I've tried Power Bars and those Zone Perfect bars, and they left something to be desired, taste-wise. What do you folks recommend trying, and is there a way I can get a few samples?<br><br>

Craig, is this for casual or serious food supply? The Richmore bars have a wide variety of flavors , and the Luna are palatable and well balanced nutritionally. There isn't a power bar on the market that really measures up for long term storage or " bang for the buck" compared to the Booooring, but excellent Mainstay bars I carry. I do grab a few for preplanned hikes. They are convenient and nice 'comfort food'. They are also comparatively EXPENSIVE. I can get a bar for approx. a $1 vs. a 9 piece Mainstay pack locally from the maker @ $4. If you can't locate these brands locally, let me know, I can always make up a fancy food basket variation on those fruit cake and nut baskets that comes for Christmas-ewwwwww.<br><br>

For more suggestions in the "casual" food supply category, you could try the "Balance Bar" brand (similar nutrition to the Zone Perfect you mentioned). The chocolate and mint chocolate are good as are the yogurt-berry and many other flavors. They have some labelled "outdoor" that don't melt as easitly. They are available at some normal grocery stores and also health food stores.<br><br>

Backpacker Mag did an evaluation of many bars a while back. See below. I usually stick with granola bars myself. http://www.backpacker.com/technique/article/0,1026,2358,00.html<br><br>

Backpacker Magazine did a comparison test a while back, check it out. I usually stick with granola bars myself.<br><br>http://www.backpacker.com/technique/article/0,1026,2358,00.html<br><br><br><br>

HOOAH Bars. Have only been able to find them for sale on EBAY though.<br><br>

Personally, I love the granola and chocolate chip bars, but the knowledgeable folks on the forums I visit seem to dismiss them.<br><br>

Cool! Thank you.<br><br>

Hi Chris,<br><br>This would be for casual food supply, for keeping in the small kit I take with me to the office every day, along with my water bottle. Like if I'm stuck at my work during a snowstorm, or simply caught in a traffic jam when I'm really hungry and need to eat.<br><br>

For whatever it’s worth, I tend to be VERY suspicious about the value of food-related items in any short-term survival kit.<br><br>It’s often cited that you can go for up to a month without food. I’ve fasted for up to 7 days, and many times for shorter periods. After the first 2-3 days you actually gain energy, as the 20+ percent energy “overhead” of your digestive system shuts down. Any weakness in the first 2-3 days seems to be psychological, and real detrimental effects seem to take at least weeks. We didn’t evolve without going hungry for decades or more at a stretch- it may even be unhealthy.<br><br>Hunger makes you much more alert, speeds your reflexes, sharpens your senses, all of which are very good things in a survival situation- that’s what millions of years of necessity will do to an organism- hunger seems in fact to be a cue to the body that you're IN a survival situation. I think it’s reasonable, for short-term kits, to sacrifice the prospect of some comfort for an increased chance of living through the period.<br><br>Personally, for the “urban bugout” kit, the only food-related item I have, or am planning to have, is the P38 can opener. Since my typical wilderness excursions are two days or less on foot from my vehicle, not involving aircraft over mountain ranges and deserts, even for the wilderness kits I’ve decided to forgo the fishing gear and snares- the object of those kits is to get out of the situation, not to become a mountain man. I think the typical tea bags and bouillon cubes in an off-the-shelf kit are sort of a joke- reassuring for those who fear hunger because it's so unfamiliar. At worst, food could lead to a comfortable false sense of security and complacency- which could easily kill you.<br><br>None of this applies, obviously, to deep wilderness situations where it might legitimately take weeks to get out. Nor does any of it apply in the least to water consumption.<br><br>So, you might want to at least give it a second thought. Are you preparing a kit to help you survive, or really worrying about short-term comfort? Might you actually be trading one for the other?<br><br><br>