Real Foods Corn Thins (organic)

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These are always in my pack because they are filling, and if you like corn they taste great. I don't like rice puffs and my partner does, so I had to find an alternative for myself at least.

These really taste good, go well with any other jerky, dried or packaged fish, etc. They are fat free, if you are looking for fat for cold weather this wouldn't do it. They are also only 23 calories per "slice" or cracker.

There is a BPL Techniques article about eating in cold weather which mentions the need for calories and fat in cold weather: Nutritional Considerations for Cold Weather Hiking, by Brenda; Braaten at:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00040.html

I don't know whether to call them crackers, they are puffy but chewy and substantial for a tide over snack until a bigger meal.

The great thing is 26 crackers weighs 5.3 oz. So for approximately 1 oz., when combined with some jerky or another light item, I have enough snack food for 1 or 2 days in hot weather, even if this is all I took for snacks.

They come in an aluminized/mylar type plastic that is really UL and can be used for other storage purposes when the bag is emptied. Another real plus since the bag weighs way less than an oz. IMO, although I haven't weighed it yet. (I have now tried to weigh it and it won't register on my scales.)

I originally gave these a 5 rating, before I read the food article above and the discussion of calories per ounce needed for strenous hiking activity in the BPL article:

Lightweight Backpacking 101: An Introductory Manual for Lightening Your Load Today (1st Edition – August 2001),
by Ryan Jordan, Alan Dixon, George Cole, Lee Van Horn, Dave Schultz, and Rick Dreher; at:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00034.html

They also don't cost much, like $2 a bag. The only drawback is that in cold weather I am not sure they are as good an idea as I used to based on the low calories and no fat.

So these get a 4 for being light, tasty, filling, sturdy and don't totally break up when crammed in my pack in a baggy or the aluminum looking plastic wrap container they come in — but they don't have enough calories or fat for winter hiking. Thus, they are only a three season snack item, and I want to buy and stock food around that is good for all seasons if possible.

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