A thread to discuss your opinions on the Freeze dried / dehydrated pouches & MREs currently available on the market. While canning and dehydrating your own food is much more economical, this thread will focus more on opinions of the store-bought items.
Why review the store-bought stuff? Well, to be honest, I'm always looking for unbiased opinions and personal experience; additionally, the freeze dried entrees & MREs offer a simple, compact and portable option to survival food. It certainly is NOT the healthiest option long-term, some of it tastes horrible, but it would keep you alive (for the most part) for when you come up empty on a hunt for real food.
To get started, I've been trying different variants of the Freeze dried "pouch" meals where you only need to add boiling water, along with basic civilian MREs that you cook with the pouch chemical heater (aka "flameless heater"). There are a few variants within the "pouch type" entrees that require prep in a pan, but I have avoided those for the most part and stuck to what can be made in the pouch with the least amount of effort and least amount of additional gear.
MREs:
On the MRE front (AKA Meal Rarely Edible / Meal Ready to Excrete), I've come to only buy the individual entrees and the chem heaters as opposed to the full MRE meal packs (with water, sides, crackers, bread, candy, drink mix, utensils, condiments, etc). The reason I now only buy the entrees-only is to minimize size and weight while maximing portability, I can fit 3 entrees & heaters into the same space as 1 full MRE.
Example of full MRE:
My individual entrée MRE with chem heaters:
Don't get me wrong, the full MREs are nice if you have space, want smaller items to snack on and weight is not an issue, but not my current focus. Both the full MREs and Entrees-only have come from AmeriQual and Sopakco; honestly, I can't tell much of a difference in taste and the variety seems to be about the same with both.
Example of a full MRE:
MRE prices vary greatly depending upon the contents and how you buy them (individually, by the box, or a case); a full MRE tends to run anywhere from $6.50 - $9, the individual entrée & a heater will run about $3.50 - $5.
Note: You might do much better on pricing, just giving median averages here
Freeze Dried Pouches:
I've tried Wise, Backpacker's pantry and Mountain House; I would take any of these 3 over a MRE in a heartbeat based on taste alone, but the preparation requirements of having boiling water brings me to keep both MRE and freeze dried on hand. After trying the aforementioned brands, I rank by taste as follows: Mountain House first, Backpacker's pantry second (but they both have several flavors that tie), and Wise third as they seemed to lack in nearly every variation I tried.
A few of my Mountain House & Backpacker's Pantry freeze dried entrées:
A comparison of one flavor of freeze dried over 4 different brands:
Mountain House Chili Mac Vs Backpacker's Pantry Chili mac:
YouTube review of Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry & Wise:
As for preparation comparisons, the MREs only require a few ounces of water to activate the chemical heater to prepare the MRE entrée where as the freeze dried pouches require 3/4 of a cup, 2 cups or 4 cups of boiling water depending on the serving size and type of freeze dried pouch you are preparing.
The freeze dried pouches are lighter, but not necessarily as compact (unless you opt for Mountain House's "Pro pack" which is vacuumed packed, a little less contents and a tad higher in price). You also have to consider how you will bring water to a boil - if you are already packing a Jet boil, sterno or have the ability to build a fire, the freeze dried is great, if you have no heating capabilities, the MRE chem heater prepared meal is going to win.
When comparing just the pouches alone, prices will vary just like the MREs; Wise is cheaper than both Backpacker's Pantry and Mountain House, but Wise just doesn't taste as good to me overall AND it's not as easy to prepare in the bag (doesn't have the zip-locking seal).
You also need to watch the serving sizes when you compare price; while you can find some Mountain House at WalMart for $4.88, it will be just the single serving size, where as their 2.5 serving size will cost between $6-ish & $8-ish and the family size from $10-$13.
Backpacker's Pantry is a bit more expensive when comparing to Mountain House on all serving sizes, IE: Up to $16.50 for a 4 serving pouch, but again, certain flavors cost more than others, so comparative pricing can be difficult.
Just like the MRE costs, you can save $$ by ordering buckets, 6-packs or "kits". Wise even offers a backpack kit.
Another area to be cognizant of in freeze dried meals is sodium content; Both Mountain House and Backpacker's pantry have meals ranging from 590mg to 850mg PER SERVING! (there may be some with more or less, but this is from what I've tested). There are several of the MREs that can also be quite high in sodium, but the freeze dried offerings seem to be consistently higher. While Mountain House has on average the lesser overall sodium than Backpacker's pantry, you still have to pay attention to each type of flavor/offering from each.
One reason I tend to also lean toward freeze dried over MREs (as long as I have access to boiling water) is for the serving size options, it's nice to have the option to buy a single serving, 2.5 serving, or 5 serving family size based upon your needs. If I only want a single serving, I can pack for that; if I want to feed several, I can adjust easily.
