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  #1  
Old 17 Mar 2010
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army ration packs
Trying to simplify my trip and thought about getting some army ration packs. A while back the bbc forced some spotty youths in cammo to pretend they liked them but they acually seemed impressed with them..

anyone tried the just add water meals and were did you get them from?

cheers (golden wonder need not reply) well maybe just one curry one
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Old 17 Mar 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by begazzz View Post
Trying to simplify my trip and thought about getting some army ration packs. A while back the bbc forced some spotty youths in cammo to pretend they liked them but they acually seemed impressed with them.. anyone tried the just add water meals and were did you get them from?
Not the British stuff, but have you ever tried to google (or YAHOO)?? In my opinion, well, the MREs (former C-rations) are not too bad, but you can't compare them with a "regular meal" - just thinking of my army times something like 25 years back. They may have changed = improved. For more info, why not check here: mre, Sporting Goods, Collectibles. Great deals on eBay!

Hope this helps
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Old 18 Mar 2010
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Haven't tried the just add water ones but use the boil-in-the-bag ones regularly.
Most of the food is OK and some of it is very nice. The packs come with lots of bits and bobs like tea, coffee, tissue, sweets, etc.
I think the last time I bought some they were six quid which for all the food and drink you need for 24 hours without having to think too much is OK value.
They have a use-by date of about 300 years
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Old 18 Mar 2010
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I've used them lots, again it's the Boil-in-the-bag versions. The older type have a really long shelf life, but the newer recipies are only a few years (only! jesaus, if you buy a banana from Tesco you'd be luck for it to last till you got home!).

I've tried the MRE's and wasn't keen. I think that's down to the taste differences between us Brits and the US, so I guess you have to try to find out! The flameless heaters are good if you put the right amount of water in (I didn't and it was rubbish).

The British rations are geting stupidly expensive these days and it's better to buy in bulk. You can often get 10 days for around £80, but each day is 5000 calories, so stretching a pack to last 2 days is possible.

Oh, and you can live all day on a pack of 'red' biscuits!! they even taste OK
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Old 18 Mar 2010
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modren usa are great. Then again why burn throught your cash?? survial places on the net are where you can find out more about them.
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  #6  
Old 18 Mar 2010
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Not so sure myself
I'm ex forces, so the concept of someone eating these out of their own free will scares me!

It does depend upon where you are going and for how long and if you have plenty of space or not. They are edible, but if you are eating them for more than a week than i would suggest getting some sweet chilli sauce and some other condiments to 'jazz' them up a bit. The arctic rations / dehydrated ones are a lot lighter and more compact but obviously you need a great deal more water for them. Also, the Halah and other special ones were always nicer because they came in curries, chillies and that sort of thing otherewise you need to like lancashire hotpot and beans.

I always thought they were generally ok, they are suprisingly heavy and bulky. Once you get 4 days worth in a bag they take up a lot of room.

If it was me, then i wouldn't. But i have been put off by them a little.

If in doubt, buy a set, sit in your garden, cook it up and see what you think. Then try imagining eating them for a number of days straight.

PS. take lots of toilet roll, they always did 'funny' things to my guts.
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  #7  
Old 18 Mar 2010
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ration packs.
I bought a couple of british ration boxes last year just to try them out.
The boil in the bag meals x3 inside are wayfarer meals without the extra packaging, as the wayfarers cost around £4 per meal you can save a bit of cash by buying the packs, plus you get all the other things as well.
I would not like to eat only these packs on a trip, but they are good to carry and use when nothing else is available.
Cheers Ade
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  #8  
Old 18 Mar 2010
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Hi

Im ex forces too, I kind a like the 24hr rat packs. They have massive calorific values though !

Full of handy things too.... tin opener.. toilet paper etc.

However cooking on a hexmine stove is a right pain in the butt

Try some before you go... Im thinking of blagging a couple of boxes of my mate (Cadet leader) just to have a couple of emergency meals on the bike

Cheers
Geordie
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  #9  
Old 18 Mar 2010
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In my experience they're only really worth it on very short trips, away from any infrastructure. You're hardly going to carry 200 ration packs all the way to Oz Ok, you might take one as a just in case emergency thing, but it's the sum of all the small just-in-case things that transforms your luggage from a 25kg total into a 65kg total.

So, on a long bike trip I think they're useless for my intends and purposes. Go hiking for 3 days or so with limited water supply, possibly in cold conditions, and the boil in the bag type meals come in very handy. Save water, save fuel, enough calories, no mess to clean up, etc.
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