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Has anyone tried emergency food ration bars--Military MRE, Datrex, Mainstay, etc.?

Dec 21, 2011 7:44 PM

I was thinking about trying some of these out on a backpacking trip in a few weeks. What I've heard is they really aren't that bad if you don't mind eating a lemon or coconut flavored cracker meal after meal...
Here's a link to some of the products offered on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=emergency+food+ration+bar&x=0&y=0
They also have sealed water rations:
http://www.amazon.com/Datrex-Emergency-Water-Packet-12packets/dp/B001CS53E2/ref=pd_sim_sg_1

Has anyone had any experience with these?

zachnolan zachnolan

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vote-for4vote-against

I have no experience with those particular brands, but have you tried a military surplus store? Get some real MREs, they're not half bad. Good enough for a soldier, good enough for a camper.

rprebel rprebel
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I'm a fan of the original MRE's. Never tried the civilian versions though.

Ever since I was a kid, I've had an MRE or 2 in the car when I travel and more when I camp. They're loaded with calories so for me they're good for more then one meal (and I'm not a small guy).

Plus I agree with @rprebel, our troops live on these which means they're damn good enough for me.

spikedknight spikedknight
vote-for4vote-against

The only ones I have ever had were military issue. Trust me if you are really hungry you wont care about taste.

crowsnest crowsnest
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I never thought the MRE's we got were that bad, but I always avoided the vomit omellete :D

In fact, I liked being vegetarian because most of the other kids were too silly to realize those were the best ones, so easy to trade for some cheese tortellini :) gotta love those HOOAH bars! Veggie patty in BBQ sauce was good too. Oooooh and the lemon pound cake!

Just be careful, don't forget that a typical MRE is designed for sedentary soldier to eat 1 per day and an active soldier to eat 2 to 3. They are between 3,000-5,000 calories for the whole meal.

meh3884 meh3884
vote-for2vote-against

I went to a military presentation as part of my job a few years ago. They fired off some stuff for us and gave us a tour, then fed us MREs. I don;t even remember what was in it, it was edible. I do remember being intrigued by the packaging and the chemical heating.

moondrake moondrake
vote-for1vote-against

I've had a lot of MREs... they aren't amazing, but they aren't bad either. I like them, and they do have plenty of calories.

teevoo teevoo
vote-for1vote-against

The older MRE's in the dark brown bags were not terrible, depending on what you were eating. Although - as a hungry soldier in the field - I would try anything. But when they changed to the light brown bags and even added the vegetarian meals, they got a lot better. I even buy them to take on hiking trips now. Best place to shop for those is your local Army Surplus.

techie413 techie413

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