Anyone tried MRE's?

[SOBO 2011]

Just interested in knowing if anyone has tried any and if so where did u get them from and how were they?

[txag]

http://www.majorsurplus.com/ is a good source. I keep a sealed utensil package with matches in my day pack. They are pretty bulky and i strip them out of their packages before a hike. Now I just buy the entrees.

Interesting - read that soldiers consider the Charms candy in MRE's bad luck and ditch them.

[TOW]

break them down and only take what you think you need, do not try to pack them as they are because you will need the space that they will take......

[Ranc0r]

Only a few hundred times.

Ditch the outer wrapper, ditch or trade the stuff you just don't like, they make a decent backup to real food. I work a few blocks from Wornick Prepared Foods Div., so ...

I like to keep a couple of entree's as backup, but I do NOT consider eating MRE's equivilent to eating food. Like Crocodile Dundee once said, tastes XXXX, but you can live of them. Seriously, not that bad, but designed to put combat rations into a tiny package.

HYOH, eat your own food, or trade me something good for my MRE Accessory Pack B.

Ranc0r
.

[txag]

http://www.theepicenter.com/

Last time I bought from these folks. Seems like a mom and pop place. They will not pound you with advertising after the fact and have more variety. Even have a pretty good taste survey on the site.

Don't get the chili and beans. There can be problems with that one.

[Blissful]

We've had them. Okay, not the geratest IMO - too heavy for backpacking though. made me appreciate what my nephew is praobly eating in Afghanistan.

[Manwich]

Maybe if they were the last thing to eat on earth. Maybe.

[SOBO 2011]

I really am just thinking about one a day... I dont want to carry a stove :-( and eat other things the rest fo the time - thoughts on that idea?

[Doughnut]

I like the taste and variety, but they are way too heavy for long hauls. Maybe 2 main courses for a 5 day hike will more than suffice.

I miss the old one, the dehydrated pork patties and beef patties.

I met a group in GA who carried 3 MRE's per person per day - they didn't make it very far due to weight.

If I had them (check Craiglist and such places) I'd drop box one or two (after breaking them down) for resupply,

DoughNut

[pafarmboy]

I guess I should mention I am a section hiker, so I am only out there a few weeks at a time. But.....

Personally, I like them, for one meal a day. With a full MRE (minus packing crap that needs to be eliminated beforehand) and my other meals I am at 2 pounds a day for food. That may seem a bit much, but I never have to worry about heating water, carrying a stove, running out of fuel, scouring a pot, or putting out too much food odor so various critters can answer the dinner bell. Plus, I am eating a hot meal within 3 minutes of sitting down to dinner.

BTW, a full MRE consists of premeal snack (usu. crackers and spread) main meal, side dish, and a dessert.

Finally, I like the convienence of hitting a trail town and not having to worry about shopping while I am there. All my meals can be shipped out before I leave and are sitting there nice and pretty as soon as arrive.

Just my 2 cents.....

[Trailweaver]

I have eaten them and found them to be a little heavy on the salt, but not too bad to eat when you're hungry. I first ate them when I went to the coast to help with Katrina clean-up. I brought back some of the ones that were leftover, and took them with me on a few backpacking trips. I first broke them down, took out the things I wanted to backpack with, and ate the rest at home or traded them out with someone else. They're way too heavy to take the whole thing for a backpacking trip.

[Mags]

Just remember, the military uses MREs for solider who have the blessing of the best and longest logistic train in history. Most us do not have motorized transport hauling our meals.

When the military has people hoof it (various elite units), they use meals not far different from commercial backpacking meals.

http://nsc.natick.army.mil/media/fact/food/mcw_lrp.pdf
http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/rations/programs/mcw/mcwabt.asp


You can get better tasting and lighter meals than the MREs from your local grocery store.

The MRE's aint bad for an overnighter...but for long term hiking, they are too heavy and somewhat expensive. The military does not use them for long term hiking..why should we? :)


I really am just thinking about one a day... I dont want to carry a stove :-( and eat other things the rest fo the time - thoughts on that idea?

