Trailfoody Subscription Box Review + 50% Off Coupon – September 2017

Trailfoody is a snack box geared toward hikers, backpackers, and otherwise outdoors adventurers, offering top-notch on-the-go treats that are both delicious and healthy.

Trailfoody also offers gluten-free and vegetarian options for those with dietary restrictions.

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

This review is of The Wanderer, $19.95 a month, box. It's intended to feed 1 person for 1-2 outings per month.

The Subscription Box: Trailfoody

The Cost: $19.95 per box + $4 flat rate shipping. 

ACTIVE DEAL: Save 50% off your first month of the Tenderfoot or Wanderer subscriptions!
CODE: subscription50

The Products: 9+ premium trail snacks, ranging from a total of 1,100-1,400 calories per month.

Ships to: U.S. customers only.

Visit the Food Subscription Box Directory to learn about more healthy snack subscription boxes!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription box list or wishlist!

Trailfoody Stuff Sack — Value $10?

Inside your first Trailfoody box, all your snacks will arrive in this awesome orange stuff sack. As someone whose frame pack organization has up until this point been essentially nonexistent, this is a big deal for me! Note that it's not a dry bag, though if I had to guess I'd say it's probably water resistant to a light rain. It's got a drawstring closure to keep things contained.

All subsequent Trailfoody snacks will arrive in a clear plastic bag that can double as a trash collection bag—perfect for packing out. If for any reason subscribers should find themselves in need of a new orange stuff sack, just reach out to the Trailfoody customer service team and they'd be happy to hook you up with a new one.

Before we get to the good stuff, I thought I'd point out this fun little card. On one side is a "fortune," or more of a motivational tidbit, really, and on the other side are details of an ongoing social media giveaway. Go check out the #trailfoody hashtag, it'll seriously make you want to get outside!

Quick note: Since a big part of planning for a backpacking trip is packing enough calories to keep yourself fueled each day, with sugar boosts along the way, I'm going to provide calorie, protein, and sugar counts for each snack. The way I personally am approaching these snacks is in favor of a high calorie & protein count, but low sugar. You can use the information however you wish!

NATTi Bar, Pure Banana Goodness flavor, 1.06 oz (Buy a box of 16 for $23.84)
Calories: 110
Protein: 1g
Sugars: 14g
Servings: 1

Let's start with the craziest snack in this box, shall we? I'm just as confused as I am intrigued by the NATTi Bar, which claims its only ingredient is bananas! Seems impossible, but after taking a bite out of this super-chewy bar, I'm convinced. It smells and tastes just like bananas, albeit extremely overripe ones. I personally couldn't bear to eat more than about a quarter of this bar due to its intensity of flavor and stickiness in my molars (I'm not a gummy kind of gal), but I'm also definitely a fair-weather banana-eater, so this snack was more of a novelty than a new favorite for me. My husband was all about it and ate what was left of it in about 2 bites.

Lawless Jerky, BBQ Spare Rib flavor, 1 oz — Value 5.99
Calories: 80
Protein: 12g
Sugars: 3g
Servings: 2

Some of my backpacking friends swear by jerky on the trail, and while I don't identify as a vegetarian, I usually stick to veg snacks and meals while on the trail. I thought this jerky had an appetizing smell when I opened the package, but I don't have much to compare it to, so I had 3 of my friends try it. None of them had ever had pork jerky before, but they liked it, saying it basically just tastes like dried pulled pork. They also noticed a very faint metallic aftertaste but said it wouldn't stop them from eating more. A great feature of this snack's packaging is that it's resealable so you don't have pressure to finish the whole pouch—which includes 2 servings—at once.

PlayHard GiveBack Fuel & Flow Trail Mix, 2.5 oz — Value $3.50
Calories: 320
Protein: 9g
Sugars: 23g
Servings: 1

This trail mix is one for dried fruit lovers! Like I mentioned above, I'm not a huge fan of gummy snacks, but there is some crunch in the mix thanks to a variety of nuts. As far as the sugar content goes, this one falls pretty high on the spectrum. I'm sure much of it is natural sugars from the dried apples, and berries, but it's also peppered with super-sugary (super-yummy) ginger bites and honey roasted peanuts. Gumminess and sugariness aside, the flavors are great, and I love that the company funds charitable projects with a part of their proceeds. Again, this bag reseals so you can enjoy it over multiple snack breaks.

Sheffa Tasty Snack Mix, 1.5 oz — Value $1.59
Calories: 130
Protein: 4g
Sugars: 8g
Servings: 1.5

Here's another trail mix, but this one has more of a savory spin to it. It's a little heavier on the nuts (including corn nuts, which I love), but it still includes some dried fruits to keep things exciting. There's a great sweet-and-savory situation going on with this mix; the sweetness seems to come from a combo of the dried fruits and some sugary nut coatings, while the spice is thanks to a hint of chili powder. It's a really unique, complex flavor, which to me makes for a delightful trail treat that strays from the norm. Two thumbs up for this one!

