Thanks Woodsloafer.

I'm always torn when it comes to meals. We do have a Peak 1 Micro Stove and fuel, but it adds bulk and weight that seems like overkill in a short-term pack. We're blesed with an abundance of firewood around here though, and the esbit stove seems like a nice middle ground. We are working on a DIY alcohol stove though.

Ready to eat means heavy in most cases but dehydrated stuff uses water and fuel. We've got lots of water, and means to procure it, between the BOB, our daypacks and the Jeep preps. Water is heavy if we have to hoof it but we're blessed with lots of lakes, rivers and streams in these parts. I may throw in a few more MRE mains, and I'm probably going to switch out the Lipton stuff for a few Mountain house meals, as they need a little less water.

Edit: I have requested that my in-laws bring us home some of those foil pack Spam Singles, chicken and salmon when they come back from the States next month. I've got a couple pack of tuna that I can throw in in the meanwhile. Canned meats are popular trail food with us but they're too heavy.


Thanks for not going to weapons. As you can see by the armed vs unarmed man vs bears thread, it gets a little testy around here when the subject comes up.