Back Pack Meals (Military MREs)

[WyoDoug]

I have been evaluating MREs for use in my back pack. These typically serve my needs because my style of hunting is to take off on my own on foot even if I am in a group and carry a back pack loaded with what I need for the day plus emergency survival gear. What surprises me is the options. When I was on active duty and in the National Guard, almost none of these options were available. Now they have 24 different options (12 in case A bundle and 12 in case B bundle). The major features I noticed and liked:

• Main entrees are not dehydrated like the post-Vietnam era meals I was used to. All are about as good as the hot meals you get in the field.
• Real candy, commercial grade you buy in stores, not the chocolate bar you used to get in the old versions
• Real nuts in them. I have gotten cashews, peanuts and almonds so far.
• Every meal has a water activated heater They used to be packed separately and back in my time, the supply sergeant kept these, often for personal gain.
• Crackers are barely edible. I added the peanut butter or the cheese sauce that came in some and they were OK but not great. They are the sterile type crackers designed for long shelf life.
• Toilet paper rolls still come in them. Not enough for one use, but they do come in them.
• Snacks that come in them (energy bars, brownies, cookies) are pretty good.

Main concern is the cost for civilian purchase is about $110 for a case of 12.

I am also evaluating another option called "Train as We Fight" meals which are comparable but much cheaper. The run around 80 bucks a case. Major difference is these seem to contain a bunch of pasta based meals. Evaluation is still pending on these.

These are not ideal for those of you that do week long treks on foot as they do have bulk. Weight is not that bad though. Keep in mind that my style of hunting has me coming back to base camp every night.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

I think you'd find that progress and modern technology have done wonders in this department, in both convenience and taste.

 

[PrairieHunter]

Robot or human?

 

[WyoDoug]

Robot or human?

These are just entress and not full meals. I prefer the military grade meal packs because of the condiments and water activated heaters that come in each pack. No need for a fire if you don't want to start one. I also do not favor dehydrated meals which is what some of the others are.

 

[stealthy_bowman]

I use MRE’s quite often, the downside is the weight, but I am willing to deal with that since they are a real treat to have after miles of hiking.
Some of the main entrees are really quite good. I make it a point not to look at the description when throwing one or two in the pack, that way I am surprised as to what the days meal will be when it actually comes time to eat it.

 

[Addicting]

I use MRE’s quite often, the downside is the weight, but I am willing to deal with that since they are a real treat to have after miles of hiking.
Some of the main entrees are really quite good. I make it a point not to look at the description when throwing one or two in the pack, that way I am surprised as to what the days meal will be when it actually comes time to eat it.

Field strip them first, take what you want and pitch the rest. No need in carrying a milkshake, mashed potatoes, the extra plastic, or the condiment pouch.

In all my years eating them, I’ve never seen 1 Soldier eat the whole thing. There is always a veggie and miscellaneous crap left behind after a field feed.

 

[WyoDoug]

I use MRE’s quite often, the downside is the weight, but I am willing to deal with that since they are a real treat to have after miles of hiking.
Some of the main entrees are really quite good. I make it a point not to look at the description when throwing one or two in the pack, that way I am surprised as to what the days meal will be when it actually comes time to eat it.

It's really a wash on weight. You don't have to carry cooking utensils and that. I never noticed much on the weight so far carrying them. What I noticed is difference in bulk requirements not the weight. But with a larger pack like I now have, that is not an issue.

You might also want to look at Tailored Training Operational Meals (TOTM - Train as we fight) as a cheaper alternative. I am so far satisfied with what I got out of these ones.

 

[Losing_Sanity]

The thing with MREs is that they should already be a balance between carbs and proteins that you need in one meal. They were designed, not only for storage and convince, but for active men and women stressing their bodies and needing to replenish and keep going. Some, I am sure are better than others, but they should be a balanced nutrition. And you get a little candy bar inside!

 

[WyoDoug]

Field strip them first, take what you want and pitch the rest. No need in carrying a milkshake, mashed potatoes, the extra plastic, or the condiment pouch.

In all my years eating them, I’ve never seen 1 Soldier eat the whole thing. There is always a veggie and miscellaneous crap left behind after a field feed.

Absolute good idea. Drops down the space requirements in your pack too. They have come a long way since my military days compared to the C-RATS I had in the Vietnam era and then the MREs that followed which generated numerous complaints with troops in the field. But, I rarely see anyone consume everything that comes in one and the toilet paper in them is not even enough for a single use unless you plan on washing your hands well after each use.

 

[PrairieHunter]

These are just entress and not full meals. I prefer the military grade meal packs because of the condiments and water activated heaters that come in each pack. No need for a fire if you don't want to start one. I also do not favor dehydrated meals which is what some of the others are.

I prefer the quality of food in the entree and to just buy my own sides. Quite frankly it's a lot better food than the MRE's. I much prefer to choose my own condiments than to eat MRE condiments, which suck most of the time.

Nuts, energy bars, cookies, etc are much better to just buy from the grocery store. Many options, better quality , better flavor, cheaper, etc...

Heaters that come with MRE's can be bought, and those entree pouches can be put in boiling water, next to fire, or next to body while waking to warm up. Unless you are using a heater on every meal it's another waste of $ and weight carrying stuff you don't need.