Emmy's Organics Coconut Cookies, 3-pack, 2 oz (Buy a 12-bag case for $29.95)
Calories: 100
Protein: 1g
Sugars: 6g
Servings: 1

Umm, yeah, so these cookies are basically perfection. I experiment with baking a lot of homemade superfood desserts and trail snacks in my own kitchen, and these chocolate chip coconut cookies taste just like some of the healthy recipes I've tried! Though they're low in sugar, they're still delightfully sweet. Quite honestly, I felt totally satisfied after eating one and was happy to save the rest for later, when my sweet tooth will inevitably pipe up again. These cookies are very moist and chewy with a distinct coconut oil flavor and mouth-feel, rich dark chocolate chips, and textured coconut shreds. This is one trail snack I will absolutely, positively buy again (purely for a treat and less so for fuel since they're so low in protein), and I look forward to exploring the other flavors Emmy's Organics carries!

JoJe´ Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar, 2.2 oz (Buy a box of 12 for $35.88)
Calories: 280
Protein: 7g
Sugars: 11g
Servings: 1

Well, as you can see, this bar pretty much just looks like a chocolate chip cookie, so I don't think I even blinked before sinking my teeth in! The consistency is soft and chewy and wonderful (has anyone else noticed that chewing can be kind of a chore when you're on, like, mile 11?), but the flavor wasn't quite as—well, was delicious, but it didn't taste as purely decadent as it looks. It has sort of a protein-y taste to it and the oats throughout left little chunks in my teeth. Neither are bad things, and this bar is definitely tastier than a lot of protein bars I've had.

Huma Strawberry Chia Energy Gel, 1.5 oz (Buy a box of 8 for $18.00)
Calories: 100
Protein: 1g
Sugars: 14g
Servings: 1

Is it safe to say every athlete has a tumultuous relationship with energy gels? I tried my first gel while running a half marathon (I know, not a good idea to try new fuel on race day), got about half of it down before gagging from its intensity, and desperately guzzled as many paper cups of water as possible afterward. I've since recovered and tried coffee-flavored Clif gels on hikes, which were a much more savory experience, but I definitely don't ever open a gel without finding someone to share it with. Huma's gels are made from fruit puree, chia seeds, and brown rice syrup, and the chia aspect of it really intrigued me. I expected this gel to be really textured since chia seeds tent to expand and turn gelatinous when they're soaked in liquids, but the consistency was more similar to strawberry jelly. The taste was actually very strawberry jelly-ish, too. Now that I think of it, this gel would make a really solid PB&J!

Huppybar Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bar, 1.69 oz — Value $1.79
Calories: 200
Protein: 5g
Sugars: 13g
Servings: 1

I'm not sure what to make of this one! On one hand, it's chock full of nuts and seeds, so it seems really healthy. On the other, it's so incredibly sticky-sweet with a really strong apple-cinnamon flavor. In a sea of fruity and peanut buttery trail food flavors, the apple-cinnamon is a nice change of pace, but it truly did leave my fingers feeling sticky, so I might save this one to eat until I come to a stream crossing and can rinse off my hands.

nosh bar, Chocolate, 2.12 oz — Value $3.50
Calories: 260
Protein: 6g
Sugars: 18g
Servings: 1

The nosh bar claims it's not indulgent, but it's basically a brownie, so I beg to differ! I think what they mean by "not indulgent" is that it's not chock full of bad-for-you ingredients nor added sugars; its ingredients are simply dates, walnuts, almonds, cashews, cocoa powder, pure vanilla extract, organic shredded reduced fat unsweetened coconut, sea salt, and water. So, while it is plenty sweet, it's a natural sweetness that fills you up with the good stuff.

Verdict: Thank you, Trailfoody, for introducing me to 9 new trail snacks that I had yet to try! While some were better suited to my tastes than others, all were thoroughly enjoyed and came in handy on the trail. As for value? Every hiker knows that stocking up on fancy fuel can work up a pretty hefty bill, but $19.95 (plus $4 for shipping) felt pretty spot-on since the snacks averaged about 2.80 per item. That's not including the reusable stuff sack, which I guessed would cost you about $10 to buy elsewhere. Another value-add is that this month's box lasted me longer than the 1-2 hikes it promised. So, another way of breaking the cost down is per hike. If you're able to stretch the snacks out over 3 hikes like I did, it would cost you just over $8 per hike to eat. Seeing that I often don't eat lunch on the trail and instead slowly chip away at my snack stash, $8/day is a steal. One final thing to consider is that a majority of these items come from small, independently owned businesses. Supporting the "little guys," most of whom are passionate adventurers just like myself, just tryin' to get by doing good for the outdoors community, is of great importance to me, so that alone makes every item so much more delicious and feel-good to eat!

What did you think of the snacks in this month's Trailfoody box?