Snickers Marathon Long Lasting Energy Bar

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinuons account.

I got one of these bars on a whim. I know it’s supposed to be for those that are athletic, but I was getting tired of the candy bars. After all, I do walk a lot and that has to count for something. I don’t get these bars that often, mostly because of the cost. They usually go for somewhere in the neighborhood of $2, making them too expensive for a snack.

I’ve found that the wrapper is difficult to get off. For some reason, the wrapper sticks to bar. I’ve never had any trouble with the material staying on the bar, but I do have to peel it off slowly. I could see someone trying to open one of these after working out for a while and simply not wanting to be bothered.

It’s also tough to eat. It tastes good, but it’s very dense. It’s difficult to chew. It’s not extremely hard, but it’s not like gum, either. I think if I had a lot of dental work other than fillings, I’d worry about something popping out.

As for the taste, it doesn’t do much for me. I found both of the flavors available to me to be very similar. I think this is one of those things like Gatorade that change once you’ve been exercising for a while. The most exercise I do is walking, which hardly causes me to break a sweat.

It’s almost like eating some sort of processed and condensed Snickers bar. It actually looks and tastes like a Snickers bar that’s been distorted and messed around with. At least I didn’t see any hydrogenated oils. I really think it was meant for someone who exercises a lot.

I haven’t seen these available recently, but I haven’t been looking. It’s something that I’ll see and think about, but not really buy. It’s just not the kind of thing I want to snack on. I guess I’m going to have to keep looking for a healthier candy bar.

Snickers Chocolate Bars

Note:  This Review was originally posted to my Epinions account.


I came across a few candy bar reviews and remembered all of the good times I had had with all of those candy bars. I usually got 3 Musketeers, but I also liked Milky Way and Butterfinger. I think I ate enough of these in high school and college to fill several vending machines. One of my favorites was Snickers.

It’s been a while since I had a Snickers bar. There had come a point where candy bars weren’t quite as satisfying as they once were. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like sugar as I had just moved on to other sugar-laden things, like jelly beans. When I was recently in the checkout aisle at the grocery store, there I was looking at one longingly. I remembered the chocolate, the caramel, the peanuts… Why not? It’s not like I have enough cavities.

I guess once you get past the ingredients, there’s not much to say. Notice how many candy reviews are short and consist of nutritional information. There are two reasons for this. One is that candy bars are mostly a matter of taste. The other is that they’re not health food. It should be mentioned that they contain sugar and other things your dentist and/or doctor wouldn’t want you to eat.

Snickers is one of the more satisfying candy bars out there. Maybe it’s the peanuts. Maybe it’s the caramel. I could also be imagining things. Sugar does that to you sometimes, especially when combined with hunger. However, among my friends that like candy bars, I don’t think I know anyone that doesn’t like one. Sure, we all have our preferences, but most people like Snickers on some level.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it just has a nice consistency to it. When you bite into it, you’re getting a fair amount of resistance and I think that I respond well to it. I’m thinking that I’ve got a substantial piece of candy in my mouth and I’m not going to be hungry for a while.

As I said, it’s not to be a replacement for ‘real’ food. Among candy bars, Snickers definitely ranks up there in the top five. It’s also commonly available. Pretty much any vending machine or convenience store should have one. I’d look to pay maybe 50?-75? for a regular bar. Anything more than $1 is overpriced.

Skor Bars By Hershey's

Note:  This review was originally posted to m Epinions account.

I generally don’t like crunchy stuff.  This is why I’ve never been a big fan of toffee.  Every few years, I get a Skor bar because I forget just how hard toffee is.  I’m not even sure who carries it.  The last time I saw one was in an Office Max, which is a bit overpriced on candy to begin with.  (I’d imagine you can get it whoever you get candy, although Chuckles has shown me that this isn’t always true.)

For those that don’t know what toffee is, imagine frozen caramel.  (Every time I see Skor, I mistakenly think it’s filled with caramel.)  It has a similar flavor, but is extremely hard.  For those that have never seen a Skor, imagine a small bar of toffee covered in chocolate.  They’re thin and on the small side.  Despite the size, it’s pretty rare that I can get through one of these without my teeth hurting a little.

