While they mainly distribute in the Rocky Mountain region, Colorado based Go Fast appears to be aggressively expanding. Their main pitch over competing energy drinks is the distinct (better tasting) flavor and natural ingredients which are perfect for athletes who may carry a bow case.

While Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar and the like dominate the market, Go Fast definitely has an angle with their approach.

I tried four flavors of Go Fast – regular, light, Z17, and GFTea. While the branding is a bit confusing, the taste of all but one was quite good.

Each of the drinks had light carbonation, no preservatives, no aspartame, and no high fructose corn syrup. Those are some pretty decent selling points. Unfortunately, something still needs to be used as a sweetener so Go Fast uses sucralose. There have been numerous documented negatives of each so it may be a wash. For their high energy mix, each drink has a high dose of caffeine, ginseng, ribose, and guarana.

The original flavor, my least favorite, had a distinct cherry/strawberry taste. I dislike cherry flavoring so even a hint of it is enough for me to pass on this one. The light version had much of the same flavor, but it was subdued and much easier to drink (with a bonus of less calories).

The Z17 and GFTea flavors tasted much better to me and were the only ones I would actually purchase. I’m not sure how to describe the flavor of Z17, but as you can guess from the name the GFTea tasted, well, like tea. The company says it contains a mix of white, green, and black teas which is definitely a welcome change from most of the other energy drinks on the market.

My main concern with all energy drinks is the high levels of taurine they add. Every one I’ve read the ingredients for include around 1000mg of taurine per serving. That’s 2000mg in one of those standard 16oz cans you see everywhere.

There’s not a lot of evidence that taurine is necessarily bad for you, but a high dose of anything is enough to make me pause. Granted, not enough to not drink these at all, but definitely enough to never drink more than one per day.

Overall I like the approach here. Go Fast is trying to tackle a pretty saturated market with a unique twist. If you’re looking for a better tasting energy drink, I can definitely recommend giving the Go Fast lineup a try.

The post Review: Go Fast Sports Energy Drinks first appeared on All Climbing.

Clif. The name is synonymous with climbing (perhaps it’s the logo?). If you’re like me, then you’ve always enjoyed Clif Bars, but rarely buy them because frankly, you’re a cheapskate. Nutritious? Yep. All natural? Absolutely. Tasty? You betcha! In fact, it’s amazing that anyone can successfully sell any product to a bunch of jobless, dirtbag climbers like ourselves, right? We’d rather just eat the dust of last weeks trail mix!

In recent years, Clif has been on a tear to diversify and expand their product line, releasing 9 new food products since 2004. However, since I’m rather oblivious to that sort of thing, and haven’t spent much time in climbing gyms recently (traditional Clif strongholds), I failed to notice…well…ALL of them. A recent sample of Clif Shot Bloks at an ultimate frisbee tournament piqued my curiosity, inspiring a flurry of research (read: tasting).

Today, we discuss: Clif Kid Organic ZBar.

My first thought? Clif has a line of kids products? Well, they do now, having released a second item, Clif Kid Twisted Fruit, last year.

I eat local, organic, non-processed food almost exclusively, so I’m always a bit skeptical of anything in a package, and generally that means foods with as few ingredients as possible (especially those ingredients that sound like they came from a laboratory: monogluxysodiobenzoate?). However, it’s hard to argue with the ingredients of the Peanut Butter ZBar:

Organic Peanut Butter (Organic Peanuts, Salt), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice Syrup, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Fig Paste, Organic Peanuts, Organic Oat Flour, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Organic Oat Fiber, Natural Flavors, Organic Chocolate (Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin), Salt, Baking Soda.

Let’s just call it: a bunch of whole food ingredients pressed together.

What do they taste like? Basically ZBars are smaller, less dense (more bread-like) versions of Clif Bars, with a little drizzle of frosting on top. And tasty! Yes, I’m an adult, but there is nothing wrong with enjoying food aimed at children. Right?

My thoughts on the 6 different flavors, listed in order of preference:

• Peanut Butter – My favorite! I don’t like peanut butter cookies, but love any peanut butter & chocolate combo. This tastes more like the latter.
• Chocolate Chip – Reminiscent of Quaker Oats Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. Or even the S’more flavor. That’s a good thing! Think about the joy you could bring with cookies for valentine’s day delivery if you’re in the mood to share a delightful treat.
• Blueberry – Tastes like a dense, chewy blueberry muffin.
• Apple Cinnamon – Surprisingly good considering I generally don’t enjoy this flavor.
• Chocolate Brownie – Still decent, basically a chocolate-chocolate chip taste. Though somehow less chocolaty than the Chocolate Chip?
• Honey Graham – My least favorite, and the “least strong” in terms of flavoring. It also happens to have the least amount of sugar.

Again, I try to eat local, organic food whenever possible and usually make my own goodies from scratch, but I realize that isn’t always possible. Clif has similar beliefs, expressed right there on the packaging: “In raising our family, we always wish to find organic snacks to nourish our kids as they compete in sports, study or just play with friends. We prefer to make them food from scratch, but life gets busy, so it’s not always possible. That’s why we created Clif Kid Organic ZBar – a baked energy bar made with whole oats..”. You get the picture. They do a great job with consistent, healthy, authentic products.

(Photo missing. Next time I’ll remember to take a picture BEFORE eating!)

Although I was a little saddened that the bars are frosted (just a snaking drizzle across the top), they still serve as a huge step up from most food products aimed at children in terms of healthfulness (no high fructose corn syrup!), organicness, and environmental responsible…ness. The real selling point is that they retail for roughly half the cost of a Clif Bar. So grab one for yourself…er, I mean your kid.

Thanks to Ryan for the guest post. If you enjoyed this, please check out his other posts at The Reluctant Eater, where he writes about eating local, organic food, and promoting a healthier relationship with food. Ryan also has a best of The Reluctant Eater collection.

The post Climbing Food Review: Clif ZBars first appeared on All Climbing.