MRE's. Yes or NO?

[Amigi'sLastStand]

Wanted to start a thread about MRE's. Seems like their mentioned in a lot for food threads, so let's put our opinions here.

My opinion:

Whole MREs are way too heavy and to expensive. I've seen them for $5 to 10$ per. Forget that.
What I have done is to buy just the main course part in bulk via ebay. I usually end up get 12 mains for $12. I pack six with me as a change up between endless days of Lipton and cheese spread and oatmeal, etc. I put six in my mail drops each couple of weeks. I will eat the main course, say chicken pasta, using the MRE heater and jetboil some litpon veg soup with crackers and a cup of fruit. Mmmm. Filling and good for ya!
Great break in the monotony of my trail eating habits.

Info on MREs: http://www.safetycentral.com/mrfahishliin.html
Quick points from me:
MREs are a full balanced meal meant for soldiers in combat burning 6000 cal/day. Each part of an MRE fulfills a different part of the balanced meal.
The main course part usually has the carb and protein with some vitamin requirements. If you know nutrition, easy to figure out what the main course contains and what you will need to supplement.

Please post your opinions or experiences for other.
Thanks,
Amigi'sLastStand

[Bob Baker]

I think theyre a little overpriced and way too heavy. Havent thought about going with just the main course, but it sounds good. I like the lipton noodles and comparable stuff along with some tuna for their nutritional value, price, and weight.

[Buckles]

Wanted to start a thread about MRE's. Seems like their mentioned in a lot for food threads, so let's put our opinions here.

My opinion:

Whole MREs are way too heavy and to expensive. I've seen them for $5 to 10$ per. Forget that.
What I have done is to buy just the main course part in bulk via ebay. I usually end up get 12 mains for $12. I pack six with me as a change up between endless days of Lipton and cheese spread and oatmeal, etc. I put six in my mail drops each couple of weeks. I will eat the main course, say chicken pasta, using the MRE heater and jetboil some litpon veg soup with crackers and a cup of fruit. Mmmm. Filling and good for ya!
Great break in the monotony of my trail eating habits.

Info on MREs: http://www.safetycentral.com/mrfahishliin.html
Quick points from me:
MREs are a full balanced meal meant for soldiers in combat burning 6000 cal/day. Each part of an MRE fulfills a different part of the balanced meal.
The main course part usually has the carb and protein with some vitamin requirements. If you know nutrition, easy to figure out what the main course contains and what you will need to supplement.

Please post your opinions or experiences for other.
Thanks,
Amigi'sLastStand

There are many variations of MRE's on eBay. Can you post a link to the specific ones you're buying?

[Just Jeff]

The new ones are pretty good, but usually only about 1200-1500 calories each. At 3 full MREs, that's still about 3800 calories per day. The main course has lots of vitamins, but many of the calories are in the fruit (usually in heavy syrup) and the pudding/drink mix/dessert.

I take MREs now and then to mix it up, and I really like using the heater to have a hot lunch w/o getting out the whole kitchen bag. Sure there are lighter foods out there, but food is the one place where I don't like to worry so much about cutting weight. I'll sacrifice a bit of weight for convenience and variety...fresh oranges, for example.

[Seeker]

MREs were designed to sustain troops at a bare minimum of nutrition for 30 days in combat, before more 'normal' rations caught up with them. there have been improvements in taste, nutrition, and menus over the years. as mentioned, each course fills a different nutritional niche, and the main courses are heavy on carbs and protein. that said, there were times when i've lost some pretty significant weight (15-20 lbs, after starting out at 140 lbs or so) eating 4 MREs a day in just a couple weeks. but they're better than nothing. keep in mind as you read this that i may be slightly biased against them by forced exposure, more than twice...

they are not designed to be lightweight. there are designed and packaged to be dropped by parachute (tied down to a pallet), tossed out of the backs of trucks and helicopters, and carried around by infantrymen in their rucksacks, next to things like ammo, explosives, old socks, gun oil, and other stinky and/or sharp items. i forget the bursting strength of the packaging, but it's been calculated and works. the spoon is bombproof, and one of the coolest items in the package.

