Review: EPIC Peanut Butter Performance Bar

Fair disclaimer: I don't love date-based bars, so out of the gate, this one was fighting an uphill battle. That said, the first bar I reviewed (that Quest vanilla almond travesty) set the bar (ha!) pretty low. Given my generally lukewarm or even outright chilly feelings toward date bars, I confess to having some doubts as to my food selection as I loaded my pack. We were heading up Grasshopper Pass in the North Cascades for the second time in a week.

Our first trip had been clouded in, but I was desperate to see my favorite trees (Western larch) in their fall finery, and I was about to have surgery, so we figured we'd hedge our bets just in case I wasn't able to hike for a bit after the operation and we went despite the crummy weather. It was admittedly a soggy, wet, cold hike that first time around, but beautiful in the moody way that rugged mountains can be in icky weather.

I'm delighted to say that I came through surgery pretty well and was given the all-clear for aerobic activity once the swelling had settled out some - which lead to this trip, shortly after my procedure, to catch larch with sunshine and views. It never ceases to amaze me how different the very same hike can look in the span of a week, and with different weather.

Photo Credit: Tony Munden

I busted this EPIC product out at the top of the pass,  and I think the process went something as follows: Take bite. Chew. Think to self, with some surprise, "Wow, this actually isn't bad..." and interrupt self mid-thought by announcing out loud, "Oh, darn, there's the date."

I'd give this probably four stars out of ten - not great, not my first choice, but it wasn't inedible. If you like date bars and the taste of peanut butter, you might love this. It wasn't for me, but I think I was predisposed to dislike it. My partner seems to have even stronger feelings than I do regarding date bars, by which I mean he totally hated it, so your mileage may vary. It's still a better buy than the Quest bar, if you want to damn a product with faint praise.