I have MRE's as part of my LTS. But as most people will tell you, store what you eat, and eat what you store. I like MRE's only because I spent 23 years in the military, and I was deployed all the time, so we ate MRE's all the time. So, I am used to them. They take up space, and are heavy, but I like them.

 

MRE's aren't really to my liking. For compact, long term, temperature friendly food I stick to the coast guard type bars and millennium bars. I can understand someone who is used to eating them preferring to store some, but we have very few in our storage, mostly the snack and side dish varieties instead of entrees.

 

They're expensive, heavy, & take up space but they're hard to beat for ease of use. We don't store them but we do store some of those Hormel Completes meals.

 

...I like MRE's only because I spent 23 years in the military...

That brings back memories of washing down my dehydrated pork patty an sand cookie with a GI cup full of warm bug juice. MREs sure have come a long way. Back in the day, it was ironic that they came with toilet paper in them. Dry turds don't make very good dingleberries, do they?

 

That brings back memories of washing down my dehydrated pork patty an sand cookie with a GI cup full of warm bug juice. MREs sure have come a long way. Back in the day, it was ironic that they came with toilet paper in them. Dry turds don't make very good dingleberries, do they?

AHHH Number 4. Omelet with HAM. PotatoesAu Rotten. There was NOT one DAMN eatable thing in that entire MRE!

Now they have heaters, Hot Sauce, and there are some vegetarian menues as well.

Here is a comprehensive site on MRE's.

http://www.mreinfo.com/

 

Thanks for the link. My son in law is in the army and gave me a couple and they weren't bad. I've also tasted one from MRE'S STAR and it isn't to bad either. But doesn't come with as many different sides and accessories.

 

I keep coming across references that say MREs are only supposed to be eaten for a maximum of 21 days. I wonder what the details are? Does your digestive system pay it's toll or does 21 days reflect how long you can eat them before you grow tired lol? Is it just the military MREs?

 

I've also heard that. I was once told that they are formulated to keep your bowels on the dryer side. Maybe after about 20 days you get a clogged pipe lol!

 

Like 'em,

they are well rounded high calorie density and last years.
I have an old case 8 yrs old.. i figure 3/4 of them are still good

 

We had a water well drilling team in the hot, humid Philippines for 2 months. They ate MREs the whole time(I think they got a hot meal most days). When they came back to the unit's primary deployment site, they all looked like skeletons, except for the Engineering Aid(EA). He had plumped up quite a bit. He was pretty much an office/tent clerk while on the detachment. They kept a box in the HQ where everyone threw the stuff from the MRE they didn't want and you could grab something out of there anytime for a snack or whatever. Ole' EA was doomed. It was crazy. He was in great shape when they left. They didn't PT over there, but still, even the "low metabolizers" who normally had to PT to meet standards were skinny as a rail.

 

Hmmm. Sounds like I need to start eating them daily lol!

 

We had a water well drilling team in the hot, humid Philippines for 2 months. They ate MREs the whole time(I think they got a hot meal most days). When they came back to the unit's primary deployment site, they all looked like skeletons, except for the Engineering Aid(EA). He had plumped up quite a bit. He was pretty much an office/tent clerk while on the detachment. They kept a box in the HQ where everyone threw the stuff from the MRE they didn't want and you could grab something out of there anytime for a snack or whatever. Ole' EA was doomed. It was crazy. He was in great shape when they left. They didn't PT over there, but still, even the "low metabolizers" who normally had to PT to meet standards were skinny as a rail.

I left out the most important part lmao. Along with not doing any labor, the EA had free reign over the Goody Box.
What a dumb ass(me). Lol

 

They are bulky and heavy, but I like them because you don't need to add water to rehydrate everything and they are a complete meal. Old ones were pretty bland but new ones have a lot of different options. One correction on my part, the winter MRE's do need water to rehydrate, but they are excellent for our BOL because they can freeze with no worries. MRE's are part of our storage plan mixed in with dehydrated meals from various companies, Mt. House, Wise, etc. We also can, jerk meat and dehydrate fruits and veggies from our garden depending on how much we get. Mix a lot of everything for variety and you should be fine.

 

I was deployed twice, ate them for a year straight the first time.. )-: Over time they all taste the same. I always broke them down and packed dinners in one area, snacks in another, tp somewhere else.. Threw alot of the meal away (redundant items), how many beverage grape powders and books of matches does one man really need?!?! Matches everywhere and not a smoke for a thousand miles... Don't say the Army doesn't have a sense of humor... They do constipate you pretty good at first. And, they are so loaded in calories there is no way a person sitting in a bunker could possible eat 3 a day for any extended period of time. Over time you get to a point you eat maybe a dinner and a half and some treats a day. Use the matches as poker chips... (spend the rest of the day dreaming about crunchy apples and hamburgers) Note:the inside of the main MRE container is sterile and can be use to create a flutter valve for a sucking chest wound. Useless fun fact: heater + h20= pure hydrogen gas. At night while relaxing around a campfire with friends, Crunch up a heater add it to an empty water bottle, add 3 inches of water twist cap back on, set bottle next to fire and calmly walk away. Bottle explodes releasing small fire ball (to different degrees of puny) everyone calls it an early night to clean their underpants leaving the beer cooler unguarded. I hope you all found this, um useful? Let me guess, no invites to go camping with me anytime soon? )-:

 

They are really high in calories and can plug up yer pluming. Like you guys, I really was not a fan when I served either but they have come a long ways.

I saw this thread and was already contemplating getting a short term stash to have for my BOB's or next few hiking trips. One of the many things I do like about them is that you get a complete meal in a bag vs having to piecemeal it if you know what I mean.

You do have to watch the way you store them temp wise and the shelf life per se' too.

Someone else may have a lot more knowledge on the topic.

 

I just store mine in the garage and keep them off the floor. Flavors have come a long ways, but I only use them as one food source along with Mountain House and stored rice and grains plus just regular house food. And always remember: Take care of your neighbor now because you might have to eat him later

 

I have been thinking about buying some of these, but they are SO expensive. I could buy 3 jars of peanut and a lot of Ramen noodles for the price of one MRE.

 

MRE's are one of our in-place meal options. Not a mainstay by any means. I got them pretty cheap a year or two ago before peope started buying them up.

I love them but, I lived on them for about a year when deployed to Rwanda and the middle east.

Here is a handy site: http://www.mreinfo.com/

 

Well if you store lots of MRE's you won't need to store any TP!! The meals have been a little tastier but I would have traded a days worth of MRE's for one can of refried beans! When you add in the cost and size I would probably go for more canned food. I think its much tastier, healthier and cheaper and just as easy to prepare but that's my opinion.

 

We make our own "MRE" style meals, Main course being something like ramen or soup mixes with a meat (tuna and spam singles work great) throw in a fun size pack of peanut m&ms and some crackers or cookies, all vac sealed and bagged up with a fork spoon and knive. Work great plus you can customize them to your own taste and they wont act as a hinder binder.

 

I bought a 12 pack a few weeks ago. I have to say the ones I bought came without the heater but they are light. Each one seems to come with a load of redundant stuff. They are bulky.

I guess it's cowardice but I tossed two into a hike bag with the intent of trying them. They're still there. Even after a hike In was hungry as hell and just didn't want to open them, not sure if it was some saving them idea or just fear of trying them.

But that 12 pack broke out to 2 in my car, 3 in my BoB, and 2 in that hiking bag, rest in my closet I'm sure I can think of something for all those extra forks and matches.

 

Go ahead and open one and eat it. They are actually not bad. Be careful storing them in your car if it gets hot Inside. The life of the MRE goes down rapidly if stored at higher temps.