TL;DR - Quest protein bars were a "fine" breakfast, but the Crispy Cookies and Cream were the only ones I'd buy again.
More satisfying than we expected; still a bit like sawdust.
In order to maximize protein intake and minimize weight for breakfasts on our first backpacking trip, we decided to go with protein bars from Quest. I've eaten these bars in the past when I've travelled to foreign countries with not-for-Americans water, and while I didn't love them, those who knew at the time said they were "better than the rest."
Another consultation with the same "people in the know" before this trip suggested the same, so we loaded up with four different varieties so we wouldn't be stuck eating the same thing for a week. Turns out, there was a clear winner, so perhaps four boxes of Crispy Cookies and Cream would have been a better way to go.
More satisfying than we expected; still a bit like sawdust.
Stack Rank
- Crispy Cookies and Cream - far and away the best. The crispy aspect was nice - there is a non-crispy version which we did not try, but I recommend against - and the flavor was the best of the bunch. Even the cream on the outside was a nice change from the compact sawdust of all the other flavors.
- Lemon Cake - came in an easy second because the flavor was a little "fresher" than the bottom two contenders. Texture was still 100% compacted sawdust. Bleh.
- S'Mores - Imagine you took some sawdust and compacted it, then made it sweet but with no real identifying flavor. Yep, that's what these tasted like.
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip - Kinda like S'Mores. I bet if you did a blind taste test, you couldn't tell the difference.
Pros
- Filling. The bars were significantly more filling than we thought they'd be, and easily held us over from a sunrise-timed breakfast (~6:30am) to lunch around noon, with only a handful of trailmix as a mid-morning snack.
- Low sugar content. This means the calories - these are not low calorie - came from slow-release sources, part of what made them seem filling, I suppose.
- Crispy Cookies and Cream was actually quite tasty. I might even eat one if one showed up at home, even if there was other food available.
Cons
- How many times can I say "sawdust?"
- They are expensive. Too expensive to eat on a regular basis in my opinion.
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