I have MREs in my 72 Hour kit and in my Wildland IA Pack. MREs are not my first choice for food EVER, but they are far better than nothing.

MREs in my IA pack is a no brainer, I have no room for cooking gear and I need something that can be removed easily so if box/bag lunches are avalibe I can replace it with real food!

My 72 hour kit and search kits now carry MREs becuase they really aren't as bad as they used to be. I typically open a case of MREs and dump all of the contents of each MRE on my kitchen counter. Then I remove every piece I am not going to eat... Then I reorganize the MREs into 24hr rations with stuff like Jelly Belly Sports Beans, Emergen'C packets, GU2O powder, and HammerGel add. I then reseal the meals with my vacum sealer.

While there are tastier foods for camping and backpack, none are easier to prepare and few have been designed for high activity levels.

Yes, MREs are high in sodium, and other electrolytes which is perfect for an active survival situation. If you are sitting in a boat all day long you may not need AS MUCH electolytes as someone hiking, building shelters, etc but you still need those electrolytes.

AVOID CHEESE OMELET AT ALL COSTS!

Well here's a different point of view. The first 72 hours are going to be very stressfull. All the components of an MRE are designed to provide lots of calories and nutrients. You've never been as awake as you have after mixing the coffee, cocoa, creamer and sugar from an MRE and drank it. I can tell you after 50+ hours with no sleep, you are wide awake. The body burns more calories under stress than under exercise and an MRE will will sustain you under heavy stress.

Everybody has thier own views and what works for one may not work for another. In my opinion they are a valuable assest, (I keep two cases in my truck tool box) Depending on what you are able to carry and what you think you will need, try several different things.

In this case I'm not going to argue with anyone, I tend to be Over prepared.

Desertrat, I'm not saying they aren't. I'm just saying that for the cost, weight and bulk, in many BOBs (as opposed to E&E packs, which are a different matter, IMO), you can add other things to your pack to suppliment them. I eat rice daily, so a bulk item that is familiar to my belly is of great value in everything goes south, and while I can get MRE rice, it isn't worth it to me. MREs are something I like to save for the end of the day, becuase thier fats will fuel me through the night while I lay low.

And that is a good point about everyones pack being different. I plan on going on foot and covering 100 miles in three to four days, and going to ground every night, while burning internal reserves. Trust me, I've been called the Cranky or Fuzzy Budda because of those reserves. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> But that means my kit can't weigh as much as desertrat's would. Heck, his rations weigh more than my pack does when I put it together. But I am never more than a mile, mile and a half from a stream, river or pond if I follow the my planned routes, so I don't have to worry so much about finding water as someone in the desert does.

Brian,
I do not know why that idea never occurred to me, but you have an Excellent Idea there! If it's not too much trouble, what would a couple of examples be?

Krell

Yep, I stick to foil packs and the like, they seem lighter from the grocery: Tuna, Uncle Ben's Rice, Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice, etc. I'm addicted to the Tuna foil packs on the trail lately, it must be the salt.

Sorry for the late reply. I was actually busy this weekend do other things that watching the forum. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

For example, I made the following meal pack by putting each the following in gallon-sized ziplock bag:

(1) tuna salad kit (starkist - comes with 3 oz. of tuna, crackers, mayo packet, relish packet and tiny spoon), (1) packet of lipton cup-a-soup, (1) granola bar and (1) deydrated gatorade packet (makes 32 oz.). This meal kit cost less than $4.00 to make.

Other specific suggestions:
-Retort packs of meat include chicken, tuna, salmon and can all be found at most grocery stores.
-Retort 'box' of Stagg brand chili.
-Hormel makes retort package of meals such as spaghetti, lasagna, stew in microwavable bowl. Given Texas summer heat, I could probably leave them in my car for a few hours to warm up to a decent temperature.
-Retort box of milk (kid sized), packed with snack pack sized ceral box.
-There are some microwavable rice dishes that come in a retort pack, fully cooked and no water added. They just need to be heated. I haven't tried them, but I imagine they would be ok, but very salty.

Hope this helps.

Warning on the Zatarains retort pouches. Very salty, and they aren't kidding on the best use by dates. I add one that was two months past date last week, and it was horrible. I don't know how they did it, but they put a self destruct in those things.

You're probably better off buying or making instant or near instant rice mixes and vaccume sealing or zipper bagging individual portions, even though it means you need to find water, and time and heat to cook it. Either that, or the actual MRE rice, which is pretty tasty.

"Warning on the Zatarains retort pouches. Very salty, and they aren't kidding on the best use by dates."

I saw the Zatarains, and almost bought a few packets (but figured I'd wait for a sale).. I did buy a bunch of the Knorr/Lipton Sides (Pasta and Rice) - They've been on sale alot lately ($1 ea) at all the chain supermarkets. I just checked, and verified that they don't have any dates on them.. Does that mean I can keep them FOREVER? <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I prefer the rice ones over the pasta - the pasta ones are all creamy and makes cleaning more of a hassle. They are very salty. I have a Cheddar and Broccoli Rice packet right here, and its 860mg sodium for a single serving with 2.5 servings per package!!!!

I noticed that they now have tuna steaks in the retort packs versus just the regular tuna fish. <- Once again, waiting for a sale.. Actually, maybe I'll buy one and try it out and determine if I should stock up when they go on sale. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

If they are dry, they're fine. That's dehydrated in a nearly gas tight package, same tech as the Mountain house stuff.

I'm talking about the Zataran's wet pack pouches. And I think the reason why the salt is so high is that they are using a budget version of MRE tech. MREs really aren't that expensive, the packaging is. So, to cut corners, they use a cheaper package and use an all natural preservative that doesn't look so scary on the ingredients list. IE, salt.

Brian,
Now it's my turn to Apologize! Sorry about responding so late, but I did want to say Thank You for the help and the suggestion's!
I just recently had my 9th or 10th set of Steroid Injection's in the back of my neck. Usually I am kinda of out of it for a few day's afterward, but this time it's been about a week.
Regardless Sir, My Thank's!

Krell