Here's a recipe I found for a homemade survival bar. I haven't tried it myself yet. Go for it, and be sure to tell me how it tastes.

http://www.homemakingcottage.com/self/rationbar.html

That actually looks Tastey. I wouldn't have thought of adding the Jell-O (who would of thought you can make Jell-O without vodka?!).

-Blast

For the cereal I recommend Total.

I wouldn't really call these survival ration bars as there is not a lot of good energy food in the bars

I have used the below bars for quite some time. As for ingredients, you can add pretty much what you want.

Energy Bars- Unbaked
By: American Running Association Running and Fitnews
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup raisins or dried fruit and chopped
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup light Karo syrup

Mix it all well. Freeze in bar shapes until needed.

If well wrapped, I have found they will keep on the shelf about 3 months in temps below 80F....mind you, due to their addictive nature, they rarely last that long around here.

I use a fairly good tasting generic no-name powder from the local grocery store.

You will find that the peanut butter and other ingredients mask the protein powder. Also adding vanilla extract helps.

How do they store? If they don't have a good shelf life then they're not a 'survival ration' bar IMO...just a home made energy bar.

How does it hold up in a backpack in the middle of summer?

The longest I kept them was 3 months on the shelf and in my BOB. There was no noticeable taste difference and no ill effects. I am sure that the shelf life can be extended further with no trouble.

Just to add to this, I checked my Cliff brand energy bars which were purchased less then 2 weeks ago, the longest shelf is out to Aug 2008.

Up here, we do not get a lot of days above 80F although on hiking /camping trips in the mid to high 70F temp, they kept with no problem with the longest being 11 days in trip duration.

Up here, we do not get a lot of days below 90F in the summer, and often 100F+.

Hot as hell in the summer, and cold as... well... whatever the opposite of hell is in the winter.