The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: billt on November 19, 2009, 12:22:14 PM
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Melanie things it would be a good idea to get a few cases of these things to keep ready, next to our "go bag" just in case. I live only 2 miles from University Of Phoenix Stadium where the Cardinal's play, and about 40 miles from the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant, the largest nuclear power plant in the United States. I'm not one of those "tin foil hat" kind of guys, but I am realistic. We've got a guy in the White House who isn't exactly the toughest on terror, and these are 2 really juicy targets.
On the plus side I live 5 miles from Luke Air Force Base which has the largest F-16 fighter wing in the world. They announced in the local papers after 9/11 they can scramble fully armed F-16's and have them over Palo Verde in as little as 4 minutes, but you have to figure it would be much like the police, an after the fact response to something disastrous.
Anyway back to the MRE's. I found this site:
http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/buying-mres.html
They give some good info, but I thought I'd check in with you guys first. I heard they are really good, and be sure to buy the ones that are Mil-Spec because they have to meet a certain caloric and nutrition requirement. Comments?? Bill T.
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http://www.downrange.tv/forum/index.php?topic=8034.0
;)
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Have you eaten an MRE? We had them a few times in Scouting. They are fun once in a while, but seriously . . .
I do have some Mountain House freeze dried in the BoB - "just in case"
Better to pack food-food, stuff you are prepared to eat long-term, and leave the MREs as a "just in case" very short term food.
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I actually love MREs and take them backpacking each time I go..... So I do have a case of them right now as we speak, but they are allocated for camping use. There are much more economical/easier ways to store food long term -- unless you are actually wanting to stock up and literally not worry about it again for 10 years. Just simple old canned foods, peanut butter, beans, etc etc does the trick for long term storage..... just rotate it out every once in a while b/c the shelf life is not as long as MREs.
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Can't hurt as they are much lighter and easier to pack than canned goods but with canned goods you have the same things you normally eat and do not have to deal with the results of a drastically changed diet, such as constipation (I have never used MRE toilet paper,)
Being in Az. water may be another consideration, you need water with MRE's where as most canned goods are packed in their own.
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(I have never used MRE toilet paper,)
Its great for starting camp fires.... but the plastic bags that MREs are packed in are the best starter fuel.
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(I have never used MRE toilet paper,)
You're a Marine! Just scoot your ass through the cactus afterward....
>:( ;D
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You're a Marine! Just scoot your ass through the cactus afterward....
>:( ;D
It's not that, I couldn't work up a crap on a case of them.
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I should add I have to watch my blood sugar so I can't eat a lot of carbs. MRE's allow me to "pick and choose" meals. Power Bars are a bit like glorified candy bars. Too high in sugar and carbs. Bill T.
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By the way I'm getting conflicting reports on how long MRE's really last. What's the longest you've stored them, and what is the best way to do so? Fridge, freezer, or room temp? Thanks again. Bill T.
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http://www.safetycentral.com/mrfahishliin.html
Not as good as a twinkie.....
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I do in my 72 hour kit.
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Three days will get you out of the location...then what? Cheaper than dirt has 12 1180 calorie MRE's for around $70...that is about the best price going. Once you get past three days....here ya go:
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/foodpak1.aspx (http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/foodpak1.aspx)
http://www.thereadystore.com/freeze-dried-foods-2/1-year-supplies (http://www.thereadystore.com/freeze-dried-foods-2/1-year-supplies)
http://www.foodinsurance.com/ (http://www.foodinsurance.com/)
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i remember trading my Yorkie bar for M&M's with US soldiers in a Kuwait fire base. you guys dont know how good you have it.
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i remember trading my Yorkie bar for M&M's with US soldiers in a Kuwait fire base. you guys dont know how good you have it.
I do, We still had C rations when I was in the Marines. Do the Brits still get rum in their rations ? They did back then, little 1 oz bottle.
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http://www.safetycentral.com/mrfahishliin.html
Not as good as a twinkie.....
Twinkies are only good for 3 weeks. They won't survive a nuclear war like the rumor says.
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Twinkies are only good for 3 weeks. They won't survive a nuclear war like the rumor says.
That's not true Frank. I still have one of those dry nasty things caught in my throat from 1974....
I've also have significant radiation exposure since working in the industry, it's still there.....
;D
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I do, We still had C rations when I was in the Marines. Do the Brits still get rum in their rations ? They did back then, little 1 oz bottle.
i wish. i remember once on in country leave, we got to go to slipper city, where they had all the luxury's of any western town. movie theater, pizza hut, chinese food, stores. and a dry sports bar :(
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i remember trading my Yorkie bar for M&M's with US soldiers in a Kuwait fire base. you guys dont know how good you have it.
