I'm talking about these: http://www.survivaltabs.com
I have known of them for a long time. Now I'm curious enough to try these. I did a test where I ate 1 mainstay 1200cal bar and 1200cal worth of a Datrex 2400cal ration, for 1 day each.(3 400cal "meals", average work day with moderate physical exertion.) I was alive but tired and hungry at the end of each test. I guess what I'm looking for how did you use the Survival Tabs? As directed? When you used the Survival Tabs as directed were you constantly hungry? Did you feel like you had enough energy? They list the daily calories at 240. Thats a lot less than the average 2000cal a day diet. And less than the 1200cal a day for the Mainstay Ration. The Datrex instructions indicate 800cal a day. I tried to search ETS forums but could not find anything.

Aren't survival tabs supposed to be a supplement to make whatever food you have last longer by providing you with vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins the food you have might not have.

These are a usefull option. What they are not is the equal to an MRE, dead moose, fruitcake or Thanksgiving in two weeks. The tab's appeal is more to our psyche than stomach. 'Survival Tabs' fall into the realm of kit that sacrifices performance for minimum wieght or bulk. I am going back to fire hardening my new spear over my ESBIT stove. The annual migration of my favourite survival food is close to getting underway and I have my annual ambush site prepared.

I have seen them at BQM, but have neglected them as a gimmick. I am highly sceptical, as the human body can in many cases survive for months w/o any food. After reading about the camel jockey, now I am curious. I wonder how they stack up to spirulina tablets.

a military repo ration outfit sells these in a Altoids
style box with some sort of WW2 label..and a refill tube
comes with it..they say something like "survival tabs..as
in keeps you alive but expect to be hungry" or something
like that..i would think if you were in a life raft or
not active in some sort of shelter..basement..cave..??
and had nothing else these would keep you from not
starving as fast as nothing at all..

I have never tried the tablets. I have tried the survival bars and stay hungry because they are so nasty.

Quite a few years ago a friend of mine ate nothing but survival tabs for about a week. If I remember correctly (an ify proposition at best), he said that he was a little bit hungry, but not bad, had enough energy to get by day to day, all in all he said it was a pretty good deal...

]Yeah. Thats what got me on this search for some sort of compact ration that is shelf stable at car trunk temperatures (80-100deg)for use in a car BOB or as a light weight backup to regular food while backpacking. That was the WW2 concept behind the emergency rations. A ration that I really liked is the U.S. Military Food Packet Survival General Purpose- Improved. It has good variety. 6 bars. 2 Shortbread bar. 1 Granola bar. 1 cornflake cereal bar. 1 Chocolate chip desert bar. And 1 Wintergreen bar. The Wintergreen bar a 1"x3"x1/2" certs like breath mint. That was the hardest to eat but very refreshing. It also comes with a packet of ice tea and a bouillon packet. Rated at 1147cal total for 5 days. I ate the whole thing in one day. I think the variety made me feel better. They are hard to find. My local gunshow sometimes has 2004 dated ones for $5. Shelf life is 5 years @ 80 deg. They can also be found here: Life Support International but I've never bought from these guys.

CDVXF7--very good link to the food pack source--i have seen
these at twice that price and the ones i bought at surplus
stores are always at least 10 years old..

Hey, OBG. Actually, I remember it being 4 days, but my memory's not all that great, either. Anyway, the tabs weren't bad and I used them during a work week, monitoring my energy level, and I functioned fine without any negative effects. I had planned to do a week, but got tired of eating the same thing, day after day. Plan for variety. BTW, I started out pretty healthy and was about 35 to 37 years old at the time.

Regarding bars, I have tried Mainstay and (lemon, raspberry and vanilla) Millennium and I believe both are good. Millennium gives you variety and this is the best place I have found for them:
http://www.emprep.com/sos%20rations%20energy%20bars.htm