i don't use them mostly because they're heavy, even if you just take the 'main' course out of all that packaging. they have a lot of 'trash' too, if you don't 'strip' them. finally, i'm not all that keen on the taste. the older ones were ok, when the menu choices were pretty solidly meat, potatos, and things i normally ate. the newer ones include too much spicey/mexican/fast food stuff that i won't eat in normal circumstances, and certainly won't eat while camping. no offense to anyone, but tomatos and i don't get along (pizza, mexican, italian, etc.)

price is a factor as well, and when you weigh it, literally, against the freeze dried stuff made by companies like Mountain House, the freeze dried stuff comes out ahead in my book. i'd rather pay a tad more and have it be lighter. better still, i dry my own meats and veggies.

taste-wise, both have a little 'packaged taste' overall. some of it's good, some of it's bad, most of it's in-between, with both MREs and freeze dried. but like i said above, i don't like most of the MRE menu choices. there are far more (in my book) 'normal' dinners in the freeze dried arena, so if i'm going to pay a lot for a dinner, i'll stick with freeze dried things that i can and will actually eat.

overall, i use ramen/lipton noodles as a base for just about everything i eat for dinner while camping. my meat choices are limited to foil-pouch chicken and homemade jerky (venison or beef). a little powdered milk, maybe a handful of home-dried veggies, and i'm golden. and it's a whole lot cheaper.

i might not turn down an offer of a good MRE after a couple weeks of lipton, but i don't think, overall, they're worth the cost/weight/limited (to my taste) menu, and don't factor them into my planning.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

After 23 years in the military - much of it in 'geographical separated units', the male dinosaur would probably have me for lunch if I tried to feed him an MRE.

[Just Jeff]

Hehe - I met some thrus at a VA shelter who had absolutely no problem accepting the MREs I humped in for them...

[fiddlehead]

They have their place.
I use them for a meal when whitewater kayaking. You don't have to worry about getting them wet, and they float. You can heat them up fairly easy if you have the time but you can also eat them uncooked.
I can't imagine carrying them for hikiing though. I care about weight too much when it's on my back.

[The Solemates]

and to expensive. I've seen them for $5 to 10$ per. Forget that.
What I have done is to buy just the main course part in bulk via ebay. I usually end up get 12 mains for $12. I pack six with me as a change up between endless days of Lipton and cheese spread and oatmeal, etc. I put six in my mail drops each couple of weeks. I will eat the main course, say chicken pasta, using the MRE heater and jetboil some litpon veg soup with crackers and a cup of fruit. Mmmm. Filling and good for ya!
Great break in the monotony of my trail eating habits.



this is exactly what we did as well, just to add a little variety. bought about 30 or so maion courses off eBay and had one about once a week or so on the trail.

[sparky2000]

Pulled up K rats on ebay. Those meals were (by my old opinion) good but heavier then MRE. Spam with potatoesare still the best.

[SGT Rock]

MREs suck. They taste bad, they weigh a lot, and they cost too much. You can get tuna and chicken in foil packs at stores these days as well as summer sausages and even foil pack ground beef (not that good, but still better than MREs). With Liptons noodles and other great stuff like Zataran's Red Beans and Rice or Jumbilya mix you can have great tasting meals that are easy to get along the trail and easy to fix. Given all that I wouldn't go out of my way to get an MRE and I wouldn't accept one on the trail unless I was starving and there was nothing else.

[cannonball]

MRES? Sheesh, just load up on mountain west dinners they are lighter, cheaper, easier to pack, and far more tasty. AQlso easier to prepare.

[Footslogger]

Given all that I wouldn't go out of my way to get an MRE and I wouldn't accept one on the trail unless I was starving and there was nothing else.
==========================================
Roger That !! Now THERE's a true veterans read on the whole MRE thang. Gotta walk a few miles in the moccasins to understand.

'Slogger

[SGT Rock]

==========================================
Roger That !! Now THERE's a true veterans read on the whole MRE thang. Gotta walk a few miles in the moccasins to understand.