I'm truly hopeing that "Yorkie Bar" is a candy bar and not something my yorkie leaves in the yard during the winter!
frozen treats for everyone!
;D
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(http://munchcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/yorkie_bar.jpg)
last year they got sued by a womens right group.
everybody's so damn politically correct nowadays.
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By the way I'm getting conflicting reports on how long MRE's really last. What's the longest you've stored them, and what is the best way to do so? Fridge, freezer, or room temp? Thanks again. Bill T.
Once the power goes out you chow down on what's in the 'fridge and freezer. After 3 days things start to go bad in the 'fridge. After a week the freezer contents are getting questionable. This assumes that ice isn't available, which after a major storm won't be for 3 days. And it also assumes that you don't have a generator to keep the fridge/freezer going. By the end of the week things normally get going and the markets are back open. But every so often the power is out for an extended period of time, fuel is difficult to get, and you have to dig into your emergency food stash. MREs. Down here in hurricane alley having MREs is considered normal, acceptable and a sign that you've been here a while.
During hurricane Gustave a large red oak fell crushing my house. Under the oak was the freezer. That food is gone. I switched to MREs while the wife worked the 'fridge. I had two batches of MREs. One was a case I purchased just prior to Y2K so they were about 10 years old. The other case was salvaged from a Civil Air Patrol squadron that was disbanding. It was kept in a conex container and subjected to extreme heat and cold. The date stamp showed it was 20 years old.
The 10 year old case was pretty darn good. Everything in good shape. The 20 year case was a different matter. All the food had a odd taste. The candy tasted like I wiped by butt with it. I didn't get sick but it wasn't a pleasant experience. Properly stored, MREs can easily last 10 to 15 years.
{One of these days I'd like to get debriefed by Banes and Pincus on what I went through during Gustave. Going through a hurricane is bad enough. Losing your shelter and most of your food jacks the danger level a notch.}
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Y2K? really? ;D
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Once the power goes out you chow down on what's in the 'fridge and freezer. After 3 days things start to go bad in the 'fridge. After a week the freezer contents are getting questionable. This assumes that ice isn't available, which after a major storm won't be for 3 days. And it also assumes that you don't have a generator to keep the fridge/freezer going. By the end of the week things normally get going and the markets are back open. But every so often the power is out for an extended period of time, fuel is difficult to get, and you have to dig into your emergency food stash. MREs. Down here in hurricane alley having MREs is considered normal, acceptable and a sign that you've been here a while.
During hurricane Gustave a large red oak fell crushing my house. Under the oak was the freezer. That food is gone. I switched to MREs while the wife worked the 'fridge. I had two batches of MREs. One was a case I purchased just prior to Y2K so they were about 10 years old. The other case was salvaged from a Civil Air Patrol squadron that was disbanding. It was kept in a conex container and subjected to extreme heat and cold. The date stamp showed it was 20 years old.
The 10 year old case was pretty darn good. Everything in good shape. The 20 year case was a different matter. All the food had a odd taste. The candy tasted like I wiped by butt with it. I didn't get sick but it wasn't a pleasant experience. Properly stored, MREs can easily last 10 to 15 years.
{One of these days I'd like to get debriefed by Banes and Pincus on what I went through during Gustave. Going through a hurricane is bad enough. Losing your shelter and most of your food jacks the danger level a notch.}
Up here in NH a major storm IS ice, refrigeration is no problem.
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Up here in NH a major storm IS ice, refrigeration is no problem.
And the word drought is something that occurs every twenty years or so.....and lasts about two weeks....
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Back in the 60's we had a drought that lasted a couple years, I remember my Dad hauling water from the spring fed pond at his buddies gravel pit in milk cans because the well went dry.
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I keep a case on hand as part of my hurricane kit. I'll use them over the year (hunting trips, camp outs with the grandkids), then I'll replenish my supply in the spring for the next season. They don't all get used, so when I do use them I'll use the older ones first.
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Several cases of ramen noodles and plenty of water to hydrate. Then again, I would choose MRE's. They are edible and provide enough calories to accomplish the mission. Depending on the number of people I would prefer two a day for a crew of five for two weeks.
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I have a couple of cases of MRE's for two weeks worth of emergency food for the wife and I. Plus five cases of the water pouches. Plus about 30 gallons of water in containers that I rotate. Plus a bunch of those hardtack like calorie bars for extreme emergency. We also buy an extra of this or that canned food or dried goods; tuna, soup, pasta, sauce, rice, beans....we'll work through the fridge and freezer first, then the cupboard, then the rations. Water is the commodity I worry about most. Wouldn't mind increasing my storage capacity for water. This is predicated on staying for a bit though....if I decided to bug out the easy to carry stuff comes with and we head for hills...one of two spots we've picked out that we have access to.