Today I was fortunate enough to get a few Canadian Military IMPs from about 2004 to try, sent to me by a generous friend who had a few extras. I figured that not very many of us on this site have seen or tasted these so I dug in and took lots of pictures...for those of you with Canadian military experience...no big whoop I guess

Breakfast/Lunch Menu No. 4 is 'Ham steak w/ mustard sauce'. It was the most lunch like of the 3 I received. If I'm reading the packaging right, I think the food was processed in November or December of 2003.

Here's the complete package. It was bigger and heavier than I expected...I guess I've seen too many freeze dried hiking meals.

Inside the brown paper is a foil paper bag and inside that is this:


I was impressed by the diversity within the package...lots of stuff going on. For me, there were just too many pieces. I imagine that for a military man who may need to eat a lot of these in a row, the variety breaks the monotony, making each meal a little different if one chooses.

Here's the brief list of contents:

• Ham in mustard sauce entree
• Pear slices
• Instant Hot Chocolate (Amaretto flavor)
• Strawberry fruit drink mix
• Bread
• Paper Matches
• Whole pack of Trident gum...I was surprised!
• Wet napkin
• Tooth pick
• Long plastic spoon (pretty sturdy, could be saved and reused)
• Instant Oatmeal (cinnamon flavor)
• 2 packets of honey (pretty generous size)
• 1 packet of ketchup
• 2 packages of sugar
• 2 packages of coffee whitener
• 2 packages of instant coffee
• 1 packet of pepper
• 1 packet of salt
• 1 hard candy
• Several napkins

The entree and desert come in foil packets...essentially canned goods.

I wanted to eat it right away so I quickly grabbed my Crusader canteen bag and set up. It's got everything I need to heat all 3 meals...in theory.

The packet doesn't exactly fit into the steel cup but since everything is canned, I only needed to get it warm, no cooking required. I keep 4 oz. of fuel in the bag so there's enough there to run the stove 3 times depending on how much I spill.

I lit it using the paper matches and when the stove petered out the water was not completely boiling. The entree I'm sure was acting as a bit of a heat sink, conduction inhibitor, and I couldn't put the lid on...less than ideal. It was warm however so I dumped the contents into a bowl. Not wanting to waste the water (who would in a survival situation?) I poured a bit into another bowl and prepared the oatmeal, eating it first. It had a grain like taste and the cinnamon flavor was weak but it was on par with cheap instant oatmeal found at the store. I added one of the honey packets and gulped it down no problem. I poured the rest of the water into the plastic cup and made the hot chocolate...there was still plenty of water left...maybe too much as the drink tasted watered down.

The entree didn't look that great

But I was amazed at how good it tasted...especially since I'm not a big mustard fan. It was sweet and didn't have a strong tang of mustard. The Ham was what you'd expect from a can but better than Spam by far (though you could have subbed in Spam and it would have been nearly as good I think). I didn't want to waste the sauce so I cut the bread in half and ate one half dunking it in the sauce.

Before moving on I'll say that the bread is nothing special but it is bread. It's dense, borderline dry, and not very tasty...but it's bread.

I ate the other with the other packet of honey spread on top...pretty good actually.

Not wanting to waste fuel, I ate the pears cold...which was fine because they were just like canned pear slices and tasted really good.

I made the strawberry drink to drink while I ate the pears...it was on par with something you could buy at the store.

When I decided that I was done, I noticed that I had a pile of little bits left. Some could be used later, some not (I don't drink coffee). Most of it wouldn't like the wet and there was no way to repackage them. I'd either have to throw them out or repack them in a Ziploc bag if I had the forethought to bring one for that purpose.

I tried to clean up using the wet napkin but it had dried out...it is over 3 years old after all.

In the end, it filled me up, it tasted good, and it was easy to prepare.