'Slogger

Don't you know it. We use them now for interrogation purposes.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I haven't tasted the newer models, but the older MRE's were truly awful. I can believe detainees would talk rather than be forced to eat them.

[Footslogger]

Don't you know it. We use them now for interrogation purposes.
================================
Now that is what I call borderline "Cruel and Inhumane" treatment of prisoners.

'Slogger

[fredmugs]

Concur with Sgt Rock. When the Marine Corps first switched over to MREs I got food poisoning and at one point they were going to helo-vac me out of the field. I wish they would have after the ride I had in the duece and a half truck. Prisoners? Yes. Starving hikers? No.

[Just Jeff]

I'd agree on the old style. The new ones aren't so bad, though. IMO, anyway.

[MOWGLI]

I might carry an MRE in my pack at gunpoint, but I'd have to think about it.

Willingly? You'd sooner see me carrying a piano out on the trail.

[Skyline]

Too heavy. Too expensive. Too nasty.

[Old Hillwalker]

No MREs for this old soldier. But, however I would love to get my hands on the LRRP rations we got in Viet Nam. I loved them.

[K0OPG]

Was first series in Marine bootcamp in early 80's to get issued MRE's. should have known something was wrong with them when the DI's wouldn't eat them. Not only did they taste terrible, they would stop-ya-up for about a week. Not fun.

the latter ones were better. actually very good. I liked the old meat and potatoe ones.

The latest ones, not real good. I agree with another post in that, too many fast food type meals. Plus, instead of stopping-ya-up they would go right through you. Not a real good thing in the field. Gave a whole new meaning to maneuvers in the field.:eek:

[Just Jeff]

I didn't poop for the first nine days I was on the new MREs.

[Skidsteer]

I didn't poop for the first nine days I was on the new MREs.

Well. That settles the question for me.

[wilderness bob]

Dirt, I would rather eat dirt! (just kidding). After 24 years of service, I can find many different food items on the market that is more palatable for my abused taste buds. WB

[fiddlehead]

Wow, i'm really surprised at the comments on here. It looks to me like you folks haven't been hungry enough yet. Never say never to food. I've eaten all kinds of stuff to satisfy hunger and i must say that MRE's are not so tasty, but they will do the job.
I once hiked with a vegan out west and when i saw him a few years later, he was coming east to hike the Long trail. I was shocked when he told me he was carrying shredded beef mixed with lard (only) for his food. To go from a vegan to this amazed me. It's whatever keeps you going!

[grrickar]

Call me a nut, but MREs are not bad IMO. My tastes have been questioned by my friends and coworkers from time to time...:-?

I would say no to them on the trail due to the weight and the ton or garbage you would have to carry after consuming one.

I think they taste better than most Mountain House meals though.

[Just Jeff]

Well. That settles the question for me.

Well, I also had jet lag, a significant increase in exertion level, and the stress of being in a combat zone to go along with the MREs...I imagine that had more to do with it than just the diet change.

But seriously, once the support guys arrived to give us hot chow, sometimes we'd just stay back and eat MREs instead.

Re: the garbage, I'm not buying it. A foil pack for the main meal isn't any more garbage than than the packet a MH meal comes in...you just have to break the meals down beforehand.

They're definitely heavier, but I bet they're cheaper than MH-type meals if you just compare entree to entree - a full MRE has a lot more than a single package of freeze-dried food.

I'm not singing the praises of MREs by any means, just saying that they get more flak than they deserve sometimes! And you guys who say the old ones are better than the new ones are on crack. But EYOMREs (or not), I guess.

[SGT Rock]

they get more flak than they deserve sometimes!

Naw, they get over easy. If they got the real flak they deserved we would be eating something else in the Army.

[Newb]

Taste Great, are perfect for less than 3 days of hiking, cook fast, are loaded with calories and nutrients and are competitively priced with other hiking foods. I love the Black Bean burrito. You can keep the Captain's Chicken.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I do black bean burritos from my own dried mix and it is far lighter (over 50%) and superior in taste to the MRE version. My version contains coarsely ground whole corn; dried black beans, mushroom pieces, black olives, onions, sweet pepper, tomatoes & Parmesan cheese and the usual spices. Add a few bombproof tortillas. The cost for my mix to feed two hungry dinos with healthy appetites is about $3.50 US.

