M.R.E.- What's Good?

**coyotee** · 05-30-2012, 08:38 AM

I'm looking for feedback on MRE's.

Where to buy them? What's a good price? Which are the best tasting? What to stay away from. Are they a better way to go than other ways of stock-piling food?

Tell me what you think.

**countryboy6685** · 05-30-2012, 08:54 AM

I know I don't have all the answers to your questions but for me here in NC I am currently paying $45. per case for military grade MRE'S ( Not government issue ) . Try to get the cold weather meals if possible as they have a higher calorie count . I have stocked over 50 cases along with my freeze dried and dehydrated stuff and home canned and store bought stuff .Mre's are only one part of my food storage plan .
Robert W

**RICHFL** · 05-30-2012, 11:40 AM

Welcome to the forum.

Read and learn about subjects that interest you, while you write about your experiences.

Remember you are not alone!

Let see if I can answer some of your concerns.

1. You cannot buy military or Government issued MRE's it's illegal. Why - so that military personal eat their meals while on exercise and not bring them home and sell them at the local flea market.

2. You can buy from the same manufacturer the same items in a different package. They have expanded menus and different items in the kits, and amounts for the outdoors civilian markets. Best place is MREDEPOT.COM to get accurate information about the different manufacturers .

3. Even the military tries to have you eat these meals for no more than 2 weeks without a break. Even in combat they still have mess halls.

4. For long term storage MRE's will last about 7 years if kept cool and in a dark place.

5. There is better items on the civilian market for families to use. Freeze dried (Like MRE's) but single items in a #10 can that will last 25 years.. You can get items like trail mix or jerky to use while hiking that will last well over 6 months in storage. There is new technology called irradiation where cans are submitted to gamma rays that kills all the bacteria in the cans. So even soup can be stored for over 15 years.

6. There is a lot more info on the forum look around.

**101airborne** · 05-30-2012, 12:50 PM

IMO stay away from MRE's they're expensive, heavy to carry, bulky and do not store well stored in areas where temperatures change drastically ( like in a vehicle ) in high temps shelf life is in weeks. I agree with RICH your better off with Dehyds or something similar. Plus for the cost of couple cases (24 meals) of MRE's you can get a "storage bucket" of dehyds that will store for 10+ years and has over 200 servings.

**coyotee** · 05-30-2012, 01:05 PM

Thanx 101airborne,

That's the kind of info I'm seeking.

Anyone else know about these things?

**Morgan101** · 05-30-2012, 01:24 PM

Coyotee - Are you looking for actual MRE's or freeze dried meals like MRE's?

RICHFL's post above is great info about MRE's. The freeze dried meals from Mountain House or Wise Foods are not bad. They usually run between $5.00 and $8.00 per meal. You have to look at the package for servings, and adjust for your family. They are easy to prepare (just add boiling water), and shelf life is about 7 years on the individually packaged stuff. As RICHFL mentioned, you can also get #10 cans. The cans vary in price, but usually run between $25.00 and $30.00.

We have them as part of our storage, and they are good as Bug Out food, but we do not rely on them. Having a few in a BOB or GHB is a good idea. They are to expensive to rely on long term.

**Oscar Wilde** · 05-30-2012, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by coyotee

....Anyone else know about these things?

A little. I occasionally have access to MREs and while I tend to be picky about what I eat, when you haven't had a meal in a day or three they all taste pretty good .... I've not yet come across one with liver.

They are considerably expensive; I imagine with some effort you can create vacuum sealed meals tailored to your particular taste at a much lower cost.

As Rich mentioned, although MREs are bought and paid for by the troops the govmnt still considers them their property .... the folks I use to buy from bought from GIs at their yard sales but were raided by govmnt agents and no longer fool with them.

But if you must> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...-keywords=MREs

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...=MREs&_sacat=0

O.W.