Pros

• Pretty tasty
• Complete meal
• Good variety in one 'meal'
• Seemingly nutritious
• Uses water frugally

Cons

• 3 meals a day take up quite a bit of space
• 3 meals a day fairly heavy too (not what you'd carry in the woods as emergency food)
• Good shelf life (aside from the napkin, there's no way to know by taste that these were over 3 years old)
• Can be lots of bits left over to deal with
• Lots of packaging means lots of garbage

Conclusion: Overall I think that it's a great meal which has a lot of benefits like a multi-year shelf life. I wanted to get my hands on one to see if it would be worth ordering MRE's for emergency food in the car or camping, etc. For that purpose my opinion is that it's a bust. They're just too heavy and big. Even to throw a days worth of food for 2 people in the trunk would take up as much space as my entire vehicle emergency kit including a blanket and extra clothing. The fact that it doesn't heat well in my cookware of choice (the crusader canteen cup and stove) is another thumbs down for me. If it weren't for how they fit in the steel cup, I'd be tempted to order just the entrees as some retailers offer that. I also noted that everything tasted very sweet...even the mustard sauce was sweet. I assume there's more than normal amounts of sugar for energy. I'm sure I'll enjoy the other two but I won't be investing in any cases of MREs any time soon.

Hi Hacksaw,

The pears actually look like real food. But where's the custard. The Canadian IMPs look pretty good and well thought out. Thanks for the review.

Thanks for such an in depth review. They look like they might be good for "a brown bag luch" ahhhhh i crack myself up, lol

The entree reminds me of UK school dinners from the 1970's/80's(shudder)

Hi Hacksaw,

Excellent review of an IMP, nice photographs also.

I remember reading somewhere that you SHOULD NOT CONSUME THE WATER used to heat the IMP entree in and also wash the container out before you cook in it again (I do not remember the reason why).

To make an IMP more portable you can "Field Strip" it by removing a lot of the packaging and extra items before going on your trip, this does lighten weight but also reduces the protection provided by the packing.

Field Stripping an IMP was discussed on one of the SAS Youtube Survival videos, I will try to find it and will post a link later.

Thanks for the info.

Mike

HAHAHA! That's why I test these things at home before I take them out to the real wilderness. That's definitely an argument for flameless heaters. I have a few civilian heaters of the Eaterz brand. I'll try one when I eat the next IMP. It only takes 70mL of water to activate...seems a waste to use a couple of cups of water to heat a meal and not be able to drink the water...when water is tight anyhow.

It's likely only an issue if you eat a bunch of them like a soldier might. I haven't spent the afternoon in the bathroom so I'm sure I'll be fine.

I like the idea of stripping and repacking the IMPs. You could ditch the waste packaging, remove some of the unwanted items, and add a few extras at the same time.

Thanks for the in depth review on the IMP. I have never been able to get my hands on one and wondered how they compared to the MRE. Of which I have eaten WAY too many of.
The "field stripping" that was mentioned is a great way to lighten them up and/or make a great meal by taking your favorites from several and making one meal. On occasion while backpacking I have taken just the main course out of an MRE along with the heater.Just to treat myself and get away from the dehydrated meals if only for a night.

Just boiling the pouch in the water shouldn't affect the water (unless the pouch is dirty). I know the chemicals in the flameless heater are supposed to make the water undrinkable, but since the amount of water is so small its not really an issue.

+1 on field striping makes MREs much smaller and you can discard things you don't like or need. Over several days, the lack of extra protective packaging won't really be missed.

US MREs also come with a "hot beverage bag" which is a thick ziplock bag. Useful for all kinds of things, not just making hot chocolate, tea or coffee. Carrying the hot beverage bag, flameless heater and beverage powder of your choice is a light easy way to have a hot drink on a short hike when you don't want to carry a lot of gear. Very useful.

Looks like the IMP has both pluses and minuses compared to the MRE. I'd be interested in doing a side by side taste comparison.

AROTC already mentioned it earlier, but heating the retort pouches in boiling water and then drinking that water is not a problem. I believe that you're thinking of the flameless heater pouches where you add water and an exothermic reaction heats up your ration pouch.

I believe that the main reason why you shouldn't drink the water from a used flameless heater is because it will act like a laxative, which could then dehydrate you rather quickly due to diarrhea. The water you add to the heater reacts with dry magnesium-iron powder inside to generate heat. The solution you end up with contains, among other things, magnesium hydroxide, which is what Milk of Magnesia is.

