Thunder Chew Bags: Original - Review (Discontinued). 7 September 2019.

NOTE:  This product has been discontinued and is no longer for sale.

I did a review of this one in early 2018, but it has a slick new can design so I figured I would revisit this one. V2 Tobacco is the undisputed king of these Nordic Chew products - they kicked the category off, and they have more of these products on the market than anyone else.  Now, if you're not familiar with what Nordic Chew/chew bags are, I've done a video on it in the past.  Basically these are products that are made the same way as snus, but the tobacco is cut instead of ground, and the portion material is a little thicker so it can technically be chewed, though I never do.  Those two differences make these able to be sold in the EU, while snus is still banned.  I know, it makes zero sense.

When it comes to this product, the flavor description says, "Thunder Original Chew has a traditional tobacco flavor with hints of bergamot".  The can weighs 17.6g and has 22 portions for 0.8g portions.  The nicotine content is 16mg/g (1.6%), which breaks down to 12.8mg/portion.

This is how V2 describes these chew bags: "The tobacco leaves are heated and moistened with steam so they can be cut into smaller pieces. The tobacco for Thunder Chewing Bags are pieces cut with a length of between 5 - 50 mm and a width of 0.6-0.8 mm. The bags used are specially designed to be chewed to release flavor and nicotine. It is made from a paper with a special weave which is thicker and much stronger than the type of bag that snus is packed in. Thunder Chewing Bags are also fundamentally different from the other chewing tobacco products on the market by being cut tobacco in small bags while others are made from spun tobacco."  Looking at the photo, you can tell that chew bags don't look that much different from regular snus.  In the lip, they feel the same, and are used the exact same way!

Aside from the new design, one thing I noticed is that chew bag material feels softer, as does the tobacco inside the pouch; it's not as compact as it used to be. I don't know if V2 changed how they do these, but I did notice a difference from the last time I had them. But everything else - aroma, flavor, and nicotine - all the same. The aroma of this one is a raw, natural tobacco smell. The portions are much more comfortable in the lip than I remember. The taste is really good if you like tobacco flavored products. It's a natural, mild tobacco character. It's very raw in nature, and seems to have a very faint sweetness to it. It's really good stuff. The nicotine feels to be between strong and extra strong; it has a little extra kick to it, but its not too over the top. The flavor lasts a really long time, usually between 1-1.5 hours on average!

If you had these before, you will definitely enjoy the new design.  I was also very impressed with the portion and tobacco; I'm not sure if it's changed or not, but if it has - I like the change!

Comments