Many grocery store food rehydrate just fine w/o cooking. Ramen, hummus, cous cous, mashed potatoes, dehydated beans, etc. When you get into camp, just throw the food in a ziplock, add water and wait. By the time you are done setting up camp, gathering water, etc you will be good to go. (If not less; cous cous and mashed potatoes dehydrate very quickly!) Throw in some tuna or dried salami and you have a nice carb/protein mix.

[Blue Jay]

I always carry a single one for emergencies. If I get in trouble I can suck down a few thousand calories in seconds right out of the packet and make it to a road. Other than something to stop large scale bleeding it's my entire first aid kit.

[Surplusman]

I agree with Mags about freezer bag cooking being a lot better. Yes, I've tried MRE's...not bad, but they're expensive. I do like the vegetable crackers but that's it. Freezer bag cooking is cheaper, quicker, and to me tastes a helluva lot better, and considerably lighter than MRE's.

[Deadeye]

Other than the websites already mentioned, you can find them at many Army/Navy stores.

They're worth experimenting with. Some are like cardboard, only not as good (the burrito comes to mind), others (minestrone, western beans) are really tasty. YMMV. The "accessories" are pretty good, and include things like applesauce, peaches, some sort of wonder bread, and pb&J. They are handy for a number of things, including short cookless trips, just-in-case rations for dayhikes that wind up being overnights, etc.

Too expensive and heavy to rely on for a significant part of a long hike, IMHO.

[mikec]

I always take at least one on a section hike. You never know if you either get into camp late and don't want to cook, it's raning like $#@! when you get to camp and you don't want to cook. Or you run out of food and that's all that's left. I agree with 'stripping them down' to make them lighter. They don't taste great. But they beat going hungry.

[Seeker]

they're great if you don't have to carry them... nice pouches of meat, crackers, dessert (fruit or cake), condiments, peanut butter or cheese, drink mix, and cocoa. but nothing's dehydrated, so you're carrying a lot of water and packaging. also, i'm not all that impressed with how they taste, but that's a personal thing... you may love them. they're kinda pricey too, so if i'm gonna pay some $$, it's going to be for this: http://www.hawkvittles.com/

owner is a retired chef. awesome food, big portions, no freeze-dried chemically preserved taste... just good, wholesome, tasty dehydrated food. i'll pay for that.

[RedneckRye]

Just got back from 3 weeks in the Sierras in september.
Carried a 3000cu inch pack (Arcteryx Axios 50) with a full sized bear can.
At the start of the trip and after the first resupply, the can was full plus there was some extra food in a stuffsack.
It wasn't pretty but I made it work.

But back to the MRE question, I've tried them a couple of times but not when backpacking. For me they aren't really an option just because of the quality of the meal. I tend to view food as a more than just fuel to get me thru the day. On the days when the weather isn't cooperating or I am just not having a great day, dinner at the end of the day is often the high light .

[Jack Tarlin]

The main reasons I don't carry MRE's:

1. I can cook a better tasting dinner for less weight
2. There's additional stuff in MRE's that I don't necessarily want
3. There's a good bit of packaging that has to be carried out

And to those that say field strip the thing before leaving and discard the
stuff that's not needed, then what you're left with is a dinner that is perhaps several years old, that costs more, weighs more, and tastes worse than something I can make on my own.

[pafarmboy]

so if i'm gonna pay some $$, it's going to be for this: http://www.hawkvittles.com/




This site is awesome! I've been thinking about converting to the "ziploc/dehydrated" route, but never wanted to do the legwork.

Guy seems like he really cares about his product. Plan on using him in the future.

Thanks Seeker.

[Fiddleback]

When starting the construction of our house, I camped out on site for 20+ days and ate the entree portions of MRE's for dinner for that time. The meal was supplemented with raw vegies such as carrots and cucumbers. Each week was broken up with a weekend in town with dinners in restaurants. Later, after a two or three month break, both of us moved into the newly built barn and started the same routine again until our source of MRE entrees dried up a month later. After that we used Dinty Moore American Classics for another three months before moving into the house. The MRE entrees and the Dinty Moore meals were both heated in simmering water.

