Gang.
Whats your opinion on mre's are they any good?. Any dealers/venders of mre's you recomend.
Thanks
Lee

As a field ration, they're fine, although some folks would complain if they had to eat gourmet meals 3 times a day. Over my career I ate just about field ration there is/was, including experimentals and foreign. The most universal observation I have is that there is always someone who complains about whatever ration there is. I guess it's "fashionable" for some folks to gripe about the chow, even allowing for individual palates.

1. MRE x 3 daily is more calories than a sedentary male needs. It is less than a very active male needs in an extremely cold environment.

2. There is insufficient fibre for long-term health. Same is true of most any field ration, individual or group (such as T rations). Short term, no big deal. Long term, they need to be supplemented with items like fresh fruits and bread. Very long term they probably need a few more carbs and a bit less fat, although that could be debated endlessly.

3. They are heavily fortified (vitamins).

4. Lots of trash to pack out. The current practice of including a heater in each package adds to the trash and I have never been impressed with the heaters - YMMV - they work, but are just a gadget as far as I am concerned. I'll stick with my stove and a kettle.

5. The menus change with every contract, so don't get fixated on any particular combination - it will change.

6. Mail order from places like Major Surplus and Survival seems to be reliable. The only place I can routinely get them off-the-shelf locally is the commissary at the local Army installation... not exactly a public market.

7. At best they have no better shelf life than canned goods, which is to say that large temperature swings in storage dramatically reduce shelf life. Storage at elevated temperatures reduces shelf life. What some folks overlook is that you're talking about a RATION of several components, not simply a can of green beans. Different components have different shelf lifes. The Tabasco sauce has a curiously short shelf life compared to most of the other components - a few years, I just pulled some various age samples from my stocks (stored properly) in the last month... seems to be a consistent indicator. They hold up well enough. If you want long term (many years) storage, there are better traditional alternatives.

You decide which of the above are pluses or minuses for you. For me, MREs are a sometimes convenience for a short duration camping trip and even then I don't use them for every meal. I do not find them at all objectionable to eat.

HTH,

Tom

Gives me some info.

Thanks all
Lee

The one drawback of british ration packs is that it does not still your hunger. And as mentioned above 24hr packs contain crap which you do not want. What we used to do in the ACF was opening them up before seeting off, chucking all the food in a box which you do not want and pack the stuff you do. Then you can rummage through the box and discover what one might hate you might love.

Having endured "C Rations", I can honestly say that field rations have come along way since then.

As a matter of fact, after reminiscing about canned eggs and ham, I would say that I love modern MRE's. YMMV.

Here's a couple of websites with lots of info:

mreinfo.com

olive-drab.com

I am a habitual MRE user. Probably one a week. The big advantage for me, besides having easily accessible food, is the heater. Usually I have a main meal, (the thing in the box) along with a heater and some other goodies in a Ziploc bag. The nice part about the heater is that I can use it just about anywhere. Lots of places where a fire of any type would be difficult.

For instance, take Disney World (or whatever it is called). Living in Florida, I am compelled to take visitors there. I can heat a meal in my backpack (which is searched and they never comment on the MRE food pack). I try to heat it in a place away from crowds, and so far, no problem.

On hikes, I find it much easier to deal with the heater than a fire. I prepare the food and heater in a few seconds, and then just rest until the meal is hot.

Frequently I use the heater in my truck (with sufficient ventilation of course) where it would be difficult to start a fire. I would like one of those 12vdc resistance heaters for water, but have not found one recently. The MRE heater works just fine though.

Great invention and I like the food as well. Of course, it helps to be cold and hungry.

Nomad, didn't you read your copy of the rulebook when you moved down here? You tell your guests that Disney is that way and point.

You are doing well to get food in at the house of the mouse, i suppose that since MRE packs don't look like food that they don't notice it. And keep eating away from the crowd so that you won't be noticed other wise you will be politely asked to dispose of your food or you will be escorted off of the premises. Bringing in your own food cuts into the empires profit picture.

I was in the grocery store today and spotted a new item: single serving SPAM in a foil pouch !

My father is a WW II vet, an I gather that the big one was won on SPAM.

Anyway, you can now get a 3 oz slice of SPAM in a pouch very similar to the ones used for tuna.

Good chance to do a side by side comparison of the WW II fare with current MRE.

I think it was in Stephen Ambrose's book, Citizen Soldiers, that I read the story about Ike Eisenhower meeting the CEO of Hormel after the war. After thanking him for Hormels contribution to the war effort and the many tons of SPAM that were sent to the forces over seas, Ike smiled and added, "but did you have to send so much ! "