M.R.E.'s

[vfherman]

OK, I am planning a hike for Veteran's Day weekend. M.R.E.'s, how good are they? I saw some at the local army surplus, but am not willing to spend $10 per MRE. Are they any good, or would it be better to pack some canned soup and camp stove?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Vinny

[Raul Perez]

They are not bad. Better than I thought but too heavy for backpacking. Get some mountain house freeze dried food from Sports Authority. Taste better and lighter.

[g8trh8tr]

They are not bad. Better than I thought but too heavy for backpacking. Get some mountain house freeze dried food from Sports Authority. Taste better and lighter.

They don't taste bad but they are not worth $10 a meal and the normal MREs are fairly heavy. If you do take them I would field strip the MRE and just carry the portion you want/need. The best MREs IMO are the arctic/cold weather MREs because they are dehydrated, light and taste very good. You can tell the difference because the arctic MRE bags are white. Good luck and enjoy your hike.

[Majortrauma]

Raul is absolutely correct. I actually like the taste of all of them and they're loaded with calories and protein. But...they're too heavy for hiking in my opinion having actually used them for a hike one time, I think think they're too heavy and $10.00 is a lot of money for them. If you can ever get your hands on the RCW (Rations, Cold weather) it would be worth grabbing a few of them. They're very hard t come by and are dynamite in cold weather. We ate them during cold weather training (USMC in Bridgeport and they will keep you warm.
If you decide to take them, definitely field strip them.

[leaftye]

I like the taste of MRE's. They're heavy, but I'd rather carry an upstripped MRE instead of canned food.

[sheepdog]

MRE's are ok for short hikes. They are heavy, but they taste pretty good.If I was going to spend the money, I'd by mountain house meals instead.

[Mags]

The military does not use MREs for when their troops 'backpack'...why should we? This is what they use...http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/rations...mcw/mcwabt.asp

If you have the logistic support of the US military..MREs work well!

[gunner76]

Besides being heavy and expensive, eating MRE's every day will gets old fast (try eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner for weeks). Much better alternatives out there for backpacking.

[blind1587]

MREs are not too bad for a few days, but they do get old after a while. They are a little heavy but they pack a lot of calories into those meals. And you are not really carrying too much extra weight, considering that you will not need a stove or fuel.

Although the cold weather MREs are much better tasting and have a lot more calories, you do need a stove to cook them.

[beakerman]

When I was younger and MRE's were someing fairly new (they got rid of K and C rats) we used to use MRE's for wekend hikes. I t made things easy and the fact taht our scout master stole them from the National Guard base made them extremely affordable. (sorry mr steve---I'm sure teh statute of limitations has expired) I can not reccomend them for hiking now. AS pointed out ther are indeed heavy and they are a bit pricey from your surplus store. You can get cheaper ones online however so that is not a big deal and in fact meal for meal the online prices compare very well with store prices I find for mountain house. That does not change the fact they are heavy. I do use them when canoing simply becasue wieght is not such a massive consideration in a canoe--bulk yes wieght not so much.

So if you buy them online they are not anymore expensive than other backpacking foods--unless you are a dehydrator person. If you are onkly out for a few days (long weekend) and you don't mind the extra pounds (at least your pack gets lighter every time you stop to eat) then they are not bad for back packing but not long distance/long term treks.

[Newb]

I use the MRE Cracker/peanut butter combo. they keep forever and deliver 450 calories.

[ShelterLeopard]

Meh. Real military MREs are not all that great. I would go with something like Mountain House or Backpackers Pantry. (here is a link http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/...0226_200368408 ). They have some really good food and are lighter weight.

But if you really want to save money and have equally good food, I would just get some Knorr Pasta Sides (which taste better even though they take longer and slightly more effort) and maybe throw in a few packets of tuna or salmon to jack up the protein.

[Spider]

They're not bad, some of them can be pretty good actually, though I'd stay away from the eggs. They're costly but if you buy in bulk they can be cheaper. They're pretty heavy though and generate a lot of waste. For backpacking I'd steer clear of them.

[Manchu Infantry]

Before field operations, we always took our initial supply of MREs and broke them up into what we needed prior to heading out. Sure it made it lighter than bringing the whole thing but you still had alot of trash to haul with you once done. For extended section hiking I wouldn't advise taking them. Plus... I'm burned out on that "MRE taste"... everything tastes the same to me now, no matter what the menu says it is. Kind of like Hamburger Helper.

[RamQuad]

MREs taste awful after about a full week of eating them for three meals a day. To put some perspective on how bad the egg meal is, while I was a student at Ranger School I was issued the egg omelet, couldn't trade it, couldn't eat it, and ended up skipping the meal. I ended up losing a grand total of 35 pounds in 61 days while at the course. Those were the best 1800 calories that I have ever skipped!

[Wise Old Owl]

RamQuad you dug up an old thread full of misinformation, most of the thread is based on older MRE or they are consumer MRE - Feild Stripping a current (real) MRE will not make it lighter. They arn't freeze dried. They are loaded with calories and water. The pack of six heaters weighs less than an ounce and the "Fun Pack inside is an ounce or two... but with the cardboard boxes and all the other packing its not in line with Backpacking. One can get two or three meals freeze dried and 1/2 the weight and = the calories with OTC and pro pak shelf stable products. Mags post above and subsequent posts are on target with my thoughts.

[Different Socks]

Some are good and tasty. But there just too big and bulky.

[Mags]

The link for army 'backpacker' MREs via Wayback machine for those who asked:
http://web.archive.org/web/201107160...mcw/mcwabt.asp

[Tipi Walter]

Some are good and tasty. But there just too big and bulky.

They're just TOO SALTY.

[Tharwood]

What ever happend to dried potatos in a ziploc bag???? Just add H2O... Simple