My impressions and what I've read about MRE's:

- They're quite good...when compared with expectations of military field rations.;) They're better than what they use to provide our troops.

- They're heavy with a lot of liquid weight.

- I've read, and Sarbar has posted, that they will cause constipation particularly over long term use. Apparently, this is because of the high fat/low fiber makeup of the meal. I didn't experience the problem but then, I was eating raw vegies with the MREs.

- I've read that freezing will cause the pouch to delaminate.

- They are very convenient...sometimes. But I find freezer bag cooking to be faster and, of course, lighter. Since I prepare my own dehydrated meals I know they are tastier, fresher, and healthier than MREs (at least from the point of view of salt).

- Of home prepared freezer bag meals, store-bought freeze dried meals, and MRE entrees, the MRE's come close to being the most expensive...

- For me, there are taste/flavor issues.

- More importantly for me, I think the actual amount of food, at least that of the entree, is light. If I relied upon MRE entrees for dinner on the trail I'd be hungry.

My bottom line...they're not for me if I'm backpacking.

MRE entrees can be bought separate from full-up MREs for those that feel otherwise. The Dinty Moore items (and probably the other brands) are pretty good but have the same backpacking issues as the MREs. As I remember, pricing is similar.

FB

[ddgross323]

My first time on the AT I brought a couple with me and gave them to other hikers at the first shelter. I had to drop a ton of weight (common rooky mistake) and those were on the top of my list. This time I'm going all dehydrated foods in plastic bags (as recommended);)

[take-a-knee]

Yeah, I tried MRE's for 15 years, they suck.

[left turn]

Just interested in knowing if anyone has tried any and if so where did u get them from and how were they?

i have used MRE's before on the trail. i have mixed feeling about them. they are not bad especially the chicken and rice and there is a low mein type MRE that isn't bad. my main complaint is that they can constipate you, which is kinda what they are designed to do. this leaves a not so comfortable time when hiking.

i got mine from my dad, he is in to military things and his cousin is an airbourne ranger so he always has MRE's and other interesting things laying around.

the first time i used them i took a lot and just a little bit of normal food, which i ended up regretting, for the reason mention above

the next time i took them i only took enough for emergencies, which was a good thing since i ended up using them due to an upset stomach, and they fixed that issue.

[gunner76]

In the military we always carried a bottle of hot suace to add some "flavor" to the MRE's. Longest time I had to live on them was for 3 weeks, breakfast, lunch and diner. Gald I did not have to carry them as the wieght would be brutal. Never had a problem with being constipated from eating them.

In the 80's we were warned that if we heated our MRE's in water for a hot meal that we should toss the heating water as certain materials on the exterior of the package could make you sick if you drank the water. I do not know of anyone who had this problem. While I found certain MRE's very tasty and others a POS.; I agree that carrying the MRE's would be very heavy and I preferr to cary freeze dried Mountain House or similar meals.

[Wise Old Owl]

I'm with Jack T, on this you can do better on your own and not have to carry chemical heaters... Read Sabar's posts here in Cooking & Food and enjoy with the rest of us with FBC with PBC's:rolleyes: "pretty basic cooking"

http://www.trailcooking.com/store

http://www.amazon.com/Freezer-Bag-Cooking-Trail-Simple/dp/1411660315

And yes I have tried the MRE's and they are heavy.

[bpitt]

I dig the powder drink mix's found in the MRE's. They're usually packed with extra vitamins and high in carb's.

[Chance09]

A fellow thru hiker this year by the name of Bison ate MRE's exclusively for dinner. The calorie to weight ratio wasn't as bad as everyone on here is making it out to be. The few of his that i looked at were about 1200 calories for 12 - 15 oz and i have to say he sure had everyone beat on variety. There were numerous times i was jelous of the cookie he had at the end of his meal. I was aiming for about 130 calories an ounce for my foods and it's not that good but they do have their upsides. He spent quite a bit of time in the Army i believe it was and knew which ones he liked so he wasn't buying mix packs and finding out that he couldn't stand a particular item. Definitely a valid meal choice if you have the money.