[SGTdirtman]

I dont see whats wrong with them... The ones from the 80's are a far cry from the ones now.

Half the stuff is just normal stuff from a can they put in a plastic wrapper, I love the taste of almost all the entree's and never had a probably with getting "backed up" These are pretty much all I carry when I hike. No need for pots, stoves, forks or spoons. I slurp them cold right out of the bag... yummmmmm

Plus the entrees fit nicely in cargo pockets

[Mags]

MREs make a lot of sense if you have the logistical supply train of the US military! :-)

Found these links because I was curious what the military uses for the modern day equivalent of LRRPs:

http://www.usariem.army.mil/nutri/milrat.htm
http://www.qmfound.com/army_family_of_rations.htm

THe RLW-30 is less than one pound and as 2000+ calories! Egads!

Rock (or anyone else): Just what the heck is in these super-duper meals that pack so many calories in a sub-pound package? Freeze-dried Crisco? ;) Sounds like backpacker food on steroids! And are they remotely edible??!?!

[SGT Rock]

I don't know, you have to be in special units for them to send you the things if you order them through the log system.

MREs still suck, even the new ones.

[Vi+]

My military service ended during the period when canned rations were being replaced by MRE rations. C-Rats had canned ham which was so praiseworthy, army procurement must have really screwed up. We loved the change. The only thing I missed was, when you found a vehicle and had time to heat the can, you could heat C-Rations on a vehicle’s manifold.

At home, we were well fed. In the field, however, it was most often catch as catch can.

I met a veteran of a U.S. Marine Corps Force Recon unit who told me, when he was in the military, they had once been in the field for days, as was the duration of their assignments, and due to rotate back the next day. They had eaten everything edible, leaving only the “garbage.”

They incidentally met with some of us. Our guys had been in the field for months, had no idea when they’d leave, had run out of food, and were drying leaves on their packs for tobacco. Our guys asked if they had surplus food. The Marines handed over what extra “garbage” they had. Our guys sat down in place and ate the “garbage” as if it was gourmet fare.

Tastes change, depending upon what's available.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

A pound is about 454.5 gms. A gram of carb or protien provides 4 calories while a gram of fat provides 9 calories. An MRE RLW-30 provides about 2100 calories per 454.5 gms of weight so an average of only 4.63 calories per gram.

For comparison purposes - a pack of ramen weighs 42 gms and supplies 190 calories - it supplies 4.52 calories per gram. A pouch of easy Mac weighs 61 gms and provides 250 calories - it supplies 4.1 calories per gm. A tbsp of olive oil is 13.5 gms and provides 119 calories - it supplies 8.82 calories per gram.

[Mags]

A pound is about 454.5 gms. A gram of carb or protien provides 4 calories while a gram of fat provides 9 calories. An MRE RLW-30 provides about 2100 calories per 454.5 gms of weight so an average of only 4.63 calories per gram.

For comparison purposes - a pack of ramen weighs 42 gms and supplies 190 calories - it supplies 4.52 calories per gram. A pouch of easy Mac weighs 61 gms and provides 250 calories - it supplies 4.1 calories per gm. A tbsp of olive oil is 13.5 gms and provides 119 calories - it supplies 8.82 calories per gram.






Remember, it is also LESS than a pound...(454 grams) with 2100+ calories. Other than the olive oil, it has more calories/gram than the other food you quoted.

Seems to be "backpacker" type food for the US Military.

So my question still remains: what's in it?

[Footslogger]

So my question still remains: what's in it?

=======================================

It's SOILENT GREEN !!

'Slogger

[MOWGLI]

I dont see whats wrong with them... The ones from the 80's are a far cry from the ones now.



What are you talking about? You were 7 in 1990. :D

[Mags]

=======================================

It's SOILENT GREEN !!

