day-long walks and rarely need to get to the second bar. One, spread out over the course of a day is plenty for me, assuming I've had my sandwich too! Big, strapping blokes might disagree.
• They are named after the founder Gary's dad - Clifford - who he spent years with in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Which is lovely. I also love the tagline - Feed your adventure - because I'm all about having adventures.  I'm also sucker for a good brand story. 
• They are a responsible company that takes an active role in the issue of climate change and in equality for women. High fives to that.
• They seem to look after their employees really well too! 
• The bars may contain traces of wheat, but mostly I think these are suitable for people who want to avoid eating wheat (unless you are SUPER allergic). Full dietary chart here.​

What was left of my blueberry crisp bar - I kinda ate it before photographing it. Sorry!

The less positive

• Some of the bars I found a bit dry. They claim to be moist - and some are - like the blueberry one. But I found the peanut butter and the chocolate almond fudge ones a bit saliva sapping, meaning you need some water to wash them down. That said, my husband loved the peanut butter one so perhaps it's just different tastes for different people.
• The texture of some of them can be a bit grainy - particularly some of the nut ones.
• They're not suitable for people allergic to soy or nuts

Verdict?
If you're after a good energy bar made of natural ingredients that aren't overly sweet and don't turn into a pile of crumbs despite being bashed around, these are definitely worth trying. Just save the blueberry ones for me please.
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In the UK, you can buy these bars from Boots, Tesco, Holland & Barrett and independent health food shops. They cost £1.60 a bar. You can find out more about them at www.clifbar.co.uk.

So what snacks do you take on your walks? Feel free to share your recommendations below. Don't forget, if you're a woman who loves walking, join our online community and be sure to sign up for the Glamoraks newsletter to stay up to date on any events or walks we have.