[left turn]

i did a couple of trips with MRE's, they are ok. #1 priority is taking them out of the package and keeping only what you like to save space. i made that mistake the first time i used them. there are a lot things in them i don't eat. like the browny, my Marine buddy says it backs you up, so that had to go, but to be honest all MRE's back me up which is comfortable when hiking so i don't use them any more, but the lo mien is pretty tasty.:D

[Johnny Appleseed]

They are expensive. $30 ten years ago. Now they are 70$ plus a case of 12 meals. I can eat for 1/4 of the price and carry less weight. They got the water in them, like the Kashi or uncle ben's rice packets. Heat and eat. Then to not carry a stove you have to get those bags that you add water to generate heat and that will add more money.

I like hy-vee beans and rice dried mix.

[Raul Perez]

have a bunch. Not bad as to the taste. However for backpacking purposes they are way too heavy. Even for section hiking. I took them on a camping trip in June 2009 along with some mountain house freeze dried food and some instant rice. 2 MRE's were more heavier than the other 4 days worth of food I brought combined.

I've since jumped on the freeze dried and dehydrated food bandwagon. I can bring more food with less weight.

I still bring my MRE's but that is on my kayak voyages where the weight is not an issue and I dont have to cook out on the open water.

[Surplusman]

The only part of the MRE's I like are the vegetable crackers. Everything else is way too heavy for me.

[mikec]

There will probably be a shortage of MRE's for the foreseeable future due to the fact that alot of them were shipped to Haiti after their earthquake. Hopefully, those that survived will get a good MRE meal.

[ShelterLeopard]

I kinda like the MREs, but honestly, I think the Korr Pasta Sides are the best. They’re much less expensive, I like the taste, etc… However, for my upcoming thru, I bought about 10 MREs (mainly backpacker’s pantry, mountain house, some alpineaire, etc…), and some I’m quite excited about. I have them spaced out, so I get about one per week for the first couple months, just for a bad day/ day I really don’t want to cook, ‘cause then I just heat the water, pour it in and let it sit while I set up camp. (Usually I set up camp first, but on that kinda day, who knows?)

I keep them in the original packagin, don't really mind the extra 1/2 ounce, and it keeps it tidy. Campmor has a pretty good selection. The ones I got for my thru are ones I mostly have not yet tried. Two I am especially excited about are sweet and sour pork, and mandarin orange chicken.

[GeneralLee10]

M=Makes
R=Re-end's
E=Explode
:D:);)

[Johnny Appleseed]

Knorr is awesome food. I like the rice sides over the pasta sides. The rice sides are bigger and fill you up and also the pasta sides got old for me. Mexican, spanish, teriyaki, dirty rice, and chicken flavored rice I eat nearly every other night. hy-vee brand rice and beans are awesome.

I bring ramen along as a filler but do not add much (no more then 1/2 the packet) of the flavoring as it is bad tasting and for your body. I even add ramen to my instant mashed potatoes. It is the closest thing to a gut bomb I can get on the trail. Also add cheese to everything. I add a chunk of cheese and my stomach gets much more full then w/o it. I do not understand why as I only add an average amount, but my body is getting more nutrition, or cheese is heavy on the stomach or something. Science might explain this.

[ShelterLeopard]

Meant Knorr- I always say Korr. Oops... Cheese is something that's always i nmy pack too. (And often, summer sausage, and in cooler months, bacon.)

[Jager]

I carried MREs (actually the Canadian version, IMPs) on a hike once, and never again. They were reasonably good tasting for what they were, and had a lot of extra goodies, but they just weigh too darn much.

They were designed to be kicked out of the back of an APC, not for hikers to carry. Like others, I dehydrate and make my own meals, which are far lighter and tastier.