'Slogger

Supplied with Tobasco no doubt. ;)

[Amigi'sLastStand]

Best way to find them on ebay is search 'MRE Entree' or 'MRE MISC'.
Just bid on two more while looking for the answer to the question!

[KirkMcquest]

Wanted to start a thread about MRE's. Seems like their mentioned in a lot for food threads, so let's put our opinions here.

My opinion:

Whole MREs are way too heavy and to expensive. I've seen them for $5 to 10$ per. Forget that.
What I have done is to buy just the main course part in bulk via ebay. I usually end up get 12 mains for $12. I pack six with me as a change up between endless days of Lipton and cheese spread and oatmeal, etc. I put six in my mail drops each couple of weeks. I will eat the main course, say chicken pasta, using the MRE heater and jetboil some litpon veg soup with crackers and a cup of fruit. Mmmm. Filling and good for ya!
Great break in the monotony of my trail eating habits.

Info on MREs: http://www.safetycentral.com/mrfahishliin.html
Quick points from me:
MREs are a full balanced meal meant for soldiers in combat burning 6000 cal/day. Each part of an MRE fulfills a different part of the balanced meal.
The main course part usually has the carb and protein with some vitamin requirements. If you know nutrition, easy to figure out what the main course contains and what you will need to supplement.

Please post your opinions or experiences for other.
Thanks,
Amigi'sLastStand

Some of the preservatives and additives frighten me.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Mags, I searched and serached for the ingredients in MRE's without success. I did find several mentions of a warning label needing to be applied near the ingredient list, but nothing about what is actually in them.

[Amigi'sLastStand]

Wow, i'm really surprised at the comments on here. It looks to me like you folks haven't been hungry enough yet. Never say never to food. I've eaten all kinds of stuff to satisfy hunger and i must say that MRE's are not so tasty, but they will do the job.
I once hiked with a vegan out west and when i saw him a few years later, he was coming east to hike the Long trail. I was shocked when he told me he was carrying shredded beef mixed with lard (only) for his food. To go from a vegan to this amazed me. It's whatever keeps you going!

:-? Me too. Highly suprised. First thing I noticed was many ppl didn't seem to read the thread starter, which is proper forum etiquette to do. I never said the whole MRE, just the main. Secondly, since Halliburton won't be setting up a cafeteria anytime soon on the AT, I expected a little more objective advice from other former soldiers, sailors, and Marines.

1) No you won't poop much, that's the way its suppossed to work. Then you get the deer pellet poop, *blink, bling, bloop, blink*, and one piece of TP does it!:eek:

2) At a dollar a piece on ebay, they are far cheaper than any of that freeze dried crap at 7.99 a bag I have at my local retailers. :D

3) For ppl who maybe have not hiked a lot, I would rather have a newbie buy MRE's than use the ingenius alcohol stoves I see in the photo section. I have one and use it on my lighter treks, and some of you may too, but my experience on long haul hikes is: most ppl I have seen cant use them correctly, whine when the wind is high, spill DeNat all over the place and then put their fuel bottle and stove in their pack covered in DeNat. "Got a light?"

4) No, they don't taste the best, but better than most, and hey, Tabasco's cheap.

[SGT Rock]

Me too. Highly suprised. First thing I noticed was many ppl didn't seem to read the thread starter, which is proper forum etiquette to do. I never said the whole MRE, just the main. Secondly, since Halliburton won't be setting up a cafeteria anytime soon on the AT, I expected a little more objective advice from other former soldiers, sailors, and Marines.
Actually I did. The main course we are talking about are the worst parts.:p The only good stuff in the new ones are the snack foods that have been added and can be bought anywhere like tootsie rolls, pop-tarts, and combo snack crackers. mmmmmmmmmm


1) No you won't poop much, that's the way its suppossed to work. Then you get the deer pellet poop, *blink, bling, bloop, blink*, and one piece of TP does it!
Actually I wouldn't reccomend the one sheet trick unless you have short figernails and a good sense of humor:eek:

2) At a dollar a piece on ebay, they are far cheaper than any of that freeze dried crap at 7.99 a bag I have at my local retailers.

