Snickers are a great trail food. They're easy to find if you're in town doing a resupply and they stand up pretty well in a hot food bag. They also contain a good mix of sugar and nuts that will give you a quick boost and then last a while.
This weekend I came across a new Snickers Variant called Snickers Charged that adds 60 mg of caffeine to each bar. In comparison, an 8-ounce soft drink contains 20 to 40 milligrams of caffeine, an 8-ounce coffee contains 65-120 milligrams of the stimulant and an 8-ounce energy drink contains 72-80 milligrams of caffeine.
I tried one of these bar this evening before boarding a plane from Chicago to Boston. It tasted a little less nutty than a normal Snickers Bar and it turns out that the Charged version is about 0.2 oz lighter than a regular Snickers bar.
I expected to feel a little kick from the Caffeine, but ended up sleeping all the way from Chicago to Boston, missing the takeoff and only waking up about 10 minutes before landing. I never sleep on daytime flights, so I wonder if that says something about the effectiveness of the product or the fact that I was already exhausted.
Anyway, I picked up a couple of these bars for free at the EbayLive show I was attending this week and plan on taking them with me on my next section hike in Vermont as a late morning snack. I'm going to backpack without a stove again on that hike, so an alternate caffeine source might be nice.
I'm glad you liked my photo I took of the candy bar when I tried it earlier this year when it first came out and reviewed it on my blog.
I agree, it's probably the easiest way to carry around a dose of caffeine while traveling – and tasty too.
It's a limited edition item, but I still see them in some stores like 7-11. If you really like them, be sure to contact Mars and let them know you'd like them to continue making them.
Cybele – thanks for your note. The bars I picked up at EbayLive have an all red wrapper.
Hi, I collect brands and have not seen this orange version of the “Charged” Snickers bar before, only the silver one, was it from the USA?
Anyway, I was hoping that someone might have retained the packing of the bar, although not likely I still want to try anyway. If so, could someone please let me know, I will buy it from you!
[email protected]
Thanks!
b.
Long gone – yes – from the USA.
That’s a shame.
How come it was orange, any difference from the silver one, a different promotional year perhaps?
Thanks!
You’d have to ask the manufacturer. I am strictly a consumer!