[Jack Tarlin]

Dunno if anyone's mentioned this, but I've seen MRE's out there that were half as old as the hiker eating them.

Be careful if you get them on-line or at an Army-Navy store, etc.

For those who think they may rely on these while hiking, I suggest you check out www.mreinfo.com which has all sorts of useful information, including the very easy way to determine how old your MRE actually is.

For example, watch out for the dark brown wrapper, unless of course, you really enjoy eating something that was prepared and packaged before the mid nineties. :eek:

[prain4u]

The main reasons I don't carry MRE's:

1. I can cook a better tasting dinner for less weight
2. There's additional stuff in MRE's that I don't necessarily want
3. There's a good bit of packaging that has to be carried out

And to those that say field strip the thing before leaving and discard the
stuff that's not needed, then what you're left with is a dinner that is perhaps several years old, that costs more, weighs more, and tastes worse than something I can make on my own.

I am at an Army conference as I type this. So, it is fair to say that I have eaten more than my fair share of MREs. :eek:

I like MREs--but not for hiking. Everything quoted above is SO true. The WHOLE meal (candy, crackers, etc) has a lot of calories--but the whole meal is also extremely bulky and heavy. If you strip it down and take just the entree packet, the entree packet itself can have 180 calories or less and weigh a lot. An entree from someplace like Mountain House will probably be cheaper and usually have more calories. It may sometimes weigh less too.

I have occasionally brought one or two of the MRE meat entree packets with me on a hike --just to have a burger patty or chicken breast on the trail. Heavy--but convenient.

[Doooglas]

We've had them. Okay, not the geratest IMO - too heavy for backpacking though. made me appreciate what my nephew is praobly eating in Afghanistan.
Don't bet on that.:rolleyes:
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/08/06/barracks-and-burger-king-u-s-builds-a-supersized-base-in-afgh/7

[Doughnut]

Don't bet on that.:rolleyes:
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/08/06/barracks-and-burger-king-u-s-builds-a-supersized-base-in-afgh/7


World of difference between BK or PH (or any others) in the States and in other countries.

Went to fast food in Saudi Arabia and Korea, NOT the same!!!

doughNut

[JustaTouron]

Tried them once on an overnight hike. My son really really wanted to try them and it is the only thing he asked for for his 11th birthday.

My review:

* they are a bit heavy.
* They don't taste much better or much worse than freeze dried.
* none of the places that sell them offer gift wrapping, but they are very easy to wrap. (maybe not relevant to most)

As for the strip them down and throw out the component suggestion.

http://theepicenter.com/mre_military_meal_ready_to_eat.html

sell the entrees, sides etc as stand alone or you can buy the full packet. If you just want the entree would make sense just to buy that instead of throwing away a lot of stuff.

[SGT Rock]

The main reasons I don't carry MRE's:

1. I can cook a better tasting dinner for less weight
2. There's additional stuff in MRE's that I don't necessarily want
3. There's a good bit of packaging that has to be carried out

And to those that say field strip the thing before leaving and discard the
stuff that's not needed, then what you're left with is a dinner that is perhaps several years old, that costs more, weighs more, and tastes worse than something I can make on my own.

Agree with Jack.

I haven't eaten an MRE in YEARS - on purpose too. I've got a case in the basement in case the Red hoard ever comes over, otherwise I'd rather eat Liptons.

[Blue Jay]

Agree with Jack.

I haven't eaten an MRE in YEARS - on purpose too. I've got a case in the basement in case the Red hoard ever comes over, otherwise I'd rather eat Liptons.

Thank you sooo much for that. I have not heard the phrase "Red hoard" for decades, such wonderful memories. The Red hoard is now more capitalistic than we are, they only come over now to buy Harleys from us. I carry an MRE (just the one pouch) as a first aid kit. Suck down a fast 1000 calories can help a great deal to get you to a road in an emegency.

[sherrill]

I've got a case in the basement in case the Red hoard ever comes over.

