Our new Food & Drink section has three parts:
- Backpacking meals: Broken down by main dishes, vegetarian entrees, side dishes, soups, breakfasts, and desserts.
- Refueling foods and and sports drinks: Subcategories cover drinks, bars, gels, and chews and bites. Note that if you're into hardcore outings that work up a major sweat, you should be thinking about adding electrolyte tablets to your water bottles.
- Coffee: This one's very thin at the moment, but we're hoping to add more brands of gourmet coffee down the road. If you've got a fave, write a review.
OK, so we know a lot of these products have a reputation for flavors running the gamut from freeze-dried sawdust to salted shoe leather, but people are finding stuff that suits their tastes. My biggest surprise upon adding these categories: Mountain House's Freeze Dried Ice Cream Sandwich (pictured above) getting rave reviews at Backcountry.com
I've had good and bad. I know Clif Bars are packed with essential nutrients but they've never exactly danced on my tastebuds (Alicia praises their new seasonal bars). I've never had a complaint with PowerBars or Lunabars (why these are "women-specific" is beyond me; are guys supposed to be too tough for tasty stuff?). I admit lingering doubts on freeze-dried after a few early disappointments.
Trail food has gotten ample coverage at Trailspace. Recent links:
- "Best Trail Bar I Ever Had" in the Trailspace Forum.
- New Bars, Chews, and Bites.
- Recovery and Sports Drinks.
Please chime in with your experiences on backpacking food and sports drinks by writing a review. Are there any tricks to maximizing freeze-dried flavor? What are the best times to consume sports drinks? Food knowledge is best when shared.