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#286858 - 10/23/17 04:47 PM Compact food
Tirec Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 08/24/07
Posts: 53
Loc: Rocky Mountain West
I've recently repacked my BOB, using the medium size ALICE pack. Things were going well until I put in three MRE's and realized how much space they took up!

I've gotta find more compact options. Looking at Pemmican type recipes. Maybe pemmican, energy bars, granola bars, GORP, meal replacement bars, etc.

Did you know they have single-serving spam packets? http://forums.equipped.org/images/icons/default/tongue.gif

Bug Out Bag Foods
Pemmican

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#286859 - 10/23/17 05:30 PM Re: Compact food [Re: Tirec]
gonewiththewind Offline
Veteran

Registered: 10/14/08
Posts: 1517
If you plan on rotating your MREs every year, you can eliminate much of the bulk by removing much of the packaging. We used to do this for the same reasons. I do not know how long they are good for in storage once you begin to break seals though. We would eliminate the cardboard and the large amount of air in the main bag, along with whatever you do not plan on using. The foil bags will remain sealed, and inside the main plastic bag, then they can be compressed much more and taped closed. We did not use this for long term storage, however.

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#286860 - 10/23/17 05:39 PM Re: Compact food [Re: Tirec]
Ren Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/05/07
Posts: 522
Loc: Wales, UK

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#286861 - 10/23/17 07:02 PM Re: Compact food [Re: Tirec]
chaosmagnet Online   content
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
For short-term storage (anything I plan to move by foot), I pack Millennium bars. They're high-carb and highly-processed, definitely not the thing that I love to eat, but they will keep body and soul together for a few days.

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#286862 - 10/23/17 08:33 PM Re: Compact food [Re: Tirec]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
Personally I loath the Millenium bars. I've bought three separate batches over the years thinking maybe I just got a bad batch but all of them are the same. They're hard as a rock! Literally, like granite, nearly impossible to even bite through! And while each "flavor" has a different odor they all taste identical to me- like pure sugar. If you want to try them I'd suggest just trying a few bars at first.

Personally I really like the Datrex bars. Obviously when it comes to flavor and taste opinions will vary but the Datrex are quite tasty. They're a little crumbly but less sweet and kind of coconut-tasting. Kind of like a cookie. You can buy them in two sized of blocks and both have a five year shelf life if unopened, and once opened the individually wrapped sections are supposed to keep for a year.

There are some other single serving/400 calorie bars on the market that I haven't tried, too.

I'm not crazy about MREs. Some of them are pretty good. The beef stew tastes basically like canned stew, not terrible. All of them taste really salty to me but if you're sweating a lot the salt may be a bonus. As Montanero mentions you can save some space by removing a lot of the packaging.

Mountain House makes some really compact foods that I like. My faves are the LRPs (Long Range Patrol) packs. They're freeze dried but packed into tight blocks with the air removed, so unlike the stuff that you find at Wal-Mart or REI these are pretty small. The same basic stuff is sometimes found under the name "Pro-Pak" by MH. The downwide is that LRPs are sometimes hard to find and a bit spendy. But some of them are very tasty although again, a bit salty to my tastes.
_________________________
“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

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#286864 - 10/23/17 11:06 PM Re: Compact food [Re: Phaedrus]
chaosmagnet Online   content
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
Personally I loath the Millenium bars. I've bought three separate batches over the years thinking maybe I just got a bad batch but all of them are the same. They're hard as a rock! Literally, like granite, nearly impossible to even bite through! And while each "flavor" has a different odor they all taste identical to me- like pure sugar. If you want to try them I'd suggest just trying a few bars at first.


That's always good advice. The ones I've bought haven't been quite as hard as you describe but still pretty tough to bite through. Agreed on taste and smell. I don't care for them all that much.

But it goes to taste because I might actually not be able to eat a Datrex bar based on the one attempt laugh.

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#286865 - 10/24/17 12:55 AM Re: Compact food [Re: Tirec]
Bingley Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/27/08
Posts: 1576
This is the first thing that popped up when I searched for "millenium bar." No wonder it's as hard as steel -- because it is steel!

https://inward-scooters.com/products/ygw...awaApqTEALw_wcB

I agree with Phaedrus on Datrex. I did a taste test and it was like a coconut cookie to me. It seems like different people have different reactions to this type of survival ration, though, so your mileage may vary. But stuff like Datrex is just calories, with little nutrition. That's a downside.

I'd recommend that doing more than taste-test -- do stomach test of some of the foods for a day or two, and see whether your body tolerates it, and how well you can perform with that kind of fuel.

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#286866 - 10/24/17 01:26 AM Re: Compact food [Re: Tirec]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
Good advice! Most of the lifeboat-ration-type foods are indeed just calories, not something you would want to live on long term. That's not a bad thing necessarily. They're compact and will keep you going. Unfortunately the SAD (Standard American Diet) isn't much better than e-rations, nutrition-wise!

In keeping with the compact food theme, I think the Survival Caps aren't bad, either. Kind of a 'food pill' of sorts, kind of like a large malted milk ball without the coating. They are somewhere between bland and somewhat pleasant and supposedly have better nutrition than many other survival foods. They don't provide a huge amount of calories but may be a good lightweight supplement to other foods.

Food isn't the most critical thing to have in a survival kit geared to "typical" survival situations, but if you have room it certainly can't hurt! When out hiking or camping I prefer to have the food I'd normally eat anyways. For food storage at home I would rather just keep the food I normally eat and some canned stuff in the pantry.

All that said, I do like having Datrex and MH stuff in my gear.
_________________________
“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

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#286867 - 10/24/17 09:09 AM Re: Compact food [Re: Tirec]
adam2 Offline
Addict

Registered: 05/23/08
Posts: 474
Loc: Somerset UK
I favour "lifeboat rations" these are high energy compressed biscuits with a long shelf life and are intended to be eaten straight from the pack.
One packet is said to last one person three days, but that is presuming little activity as would be the case in a lifeboat.
A day and a half from each packet would IMHO be more realistic if hiking or otherwise exerting oneself.

I could suggest a UK supplier, but probably better to buy from somewhere in the USA.

I prefer the "seven oceans" brand, but others exist.

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#286868 - 10/24/17 01:16 PM Re: Compact food [Re: Tirec]
Ren Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/05/07
Posts: 522
Loc: Wales, UK
If looking at old recipes, an old medieval survival food is Panforte.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panforte

GORP held together with flour, honey and sugar.

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