Yep, and I don't recommend that overpriced slop either, cheaper, lighter, and better tasting fair is available at any grocery store in the US and you can drive there and pick it out instead of doing internet orders :-?

3) For ppl who maybe have not hiked a lot, I would rather have a newbie buy MRE's than use the ingenius alcohol stoves I see in the photo section.

I would reccomend the other way around. Less weight and you could get better tasting food. Wouldn't want a newbie to think food (or a stove) has to be bad and weigh a lot and cost a lot to get on the trail .



4) No, they don't taste the best, but better than most, and hey, Tabasco's cheap.
And Zatarans is cheaper than MREs and tastes better - and you can still use tobasco in it too - in fact that is mo' better :D

[sarbar]

1) No you won't poop much, that's the way its suppossed to work. Then you get the deer pellet poop, *blink, bling, bloop, blink*, and one piece of TP does it!

2) At a dollar a piece on ebay, they are far cheaper than any of that freeze dried crap at 7.99 a bag I have at my local retailers.

3) For ppl who maybe have not hiked a lot, I would rather have a newbie buy MRE's than use the ingenius alcohol stoves I see in the photo section. I have one and use it on my lighter treks, and some of you may too, but my experience on long haul hikes is: most ppl I have seen cant use them correctly, whine when the wind is high, spill DeNat all over the place and then put their fuel bottle and stove in their pack covered in DeNat. "Got a light?"

4) No, they don't taste the best, but better than most, and hey, Tabasco's cheap.

You can do waaaay better making your own meals. And not getting bound up for a week.

Heck, unless you are a certified idiot, using a canister stove to boil a couple cups of water isn't rocket science.

I have never understood MRE's. Everytime I see one I start poking it and prodding it. It is squishy! They always make me think of those shelf stable Hormel meals :eek:

MRE's are things that make me not want to know how they do it..kind of like how the ARMY keeps trying to come up with shelf stable sandwiches :eek:

You can do way better with 30 minutes at your local grocery store :bananaBut, hey, each to their own ;)

[Rift Zone]

Too heavy. Too expensive. Too nasty.Heard that.

MRE=processed, pasturized food product. Yuck. I'd rather sustain on ramin and oatmeal.

[Newb]

http://www.longlifefood.com/

Go to this site and you can pick and choose the best of the MRE parts.

[RumpusParable]

generally i agree with the over-all concensus: not dehydrated = too heavy and too big, and the taste of most is horrific. that said, though, i do seriously miss the oatmeal cookie bars in the old ones. i traded like all hell for those and still look for them in surplus stores haha. they discontinued them in the new mre's. the vegetarian pasta meal in the new ones isn't too bad, but there are still much better options out there. i do carry one or two of the old mre heaters in my pack though as work both to heat food and bodies in cases of emergency.

[RumpusParable]

and the peanutbutter pouches are convenient to suck out of while hiking...

[Seeker]

I have never understood MRE's.

see, there you go, thinkin' again... if'n the army wanted you to think, they'da issued you a brain... look in yer helmit, soldier... do you see a brain in there? no. nothing but straps and webbing... so quit asking questions...(LOL):D


they serve their purpose well. they are ill suited for backpacking.

i don't wanna know how they make the bread 'shelf-stable' either... :D

[sarbar]

Lol..shelf stable bread..one of the mysteries of life that should be never understood....:eek:

[tweeter21]

I love MRE's. After 17 years of Army service, I still count on them for camping, hunting, or hiking trips. I will say that the whole meal (or multiple ones) is heavy and not convenient on a long trek. I, too, get several and just use the main courses and usually the peanut butter, chesse spread, and the crackers. Also, the cookie bars, or granola bars are great. Eventhough the new ones come with heaters, I still like to boil water in a canteen cup and set the main course packet in the water for a few minutes to heat it better. If you haven't had the newer MRE's, don't make a judgement based on the MRE's from years gone by. I used to hate them too.

[TheTwanger]

yeaaaa...Ever look at the ingredient list :O , more chemicals than meth... and its been stated again and again but i cannot help but emphasize from experience, constipation hazard...