MRE's. your friend in a survival situation?

[Rocklin]

Picked up some MRE's at a local surplus store.     for those who don't know MRE stands for "Meal Ready to Eat" and are used by most of the worlds military forces as field rations.

I have had lots of these over the years but some of you may have never even seen or heard of them so this will be a little photo instruction manual for the curious.

This is what you will need,   on the left is the MRE in the waterproof bag,   canteen cup and canteen full with water.


here is what this MRE contains....this single serving MRE has the meal (Cheese tortellini in tomato sauce),  drink mix (orange),  fudge brownie,  plastic spoon and flameless ration heater.


next you remove the meal from the box and activate your flameless ration heater by adding water to it (follow the instuctions on the heater).   then take the meal and wrap the heater around it with the elements under the meal


place the meal back in the box and lean it against a "Rock or something" like the instructions say and the meal will be ready in ten minutes.


congrats now you wont starve and have a (Mostly) tasty meal.  it looks like some kinds of microwavable dinners for the most part.


next pour half a canteen cup worth of water into the drink mix bag and shake it up,   pour back into canteen cup and now you got some orange Gatorade.


and there you are,   I think in any SHTF situation you should pack a few of these MRE's just in case you cant find food or are in hiding for any length of time.

[Ninja]

You'd be better off eating dog food.

[mashleshmash]

I purchased a few ER bars back in 2012

[Darkhunter]

Sodium content on those are horrid. Better off making some homemade Protein Bars and packing them into a kit with some Roasted Nuts and some Tuna/Idahoan Instant Potatoes. Better food for a kit on the long run and more calories for your "buck" so to speak.

[Xilver]

I'd recommend checking out  a British 24 hour ration pack. Honestly they don't taste as good as American MREs but they'll keep you going for a lot longer, it includes different foods, but the general mark up is a breakfast,  lunch, dinner and an assortment of snacks to keep energy up throughout the day, the only disadvantage of them is like I say , they don't taste as good, and can be worse to cook in the field or, less tactical,  as they rely on boiling water (Generally made via river water in a mess tin and open fire) to be warmed, unless you fancy a cold meal, I guess the counter argument for that would be that any water can be used as long as you have a means to heat it quietly that is not visible.  I.e a JetBoil. 

[1983]

Alcohol stove with methyl hydrate should work for a heat source that'll throw off less light. I have one that only uses methyl hydrate and it burns light blue and you can hardly see it at night, Looks like a refurbished landmine actually.

I haven't tried it in a tin can alcohol stove yet but it's pretty much the same thing as what I've got.

That being said there's a stove out there for heating up water only (I believe it's Swedish) and it basically has a sealed collar around a smoke stack / fire column that you can pour the water out and refill if you want more while it's still burning.

For me, my new light weight bug out bag has Idaho mashed potatoes, some instant soup (powdered), Instant 3 in 1 coffee, Power bars, Something like 3L of water, Ect. Basically a modified camel pack with enough things to get me home if I'm stuck taking the foot express with some odds and ends that I can set up and use to trap or fish with over night while I'm sleeping.

Most of my food stuffs require boiled water so to reduce my down time for cooking I keep a metal container with a screw down heat resistant lid or Thermos and I'll add my food then the water and close the container tight, give it a shake, and just start walking again and eat it on the way.

If I get thirsty I got plenty more water in my camel pack and the tube to suck it out of there.

All in all I think the whole rig weighs about 5 - 10 pounds max.

I don't carry fuels or stoves with me though, Just knowledge and wisdom. I can create a fire with nothing but my boot straps and a knife worse comes to worse and I'm fairly decent for being able to hide a fire if need be and throw up or find a quick shelter.

MREs are helpful though if you don't want to put the time and effort into going past what you can just buy or have a group to feed, There are other options out there like the SOS bar and a few other odds and ends but it all depends on your situation and how you've prepared for it.

Al

[equanimity]

Canned sardines are cheap and much healthier than this stuff. Are those not used much?

[starvingniglet]

I want to try making pemmican, but with beef instead of bison.  That shit lasts for fucking ever.

[RustyShackleford]

IMO its a luxury item. If I had the money maybe, but dog food makes a lot more sense for convenience and weight - and you won't eat it unless you are really starving.

[Goats]

Unsalted nuts for fat/protein.

Beef Jerky for salt/protein

Dried apricots or similar for sugars/carbohydrates.

Carry water.

MRE's are odd. What if you come across a militia group and they take you hostage, and upon finding MRE's determine you are a spy and then decide to kill you and hide the body, instead of releasing you or negotiating your release.

Heating anything gives a massive signal on thermal imaging equipment.

[Sirfearoth]

When the shit hits the fan I won't be carrying any MREs. I think one would be better off with a good bow and some arrows, a means of purifying drinking water, and knowledge of eatable plants.

[Montane]

You guys ever tried Mountain House Freeze Dried Foods? They're not THAT bad. I bought like a grand worth in surplus awhile ago and have used them for long term hiking and shit.

[Darkhunter]

m-80s in a lake with fish in it. You'll thank me.

[Sirfearoth]

You guys ever tried Mountain House Freeze Dried Foods? They're not THAT bad. I bought like a grand worth in surplus awhile ago and have used them for long term hiking and shit.

Those are pretty good we have used them for overnight hikes. Backpackers Pantry red beans and rice are good.

[Satyr]

General tip: learn to process acorns for consumption. Those things are incredibly nutritious and plentiful during autumn.

You basically take out the flesh and leech out the tannins in water. Easiest way to do it is putting them in a cloth bag and hanging them in a stream. If you take them out and there's milky stuff coming from it, it isn't done yet. A stream isn't necessary, of course. Just regularly changing the water you leech them in, until you can put them in water and the water stays clear.

You can also boil the tannins out. You dump them and boiling water. When the water turns milky, you dump the acorns in another pot of boiling water. It has to already boil when you throw the acorns in. If it isn't boiling, the tannins will be locked in and you'll never get them out. You need to do that until the water no longer turns milky during boiling. Usually takes around 5 changes of water.

Processed acorns can be used for a lot of things. The taste is like chestnut. Cold processed acorns are a little more starchy and can be ground into a meal for bread or even pasta. You can grind them up and grill them until the meal is darkbrown and use it as coffee. You can mash up some acorns with milk or water and eat them as a puree. You can eat them whole..

Don't eat them unprocessed though, they're disgusting. And if you manage to get past the disgusting taste, unprocessed acorns can actually be poisonous because of the tannins in it. However, don't process them too long before you need them. Unprocessed they keep good for near forever.