Energy Food and Drink

Reviewed by Alicia MacLeay

Honey Stinger took its popular—and tasty—organic waffles and shrunk them down into a mini snack size in a convenient, resealable bag. Mini Waffles come in honey or vanilla flavor and provide the same fuel and flavor as the original thin wafer cookies. You won't have as many flavor options, nor any gluten-free versions in this size. However, a bag of Mini Waffles will probably empty faster than you expect on a hike or at home. Whether to go large or mini comes down to personal preference and how you like to eat and carry your waffles on the trail.

I already am a Honey Stinger waffle devotee, primarily for long runs. I also take them along hiking, skiing, and biking. If you haven't tried one yet (and you should!), Honey Stinger's waffles are made with a thin layer of honey sandwiched between two thin waffle cookies of various flavors. You'll also find these types of waffles called stroopwafels ("syrup wafer/cookie" in Dutch) and they can be filled with caramel, chocolate, or other fillings. Honey Stinger's waffles naturally use honey as their middle layer, so technically they are honingwafels ("honey wafer/cookie").

Read more: Honey Stinger Mini Waffles review (1)

Featured review by Alicia MacLeay

These soft little waffles, serve up tasty energy (160 calories each) that’s easy on the stomach for endurance athletes, and other active outdoor snackers. I’ve been buying and eating these certified organic Honey Stinger Waffles for years for my long-distance runs and races. My kids even ask for them by name and will run, hike, and bike just for the chance to eat them. Best For: Endurance athletes, long distance trail and mountain runners, bikers, and possibly day hikers who want some solid, but not too heavy, energy (if you're looking for seriously filling calories, look elsewhere). They're also good for people with children in tow (kids love these things).

What is it? Honey Stinger's Organic Waffles are two thin waffle wafers with honey sandwiched in between. Honey Stinger says the stroop waffles favored by cyclists in Europe inspire them. These versions are certified organic and kosher, come in single-serving wrappers of 160 calories each, and are available in several flavors (honey, vanilla, chocolate, caramel, strawberry, lemon, gingersnap), plus gluten-free/organic (salted caramel, cinnamon, vanilla chocolate, wildflower honey, chocolate mint).  2020 Update: They also now come in a Mini Waffle version in honey and vanilla.

Read more: Honey Stinger Energy Waffle reviews (4)

Reviewed by Shane

The Range Meal Bar is an excellent high calorie food that is perfect for backpacking and outdoor excursions. These bars are small but tasty and full of good ingredients.

As an avid backpacker, I'm always on the lookout for high quality, high calorie food that is easy to pack and eat on trail. I recommend Greenbelly Meal Bars and have reviewed them here. But there's another similar and even smaller alternative: Range Meal Bars. Range Meal Bars are made from all natural ingredients and have 700 calories in each bar. They don't weigh much and they don't take up much space in your food bag or bear vault. They are about the size of two decks of cards, give or take.

Read more: Range Meal Bar review (1)

Reviewed by Shane

Greenbelly Meal2Go bars are excellent, balanced, calorie-dense meal bars that are perfect for backpacking and hiking. They taste good, are satisfying, and are easy to pack.

I always look for the best, lightest, and smallest meal options for multi-day backpacking trips. The common dehydrated meals are fine, but not always my favorite. For the last few years i've been enjoying Greenbelly Meal2Go bars because they are relatively healthy, taste good, not too heavy, and don't take up much room in my food bag.  Lunch somewhere on the Ice Age Trail You can find all the nutrition info on Greenbelly's website. But basically, each packet contains two meal bars that are stuck together.

Read more: Greenbelly Meals Meal2Go review (1)

Featured review by Ashley Alex

Nuun Active has become my all-season, all activity, go-to electrolyte drink.

