I’ve packed Honey Stinger products on more adventures than I can name. I first tried them during a fastpack on Rainier a few years ago and have since had them on long runs, long races, day hikes, backpacking trips, bike rides, plane rides, and kayak outings. Honey Stinger has you covered with delicious waffles, chews, bars, and gels and it’d be rare for my pack to not include at least one of these items on a day out.
New to the Honey Stinger line-up is the Plus+ Performance Chews. They come in 3 great flavors (Stingerita Lime, Lemon Ginger, and Mango Melon) and checks the boxes for running nutrition: 75mg caffeine, 160mg sodium, 50mg potassium, 26g sugar, and 156 calories (per packet). They are soft and easy to chew, and are a reasonable bite size. With some other brand of chews, I find each chew is slightly too big or too chewy and I really have to focus / slow down to avoid a choking hazard!
Unlike their non-performance chews, which come in a small bag, these come in a more tube-shaped package so they are less bulky. The package is slightly longer than other brands and I found I did have to bend it to fit in the pocket of my pack, but once I’ve eaten even just one, it fit back in perfectly.
All of the flavors are certified gluten-free and are naturally flavored. If a more food-like nutrition plan works better for you, Honey Stinger has you covered with their waffles (and new mini-waffles!). These are excellent, as they are not too sweet and with a wide variety of flavors, it’s easy to mix it up often! Pick from gluten-free, protein, mini, or regular. They are made up of two thin and delicious waffles with the flavor layer in the middle. They are sweet without being sickly, and the only downside is they can be a bit crumbly. While each flavor varies slightly, one waffle typically has about 150 calories, 60mg of sodium, 11g of sugar, as well as protein and fat.
In addition to loving the taste and performance of their products, I appreciate the company’s commitment to using True Source Honey. The True Source Honey organization is a collection of honey companies and importers that aim to call attention to the problem of illegally-sourced honey, to encourage action to protect consumers and customers from these practices, and to highlight and support legal, transparent and ethical sourcing. The initiative seeks to help maintain the reputation of honey as a high-quality, highly valued food and further sustain the U.S. honey sector.
If you already know and use Honey Stinger products, take their new Performance Chews on a test run! If you haven’t tried any Honey Stinger nutrition items yet, grab a few packets and give ’em a go (then join my petition to convince them to make cherry flavored performance chew)!
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In 1954, Ralph and Luella Gamber developed the EN-R-G Bar (“EN” for energy, “R” for Ralph and “G” for Gamber). They wanted to provide an alternative to the sugary candy bars available, so, as such, their plan was simple: wholesome ingredients, great taste and, as Ralph was a beekeeper, honey. They introduced two-ounce packets of honey with the words “quick energy” on the packaging. At the time, Ralph’s friend Roy Phillips, head wrestling coach at Franklin & Marshall College, used those packets to provide quick energy for his athletes. Although Ralph and Luella knew they were on to something, the market was not quite ready for energy foods.
In 2001, EN-R-G Foods, Inc., was re-established by Bill Gamber Sr, Bill Gamber Jr., Bob Stahl and John Miller, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, as Honey Stinger, with the same goal in mind: provide great tasting, honey-focused energy foods made with wholesome ingredients. We like to think that Ralph and Luella would be proud of our products, and we know you’ll like them too.
In 2017 we moved into a new headquarters in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, along with our sister company Big Agnes. We are located just minutes from the mountain and its Champagne Powder snow, some wicked sweet single track and the glorious Yampa River. We are out every day testing our products and pushing the limits.
Our company is rooted in the philosophy that you should work hard, play hard and pursue magnificent feats. We are a collection of athletes in a myriad of disciplines who succeed and fail on a daily basis. We relish our triumphs and we try to learn from our mistakes. We are real, genuine, engaged employees, and we stand proudly behind our products.
Thank you to Honey Stinger for providing us with samples. Please read our transparency page for info on how we do our reviews.