Hi Hacksaw,

The problem with the Crusader Cup is that it is a bit small to reheat the entree pouch evenly, although it can be done. The technique is to boil the pouch for a longer time than is first thought required, say for around 4-5 minutes. You will also need to remove the pouch half way through boiling time and rotate and push the contents of the pouch to the bottom of the pouch then boil for another couple of minutes to ensure that the contents of the pouch are heated evenly.

Using the traditional British army mess tins are even better though, they allow 2 entree pouches to be reheated throughout at the same time. The boiled water can also be used to prepare both a hot drink either tea, coffee or hot chocolate or the soup starter.

I personally dislike MRE Flameless Ration Heaters because of the mess they generate and the lack of their ability to boil or cook food properly (or even reheat the entree pouch evenly), which is not contained within the MRE system itself. How on earth you would cook a pheasant, brown trout or boil rice etc or even boil enough water for a days use with a FRH is beyond me I'm affraid.



The Hexamine cooker has the ability to boil up to 1 gallon of water.

Good call. I'm not sure why I didn't think of turning it around half way. Only a little corner piece of the steak was cold so I wasn't unhappy with the results all things considered.

I've tried the flameless heaters before. They certainly get crazy hot but with only 70mL of water in them, you have to have the entree pouch JUST right and then set the whole thing on a level surface JUST right. And even then it's hit or miss because it's not fully submerged.

Hi BigDaddyTX

I've just weighed the British Army Mess Tin and Hexamine cooker and it weighs in around 530 grams. 10 Flameless Ration Heaters (2-3 day requirement) weigh around 400grams and are just as bulky (probably even more so when it comes to realworld packing) as the Mess Tin and Hexamine Cooker. Its slightly heavier but the additional 130 grams ensures piping hot meals and lots of hot drinks and virtually no waste water. 10 FRHs will consume a considerable amount of water in activating the chemical reaction. This is actually an important consideration if water has to be carried on the person for the duration. 50 ml/FRH equates to 50grams/FRH, 10 FRHs = 500 grams of water, which cannot be consumed. When the FRHs have all been consumed, there is no easy means left to boil water over a conventional fire, but there is when the Hexamine or gas fuel runs out. You still have a pot/mess tin to boil water with using fuel gathered from the surrounding environment.

A comparision would be the 750ml Titanium Pot/Mug (crusader cup equivalent), the 100 gram gas canister and the Optimus crux stove which weighs around 400 grams. This setup can again boil enough water for around 3 days use. It is very fast in boiling water and has all the advantages such as controllable heat ouput, which FRHs lack. FRHs are poor performers in comparision being slow, messy, bulky and even force the soldier to become totally reliant on the fuel/food supply chain. FRHs do have some advantages but these are very specific to certain military operations. I've also believe that for very short periods at very high altitudes they some advantages as well.

Hacksaw:

Great post! I am very interested in the Crusader Cup rig you are using, and any feedback about it, such as:

How do you like it?
How is effective the cooker/windscreen/stand?
Is that a soda can alcohol stove in the cooker in the image?


Many thanks.

…..CLIFF
(like, who else?)

Great review, well written and complete.

It looks like an item worth getting. Taking up a lot of space is not a big issue for home storage or taking a few car camping with my Son and myself.

I can see that it would be an issue with a BOB. But there is enough other light food for that. I’m trying to keep a diverse selection of food stored so no one thing gets boring to eat, and adding a case of these would help. I have a few cases of US MREs already. And lots of grocery store food, and Mountain House & Richmore but always looking for different things to add to the mix.

Does anyone know of a good source for these within the USA so I don’t have to deal with shipping across the border?

It's the full Crusader canteen rig from Bestglide.com. I usually piece stuff together but that time I just ordered everything. It was a little pricey but I think it was worth it.

To answer your first question I like it a lot. I've posted about it on the site before...if you do some searching you'll find other posts. It's on the heavy side but since I picked it up (which hasn't been all that long to be honest) it's been able to cover all of my needs. The Canteen is very rugged, the plastic cup is light weight and fits well. The steel cup is VERY sturdy and with the optional lid, is a very effective vessel for boiling 2 cups of water. You can even get a hanging handle to suspend the steel cup over a fire. I have one but haven't used it yet.