If you have any sort of dental problem where you can’t handle hard food, stay away from Skor.  It really is very hard toffee.  Generally, I’d prefer a Twix.  The cookie isn’t as hard and it does actually have caramel.  Then again, candy and candy bars tend to be subject to personal preferences.  Some people like hard candy while others don’t.

I don’t recall exactly when I first had a Skor, but I remember Skor candy bars being around for a while.  I think it’s been available in the Miami area at least as long as I’ve been around.  I’m sure there are enough people around that like it that it’s not going anywhere.

The price is usually consistent with other candy bars.  (The price-to-size ratio is another reason I go for other candy bars.)  Chocolate and toffee is pretty simple, but I’d check the ingredient list anyway.  I’m going to skip the nutritional information, only because it’s so easy to find online and on the package.  Overall, I have to give it 2 stars.

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar

There are a few big names in candy that everyone knows. Jelly Belly is famous among jelly bean brands. M&M’s are known as the small round chocolate candies. Among candy bars, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar is well known enough that most people would associate Hershey’s with the thin bar.

For those that haven’t seen one up close, it’s a bar that’s maybe six inches by three inches and made of solid milk chocolate. In the traditional variety, there are no nuts, no caramel, no rice, no nothing. Just one bar that can be split up into twelve smaller pieces aligned in a four-by-three grid. They used to come wrapped in foil with a paper wrapper on the outside. Now, I think they use a plastic wrapper.

Back when I used to eat candy bars, I would occasionally get one of these. I’d break off a row or a column to eat. Sometimes, I’d eat one at a time. Usually, I’d just eat the entire thing right out of the wrapper. The only thing I noticed was that my teeth would feel funny. I can’t quite explain it. It wasn’t quite a soreness, but it would always happen with Hershey’s Bars and no other candy. I’ve never heard of anyone else having this problem, but I’ve never really asked anyone.

It might have to do with the fact that the Hershey’s bars are more sugar than most other chocolates. If I eat a bar that’s more cocoa, I don’t get the same problem. I think that’s what’s going to differentiate the Hershey bar from other bars. Hershey’s has more of a mass-produced feel to it. True, most people like chocolate anyway. It’s more like eating a McDonald’s hamburger versus eating one at a better restaurant. McDonald’s still tastes pretty good and is more affordable, but wouldn’t you rather have something from Appleby’s or Chili’s?

If I ever go back to eating candy bars, I may look into buying one of these. It’s been a while, but I remember liking them despite the one drawback. Maybe I’ll just have to eat one piece at a time.

Butterfinger Candy Bar

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

I don’t like crunchy things. When I eat cookies, I like them soft. If I have to choose between potato chips and French fries, I usually tend towards fries. If you’ve seen my other candy bar reviews, it might come as a surprise that I’d even take a second look at a Butterfinger. It’s a layer of chocolate around a hard peanut butter-like inside. Imagine that you were able to make a crunchy version of a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup, only it’s heavier on the peanut butter and lighter on the chocolate.

I don’t really think of the flavor as being like peanut butter, though. I think mostly it’s the texture. Peanut butter is normally soft and tastes something like peanuts. This is crunchy. The bar has used this in advertising. It doesn’t even really taste much like a peanut, even. I’m sure someone will tell me that I’m missing something or that I must be reviewing a different candy bar or something, but I just don’t get the connection.

That’s not to say I don’t like Butterfingers. These used to be a favorite of mine. I think a big part of it was the size. I remember these being somewhat longer than regular candy bars. This may be memory playing tricks on me, as I haven’t actually had one in a while. I do remember Butterfingers being different. I can’t think of another bar that is crunchy. Some have some degree of crunch, mostly because of peanuts, rice or some other hard substance. Nothing I can think of is crisp all the way through.

This makes it difficult to explain to someone who’s never had it before. Imagine if you took a Twix bar or a Kit Kat and were able to make the wafer much denser. Not so dense that it would break your teeth, but dense enough that you had to work at biting the bar. Now, imagine that it had an off-peanut flavor. Keep the chocolate, but get rid of the other stuff like caramel. Make this into one long bar and you’ve got a Butterfinger.

It’s tempting, I know. But the trouble is that I can see a lot of people loving it or leaving it. My fascination with the bar lasted only a year or two. I’ve since moved on to other bars. I think I’d take one if it were offered to me, but I’m in no real rush to try one again. I’d give it three stars.