I picked up my first tube of Nuun this summer after being drawn to the aestethically pleasing packaging and the myriad of flavors to choose from. I picked up strawberry lemonade and fruit punch and used them that same day. A little backstory: I have been searching for an electrolyte replacer for awhile as I can't stomach any of the pre-made sugar ladened drinks on the market (I get terrible acid reflux from them and it negatively affects my performance every time).  So far I have tried the following Nuun Active flavors (in no particular order of preference): tri-berry, watermelon, orange, strawberry lemonade, fruit punch, and kona kola.  There isn't a flavor I don't enjoy, though it did take me a few times drinking it to acquire a taste for...

Read more: Nuun Active Hydration Tablets reviews (2)

Featured review by Shenora1116

To keep it simple... these things taste way better than any of the other brands out there, guys.

You know what it's like to grab the new brand of bar, throw it in your pack and head out. What sucks is when you get out on the trail or in the bush, and you reach for a good energy boost only to find the melted remains of what looks to be a "floater". Or better yet, when you bite into your bar and find that trying to force it down passed your taste buds is as hard as the 8 miles you just trekked. CLIF bars are one of those items I always have on hand. They taste good, and always seem to stick with you longer than other snacks. They are cheaper than a lot of other bars, and can be found just about anywhere. You can get a box of 6 for around $5.50 at Wally World.

Read more: Clif Chocolate Brownie Bar reviews (4)

Featured review by David Link

These new bars from Skratch are a nice change from the overly sugary bars we usually encounter.

Most endurance athletes are familiar with Skratch Labs. Their energy and electrolyte drink mixes are the stuff of legend. The founder of the company, Alan Lim, was a nutritionist for several professional cycling teams (BMC, Radio Shack, Garmin), and developed his "secret drink mix" after fielding complaints from cyclists about the electrolyte drinks that they were forced to drink. Along with Chef Biju Thomas, he coauthored a cookbook for endurance athletes, which has become the "go to" for many athletes.

Read more: Skratch Labs Energy Bar Sport Fuel reviews (2)

Reviewed by Wolfed

Honestly amazing gluten-free (GF) bar.

  I have to eat gluten-free. Gluten will kill me and almost did.  I have been looking for a long shelf life food bar that is gluten-free and there are so few to choose from. This bar does not have an overly long shelf life but it is longer than average. I have avoided trying this bar because of its price. It is spendy as bars go. The other day though I was in the store and needed something to eat before I got home. This was on the shelf so I decided it was time to try it.  I cannot tell you my surprise with this bar.

Read more: ProBar Meal Bar review (1)

Reviewed by Andrew F.

Untapped All Natural Athletic Fuel (which I will call "UnTapped" for the remainder of this review) might be one of the simplest energy supplements out there. It is a small foil pouch of pure maple syrup. That means 26 grams of carbs in one small, easy-to-consume shot. If you like the taste of maple syrup and can handle the super-sweet taste, they are a worthy addition to your arsenal.

INTRODUCTION UnTapped is an elegantly simple energy supplement  — it is a one-ounce foil packet of pure, organic, Vermont maple syrup. For those of you who are into your syrup, it's Grade A amber rich. That is a very popular grade for table use with pancakes, waffles, etc.   DETAILS Each foil pouch of UnTapped fits in the palm of your hand. Literally. Within that almost weightless packet are about 100 calories, 26 grams of carbohydrates. Maple syrup also has small amounts of potassium and meaningful amounts of riboflavin and manganese.

Read more: UnTapped Gels review (1)

Reviewed by Daniel Oates

Natural tasting chews filled with B vitamins and electrolytes, which are quite filling compared to other chews. I'd recommend these energy chews for trail runs, training days, or workouts, but there are better options for long trips in the backcountry.

I enjoy trail running and have been trying several different trail snacks over the years. Most times I make my own, but decided to get a box of the ProBar Bolt Organic Energy Chews. There are four different flavors (as of July 2015) and like other ProBar products, the chews are made with natural ingredients. I tested these chews before or during several different activities including my morning strength training, trail runs, and as a supplement on a weekend of disc golf. I purchased the variety pack, consisting of 12 packs total of (1) Raspberry, (2) Orange, (3) Berry Blast, and (4) Strawberry.

Read more: ProBar Bolt Energy Chews review (1)