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.

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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