The cooker doesn't fit super well when nested around the rest of the system but it's good enough for me and once in the carrying bag it's a non-issue. I've used the cooker in many different ways since I purchased it including hexamine tabs, liquid alcohol (poured in bottom like a tealight stove only there is no stove), a candle, gel chaffing fuel, and the stove you see. I've yet to try building a mini fire in it or putting hot coals in kelly kettle style but it's definately on my to do list. I don't think it's going to keep out any super strong winds but I carry some HD aluminum foil just in case. Speaking of windscreens, I've also used it as a windscreen for a tea light candle when I need some light...works pretty well for that too.

The stove is a Vargo titanium alohol stove which has had it's feet and pot stand legs removed...they were getting in the way. I wrap it in a piece of cloth and keep it in the cooker...gives me something to wipe up fuel if I spill as well. The stove really likes to be in there. In the winter I can intentionally spill some fuel around the stove so when I light it, there's some extra priming fire...maybe a bit wasteful but you really need to make sure those stoves prime properly or they'll burn all the fuel before getting hot enough to burn properly. I've been using that stove all winter and despite the bad hype about using alcohol in the cold, I've been pretty happy with the results as long as I don't ask too much of it.

I purchased the bag that goes with. It's a bit big but recently I've used that space to my advantage keeping a 4oz. bottle of fuel (enough for 3 runs), a waterproof container of matches, a bic, and my MSR MIOX pen. Slung over my shoulder along with my other shoulder bag, I can easily do day hikes without the need for a backpack and still get a couple of meals in.

I happened to get a spare steel cup and cooker out of my order. I keep that in my emergency car kit with about a dozen hexamine tablets.

No, they're pretty hard to get now days. I'm unsure as to why but I assume it has something to do with Iraq. If you do find a case of IMPs on ebay, they'll probably be ~$120+ shipped. The shipping alone can run you $40+. Best of luck if you do find them though.



Kinda pricy aren’t they? Sounds like MREs are a better choice.

MREs cost $50.00 a case and the Army Navy store 3-min (walk) down the road has them for $5.50 each meal bag and I can pick what I want, not get stuck with a random filled case.

Thats roughly the weight saving when comparing to dehydrated entrees. I wasn't really comparing the differences between hydrated and dehydrated entrees, just the way they are prepared.

10 MRE entrees = 5 pounds.
Cooker and I assume fuel = ~1 pounds

To eat 10 MREs with a Cooker and Fuel (Hexamine or Gas) gives a saving of around 1 lb over the MRE system using FRHs. But this of course depends on if there is no water available in the local environment. Using dirty water or urine with a FRH is not a very good idea since the MRE food container will be covered in the mess the FRH produces. Bacterial contamination so near the source of food (potentially covering the outside of the entree meal package) could be a source of concern.

If water was plentiful in the local enviroment then dehydrated entrees are the way to go. The weight savings would then be approaching nearly 4 lbs. As the water for the dehydrated entree will be brought to a rolling boil anyway the only filtering would be that of removing debris using a very lightweight system such a Millbank bag.

The other disadvantage the FRHs have is the lack of a suitable metal pot or mess tin in which to boil water and cook properly when the fuel source to reheat MRE entrees runs out. Even if the weight advantages are marginal between the various cooking and reheating systems there is a considerable advantage in allowing an individual soldier the ability to sterilise drinking water and cook food from other sources, which have not been supplied from the military supply chain (or when that supply chain is no longer available)

MREs, IMPs and UK 24hr ORPs all have entrees which can be eaten cold. Its just that most of the entress, whether they are US, UK Canadian, etc as much more palatable when piping hot. Even when they are just moderately warm, they can be pretty disgusting.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_aldlRKzvQ

So far I prefer the dehydrated meals as well for preparation. The steel cup holds just enough water to prep 2 servings of just about any freeze dried entree I've seen...and I can put the lid on to save fuel!

You can eat some freeze dried meals without water...but if you're doing so because you don't have much water that might be a bad idea due to their typically extreme sodium content...the one down side to eating a lot of them.

