MREs

[juane]

Do these things have a shelf life?
And anyone have a mail order source to buy them?

I like to keep a couple or three in the truck for emergencies.

juane

[Poser]

http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/rations/meals/mres.htm

[drohweder]

I have eaten these before on active duty tours. Unless your in a pinch, save your money and just throw a bag of power bars in the truck for the emergencies. They are fun to eat though!

[wesintl]

Personally I don't think the new ones are that bad. I use them hunting every year. It's nice to have a hot meal when your in the woods from 12+ hours hiking around. I didn't serve so i'm not jaded on how bad they are. I think shelf life is something like 10 years but don't quote me on that. Now..powerbars I can't stand after a year. I bike quite a bit so I have bars floating around in the trunk, packs etc. They do have dates on them and any time i bit into one that was over a year you could tell it was old.

[drohweder]

Good point about stale powerbars! I just recently found one in my camelback and it had to be well over a year old. I now need dental work for the chipped tooth!!!

[s79bj40]

i work for a comp that makes a type of mre. Just they need to be heated. Talk about effort. But I eat them several times a week and have eaten 4 year old chicken b4 and it was goooood mmm. our stuff really has a shelf life of 2 years, less if you leave them in the sun. They also make an awsome lamb meatballs in bolognaise sauce and amazing goat madras.

Sam

[dinkleberry]

I've had military ones which are not bad. Very good for emergencies, and have good shelf life.

Beware of outdoor store (MSR, backpackers pantry, etc. ) ones. They're over priced and taste like shit.

They also tend to be high in sodium. Almost killed my hiking partner, who was salt sensetive with High BP.

[hj60]

I've used those. Only good ones are the breakfast ones. And about the
high salt, only Ramen has more.
Not really what you're looking for, but when we go on weekend camping
trips, we bring Skillet Sensations. Much better nutrition-wise, lower
sodium, etc. And tasty to boot. Only downside is they're frozen, so if your cooler/fridge ain't well enough insulated, they don't last.

[ats72fj]

www.longlifefood.com has some good selections. I use them for camping. They claim to have a 10 year shelf life.

[Junk]

Definitely must taste better than yo momma. That said, on long trips I live on Ramen. You know your climbing trip is getting old when you stop fantasizing about sex and start fantasizing about food.