Hi All -

Just joined but I am a regular on some of the other outdoor forums.

I was looking on eBay for a re-stock of triox bars and I noticed the ones pictured are about 1/3 the size of my old ones. Have they reworked the spec or are there now two sizes available? I usually only used one section of the long bars at a time and often the remainder would dry up before I needed it. So, the smaller ones (individually wrapped) would seem to waste less.

I've seen 2 sizes, the "standard" that comes 3 to a rectangular box and the smaller square shaped ones. The last time I saw the square ones was in 1981. Some US Marines had them in Panama.I think it's safe to assume that the square ones would be older.

Actually, now that I look a little closer, one of the auctions of the smaller bars lists the mfr date as 1984 and 1987...

Do they have a finite shelf life?

I'll try this again. I've not heard of a specific number of years triox is good for. I have found that after a few years ( 5-10) that some of them turn to powder. These same packages also
fall apart at ther corners. It's a good habit to check the manufactured date as well as the out date. Often on military items this info will be found on larger boxes, not each individiual package. PM me if you need any more info, I can check the triox I have.

hey dogplasma: my time in the army we just used the 3 section bars.the last time i was issued them the foil packs were tan in color and not o.d. lately i've been buying the smaller 1section bars i find now at gun shows etc..also the bars will turn to powder if exposed to air for along time.. even if they apper to be brand new items open the box they come in and inspect them for quaility.. .get what you pay for.....vince. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />