For those that missed day one of Muscle Pharm’s Combat Crunch launch on Bodybuilding.com, which wasn’t actually the first day the supplement went on sale. The athlete company’s first edible product arrived with a buy one get one offer, putting the cost of one bar at just $1.25. The promotion was something we could not pass on, resulting in a $30 spend that landed us 12 of each Combat Crunch flavor. Now after munching down on almost an entire box of chocolate peanut butter cup and chocolate chip cookie dough. We have a flavor review of the latest from Muscle Pharm and how the brand did with their entry into the category.
To start off we’re going to talk about chocolate peanut butter cup, our least favorite of the two but in no way a bad tasting bar. The first thing you’ll be greeted by is a chocolate layer that Muscle Pharm have on both Combat Crunch flavors. It’s a thick outer that despite being a protein bar makes you believe you’re not eating any thing remotely healthy. The second part of the bar is where we feel the supplement got it’s name from with a layer of crunchy chocolate chips, that really amplify the taste of that initial chocolate coating. After you bite through the hard chocolate and chocolate chips, you’ll then find yourself in the middle of the variant’s title attraction. The bar’s peanut butter is a difficult one to describe, but it’s a lot like actual peanut butter where the peanut isn’t exactly dominant, and it’s consistency gives it that creamy buttery twist. While the thickness of Combat Crunch’s center definitely encourages that real peanut butter taste, the chip and hard chocolate layers don’t really share the stage. The combination is great and the name of the flavor is a spot on description of the experience, however both sides of the product are quite strong. It’s because of that you will be welcomed with a nice crunchy chocolate sensation, followed by a mix of that and peanut butter. Then as the chocolate quickly fades you’re unfortunately left with a solo peanut butter after taste, and only a short amount of time with the two flavors detailed in the variant’s title .
As mentioned Muscle Pharm’s chocolate coating and layer of chocolate chips is something you will find on both variants of Combat Crunch. It is a feature that really connects the two and makes them stand out. With chocolate chip cookie dough, it does take advantage of that signature outer a lot more than peanut butter cup, which is why it is our more favorite one of the two. Instead of the hard chocolate and chocolate chips somewhat fading as the peanut butter portion takes over. The cookie dough Combat Crunch see it’s title taste merge with Muscle Pharm’s chocolate sensation, resulting in basically a chocolate chip dough with cookie dough actually being extremely faint. Whether it’s the added chocolate chips or crunch particles spread throughout, you’re not taken on a roller coaster with chocolate chip cookie dough Combat Crunch, it’s more of a smooth ride. Our favorite variant of the two remains consistent throughout and while it almost fails on it’s name, you’ll be glad the chocolate dominates.
All in all Muscle Pharm’s Combat Crunch is a good effort. It is very hard to make a bad protein bar, so the argument is always how good is the bar. In the case of Crunch it is a great supplement, and we can easily see it becoming someones favorite high protein snack. It’s chocolate layer and crunchy chocolate chip inclusions make it more than memorable, which on most occasions is enough to bring anyone back. For us if Bodybuilding.com had kept their buy one get one offer, we actually would have already gone back for more. While in our minds Muscle Pharm’s Combat Crunch doesn’t take the number one spot in the protein bar category. Being that it is the brand’s first edible effort, it is in fact the best entry into the area we’ve seen in quite some time. As the product begins to establish itself, we expect the athlete’s company to give back to the bar, and that is where things will get interesting. As new, unique and improved flavors are something Muscle Pharm are extremely familiar with.