MRE poundcake is good, but Mountain House raspberry crumble... It's REALLY good.

ha ! you actually like this one. this hamsteak is the one everyone avoids like the plague while on ops. yucch

some ufi. the rations are expected to be field stripped before being packed into the soldiers gear. all the packaging helps protect them to some deg because they are often air dropped or carried on top of armored veh to save space inside. as soon as they are given out they are stripped down for easier carry. There is a second type of Canadian IMP not avail to civies ( I think) called recce rations by the troopies(LMP oficially, LIGHT MEAL PACK). these are usually given to troops who have to hump the food over long distance and are must smaller but with a much higher calorie content. They come in a small od foil pouch and are filled with chocolate, jerky, sausage, dehydrated cheese, dried fruit and granola bars. these have the hot beverage bags and stuff in them. as far as survival food we ate nothing but these IMPs for 6 months durring op apollo and we all lived/survived just fine. IMPs bind you up after a week and you become a little irregular so to speak. You will have a sore stomach after eating them for a month, and then your body will adjust to them. we usually throw them away by the case after a field ex as we are so sick of eating them. a few guys like taurus will take them home and use them for camping (or barter items) with civilian friends to avoid seing them wasted but not me.

the bigest beef the Canadian troops have with these is that a lot of items rely on hot water and are harder to eat on the fly when boiling water is not possible (instant rice, mashed potatoes , dressing etc)

I really like that idea Dave -- I hadn't thought to check to see if the Vargo Triad would nest in the little fuel recess of the Crusader stove. I think I'll probably go ahead and remove the pot stand legs from mine and use it this way as well.

Jim

I have two of the Crusader stoves. The steel one has a smaller 'cup' than the PTFE coated one. It's quite loose in the black stove and quite tight in the steel one.

Really, that's surprising.

I just bought an extra Vargo Triad off ebay to serve as the dedicated amputee, and since my Crusader stove is PTFE coated, I may have to build up the OD of the stove with some aluminized tape to keep it from rattling around during storage.

If anything I would have expected the stove would have been more loose in the uncoated stove (due to the slight thickness buildup of the PTFE coating). Perhaps your steel stove is of an earlier (or more recent) design.


Did Best Glide mess up your order, or were they simply running a promotion that I somehow missed?

Jim

They messed up and sent bare ones instead of PTFE. I told them and they sent replacements free and told me to keep the ones they originally sent.

I think they might be different designs as the rings are very different in diameter.

Titanium is strong but brittle. a little bending and the legs snap off. I used the can opener on my Gerber pliers as a mini pry bar to break the spot welds...they're weaker than the Ti. A little filing to take the burrs of and I was done. I wrap it in some cotton cloth to keep it from rattling.

I tried installing my extra Vargo Triad titanium stove in the fuel well of the Crusader this afternoon, prior to amputating the feet and pot stand legs. Initially it didn’t seem as though it had much of a chance to fit without surgery, although I created a very slight bevel on the leading (bottom) edge of the foot/pot stand brackets, and after placing the Triad in the freezer and the Crusader stove in the oven for a few minutes, the Triad actually pressed right into the recess without too much effort.

The Triad is located very securely by the raised cup in the Crusader stove so nothing is needed to keep things in place or rattle free, although I checked and it can still be pried out and snapped back in if need be.

With the Triad’s feet folded under, an air space of about an eighth of an inch between the floor of the Crusader stove and the Triad is maintained. This little reservoir will allow me to add some additional alcohol for priming when the temperature really drops.

The three pot stands still fully extend, although the wall of the Crusader stove obviously prevent them from being of much use in this configuration, but of course I still have the flexibility of removing the Triad from the Crusader and using it as originally intended when needed. Best of all, the overall height of the Triad (even with the feet and pot stands still in place) is such that the canteen cup still nests within a few thousandths of an inch of where it originally did.

Thanks once again for providing the inspiration for this modification. I have another wilderness skills training course next weekend, so I’ll look forward to getting out and putting everything to the test.

Jim

My latest in a series of orders from Best Glide arrived this afternoon, and inside the package was a really nice stainless steel BCB Crusader mess tin set that I didn't order (but wasn't billed for either).

I called Cindy at Best Glide to let her know about the mistake and request a return shipping label. She didn't suggest that I keep it (although she did thank me for my honesty) so it appears >$30.00 must be their limit on shipping department errors, or more likely simply the hassle they would have had coordinating an international return with you.

It's not a bad little kit other than it takes up somewhat more space and weighs considerably more (nearly double) than my Snow Peak titanium cook set.

Jim