And the wardrobe to match, sarge. :D

[Jack Tarlin]

This is getting kinda funny. Unless you plan on hoarding or saving the Communists when they arrive, I believe the word you mean is "horde". :D

[ShelterLeopard]

I hoard communists. Save 'em for later!

[Atreus]

The Winter MREs are much tastier than the regular.

[TIDE-HSV]

Agree with Jack.

I haven't eaten an MRE in YEARS - on purpose too. I've got a case in the basement in case the Red hoard ever comes over, otherwise I'd rather eat Liptons.

We actually need bunches of the Red Horde to come over and visit - and bring back dollars we've pumped over there...

[fredmugs]

Just seeing the title of this thread made me want to gag. MRE's came out when I was on active duty. We were out in the middle of the desert for a HAWK missile shoot and I got the worst case of food poisoning ever. They were going to helo vac me out but I stuck it out overnight but had to go back to the base the next day. Completely dehydrated and a white cell count off the chart. Gimme C-Rats anyday.

Hasn't the Red Horde been replaced by the Rag Horde? Sorry - couldn't resist.

[juma]

I was out at Twenty-Nine Palms observing field training about 10 years ago. One of the guys I was with asked our marine driver if the ham steak MRE was good. The marine said "If you eat that, you won"t sh#t for a week." He was right.

[fredmugs]

I was out at Twenty-Nine Palms observing field training about 10 years ago. One of the guys I was with asked our marine driver if the ham steak MRE was good. The marine said "If you eat that, you won"t sh#t for a week." He was right.

Since you ***** like 5 times a day that had to be real tough on you.

[safn1949]

I picked up some MRE's last year and they were awful.I had a bunch of them in the mid 90's and they were good,but they seemed to have made a lot of changes to them.

You guys are lucky you never had to eat C rations.I wouldn't feed them to my dog and boy did I eat a bunch of them in the service.:D

[juma]

Since you ***** like 5 times a day that had to be real tough on you.

thats why I didn't eat one - I didn't want to break my pace just for a ham steak from yesteryear. think how much less weight I carry than you!

[juma]

I picked up some MRE's last year and they were awful.I had a bunch of them in the mid 90's and they were good,but they seemed to have made a lot of changes to them.

You guys are lucky you never had to eat C rations.I wouldn't feed them to my dog and boy did I eat a bunch of them in the service.:D


the hot combo on c-rats is peaches and poundcake for breakfast and spiced beef and crackers n cheese for lunch. for dinner, 2 cans of beanieweanies. them were days.....

[juma]

______________________

[Wise Old Owl]

I was able to obtain one of the new ones though a freind because I expressed an interest... Great fun and not bad.

[Edvvard]

Too many... Not worth it imo.

[Hooch]

. . . .One of the guys I was with asked our marine driver if the ham steak MRE was good. . . .Marine is a title and therefore capitalized, please. Just sayin'. :D

On a separate note, I love to see how many people have picked up MRE's at a surplus stores or gotten them from a friend, etc. and snivel about how bad they are. Try being in the field for weeks at a time in crappy weather, little sleep and being on the move more often than you're not. MRE's aren't exactly a culinary delicacy, but they're food and that's good enough.

[Surplusman]

[QUOTE=fredmugs;1011808]Gimme C-Rats anyday.

C-Rat Ham & Lima Beans (Ham & Nasties, Ham & MF's)...mmmmm...what a taste treat. The only one I couldn't stomach at all was the Chopped Ham & Eggs, even after drenching it with hot sauce. Remember the ancient cigarettes that came with them? They were so dry the tobacco would fall out the end if you didn't twist them shut like a joint.

I've had MRE's & the only item I go for is the vegetable crackers, which you can buy separately. Oh yeah, if you cut the plastic outer packaging for MRE's right, you can use two of them for camp shoes if you don't have huge feet. But I wouldn't buy two MRE's just for that.

[bluffhead]

i tried them in the marines rather starve if its a must then field strip them. taste like garbage though a few of my friends like them.

[EasternBox]

I have attempted to eat them, but just can't do it. The bread is the worst! Smells like dog biscuits.