MRE's are great but you are paying for a lot of convenience that you really don't need in many cases. I was like you and bought a bunch of them about 10 years ago when starting out, but later found that I prefer regular food to MRE food. Ended up giving much of them away as you mentioned the crackers were horrible, some of the food was just not good, etc.. Prego pasta vs MRE pasta, my choice of crackers vs MRE crackers. Jiffy/Justins peanut butter to MRE peanut butter. Nutterbutters vs MRE cookies. Starbucks instant coffee vs MRE instant coffee. I mean it's really not even close if you actually care about what you are eating. But to each their own.

I can guarantee you that if you gave troops a choice they would take grocery store food over MRE's most of the time.

 

[MThuntr]

You guys need to watch Steve1989MREinfo on YouTube..."Let's get that on a tray...Nice"

 

[Smith_Hunt]

New to hunting, but been backpacking my entire life. I have started to make my own full meals by dehydrating. End up with lighter weight meals compared to an MRE and great taste if you spruce it up with some good recipes and powders (powderes butter, seasoning packets, etc). Plus, many of them dont need heat to rehydrate. I just add some water in preparation to eat in an hour or so, keep hiking or hunting, then pop it open and enjoy (though I admit, I enjoy them a lot more warm). I do like myself some MRE's, but cost and weight really put me off as a poor college student.

 

[glass eye]

I use MRE's for day hunts but if I had to carry meals for several days I go to freeze-dried meals.

 

[406LIFE]

I spent over 90 days on those things...never again.

That bias aside, I think freeze dried is definitely a better option for weight and taste.

 

[WyoDoug]

Military MREs and TOTM Train as we fight meals are designed to sustain military in combat where conventional meals are not available They have the protein and nutrient balance where commercial dehydrated meals often do not. Dehydrated meals require a rehydration process where these are ready to eat. I like the convenience and when you break them down before packing, the space requirement is minimal in your pack. The weight per meal is not that much over commercial dehydrated or other meals. I have tried other meals and went back to MREs and TOTM train as we fight meals for my use.

 

[JLS]

All that said, they still taste like shit. To each their own.

 

[Tikka06]

I used to like them. Then I did a rotation at the national training center (NTC) and ate them exclusively for about 30 days. I was pretty much done with them after that. I have considered them for the same reasons you have stated but personally if I am hunting from a base camp or the truck I will be packing a sandwich or something in a can.

 

[WyoDoug]

All that said, they still taste like shit. To each their own.

The ones issued to the military from post-Vietnam era to first Persian Gulf war were horrible. I remember a pork patty that was so dry we called it a hockey puck and you had to dehydrate it a long time before you ate it. Then there was the dehydrated potatoe cakes that caused a lot of bloat if you ate too much too fast. then the dehydrated fruit. I first entered the Marine Corps at the tail end of the Vietnam War. I remember the C-Rats how horrible they were.

As a result of complaints from troops in the field, the newer military MREs have undergone a major rework and the only meal I tried that I didn't care fur was the pizza. However, I tried eating that one cold. I never cared for plain cheese pizza which is part of the problem.

Now as far as taste, I do not care for hydrated food even after you rehydrate and heat it up. Some of the meals are not my taste but way more tasteful to me than hydrated food is. And when you break it apart and get rid of the outer package, there is not a whole lot of weight difference and they end up taking about the same space.

 

[WyoDoug]

I used to like them. Then I did a rotation at the national training center (NTC) and ate them exclusively for about 30 days. I was pretty much done with them after that. I have considered them for the same reasons you have stated but personally if I am hunting from a base camp or the truck I will be packing a sandwich or something in a can.

I trained at Marine Corps Base, 29 Palms for 6 months almost exclusively eating C-rations. Remember those? Those were horrible.

I first experienced MREs in the reserve unit I was assigned to as fulltime support. We hated the MREs at that time. Only a few meal options were good then.

The new ones I have tried have come a LONG ways from my military days and some are quite good. They have a breakfast meal that contains real hash browns, bacon, cheese and peppers. All of it is real and not dehydrated I had that the day before yesterday heated up with the water activated MRE heater and really enjoyed it.

The advantage over carrying a cooler of fresh groceries when I hunt mostly solo right now anyways is you had to keep restocking groceries. I don't do just weekend hunts. When I go, I take between 1-2 weeks to hunt and because I don't have friends that can take that amount of time, I end up going solo. You can buy two cases of MRE or TOTM meals and they will last you through the entire trip. I then buy conventional grocery items for time I spend in basecamp only. My grocery budget drops substantially that way. Bread never stays fresh enough for me so I don't eat a lot of sandwiches when hunting. I do like Randy in his videos and cook a can of soup or something on a grill. More often than not, its a can of chili, beans and a lot of tootin around the camp fire talking to whoever is hunting with me.

 

[WyoDoug]

One thing to add to the MRE question is make sure you are getting a fairly modern inspection date. Those you buy at military surplus stores are often the pre-Iraq War varieties and those are NOT very good. You are best getting them through the military system where you can such as the commissaries. Ones I tried the other day have a 2018 inspection date. Much of what you see on the open market is surplus sold by the military as a result of the military drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan and the reduction in force imposed under Donald Rumsfeld. When the newer versions of the MRE came out, they sold all the pre-Iraq versions (inspection dates older than 1990). The only thing I don't care for in them so far is the crackers do not taste good and are edible only when you add the peanut butter or cheese spread that comes in them. The pizza also is NOT very tasty eaten cold. I have never cared for cold pizza anyways. Believe it or not, MREs have a LONG shelf life. Officially MREs expire after 5 years, but many things will keep well past 5 years. Pre 2000 versions also had issues with improper seal and we had to dump huge volumes of them when I was still in.