So what are your opinions on MREs & freeze dried offerings?
Why review the store-bought stuff? Well, to be honest, I'm always looking for unbiased opinions and personal experience; additionally, the freeze dried entrees & MREs offer a simple, compact and portable option to survival food. It certainly is NOT the healthiest option long-term, some of it tastes horrible, but it would keep you alive (for the most part) for when you come up empty on a hunt for real food.
To get started, I've been trying different variants of the Freeze dried "pouch" meals where you only need to add boiling water, along with basic civilian MREs that you cook with the pouch chemical heater (aka "flameless heater"). There are a few variants within the "pouch type" entrees that require prep in a pan, but I have avoided those for the most part and stuck to what can be made in the pouch with the least amount of effort and least amount of additional gear.
MREs:
On the MRE front (AKA Meal Rarely Edible / Meal Ready to Excrete), I've come to only buy the individual entrees and the chem heaters as opposed to the full MRE meal packs (with water, sides, crackers, bread, candy, drink mix, utensils, condiments, etc). The reason I now only buy the entrees-only is to minimize size and weight while maximing portability, I can fit 3 entrees & heaters into the same space as 1 full MRE.
Example of full MRE:
My individual entrée MRE with chem heaters:
Don't get me wrong, the full MREs are nice if you have space, want smaller items to snack on and weight is not an issue, but not my current focus. Both the full MREs and Entrees-only have come from AmeriQual and Sopakco; honestly, I can't tell much of a difference in taste and the variety seems to be about the same with both.
Example of a full MRE:
MRE prices vary greatly depending upon the contents and how you buy them (individually, by the box, or a case); a full MRE tends to run anywhere from $6.50 - $9, the individual entrée & a heater will run about $3.50 - $5.
Note: You might do much better on pricing, just giving median averages here
Freeze Dried Pouches:
I've tried Wise, Backpacker's pantry and Mountain House; I would take any of these 3 over a MRE in a heartbeat based on taste alone, but the preparation requirements of having boiling water brings me to keep both MRE and freeze dried on hand. After trying the aforementioned brands, I rank by taste as follows: Mountain House first, Backpacker's pantry second (but they both have several flavors that tie), and Wise third as they seemed to lack in nearly every variation I tried.
A few of my Mountain House & Backpacker's Pantry freeze dried entrées:
A comparison of one flavor of freeze dried over 4 different brands:
Mountain House Chili Mac Vs Backpacker's Pantry Chili mac:
YouTube review of Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry & Wise:
As for preparation comparisons, the MREs only require a few ounces of water to activate the chemical heater to prepare the MRE entrée where as the freeze dried pouches require 3/4 of a cup, 2 cups or 4 cups of boiling water depending on the serving size and type of freeze dried pouch you are preparing.
The freeze dried pouches are lighter, but not necessarily as compact (unless you opt for Mountain House's "Pro pack" which is vacuumed packed, a little less contents and a tad higher in price). You also have to consider how you will bring water to a boil - if you are already packing a Jet boil, sterno or have the ability to build a fire, the freeze dried is great, if you have no heating capabilities, the MRE chem heater prepared meal is going to win.
When comparing just the pouches alone, prices will vary just like the MREs; Wise is cheaper than both Backpacker's Pantry and Mountain House, but Wise just doesn't taste as good to me overall AND it's not as easy to prepare in the bag (doesn't have the zip-locking seal).
You also need to watch the serving sizes when you compare price; while you can find some Mountain House at WalMart for $4.88, it will be just the single serving size, where as their 2.5 serving size will cost between $6-ish & $8-ish and the family size from $10-$13.
Backpacker's Pantry is a bit more expensive when comparing to Mountain House on all serving sizes, IE: Up to $16.50 for a 4 serving pouch, but again, certain flavors cost more than others, so comparative pricing can be difficult.
Just like the MRE costs, you can save $$ by ordering buckets, 6-packs or "kits". Wise even offers a backpack kit.
Another area to be cognizant of in freeze dried meals is sodium content; Both Mountain House and Backpacker's pantry have meals ranging from 590mg to 850mg PER SERVING! (there may be some with more or less, but this is from what I've tested). There are several of the MREs that can also be quite high in sodium, but the freeze dried offerings seem to be consistently higher. While Mountain House has on average the lesser overall sodium than Backpacker's pantry, you still have to pay attention to each type of flavor/offering from each.
One reason I tend to also lean toward freeze dried over MREs (as long as I have access to boiling water) is for the serving size options, it's nice to have the option to buy a single serving, 2.5 serving, or 5 serving family size based upon your needs. If I only want a single serving, I can pack for that; if I want to feed several, I can adjust easily.
So what are your opinions on MREs & freeze dried offerings?
Last edited:
