The 3600 calories is intended to be consumed over a 72 hour (3 day) period. These are for small storage space bare-minimum calories and would probably be OK to use in a 72 hour kit, if you have a well-stocked destination with real food that you can reach. I have wanted to get some of these, or similar, and try living off just them for 3 days.

 

The 3600 calories is intended to be consumed over a 72 hour (3 day) period.

That makes much more sense - I misread the title. I plan to test whatever I buy for 72 hours as well.

I use dry meals from the dollar store
They are cheap , easily available and usually have an expiration date of 1 year
Also thinking of adding supplemental nutrion drinks too
Not sure of calories but usually are high in protein also with long expiration dates

I'm wary of nutritional drinks, but willing to try. Do you have specific ones in mind?

 

I use dry meals from the dollar store
They are cheap , easily available and usually have an expiration date of 1 year
Also thinking of adding supplemental nutrion drinks too
Not sure of calories but usually are high in protein also with long expiration dates

 

Thanks for your input...can I ask a silly question...what do you mean by dry meals from dollar store since I'm in there about once a week

 

Lifeboat rations like these are designed purely for short term only. Like a candy bar, they are primarily just for a short term carb boost.

There are about a half dozen different brand choices in lifeboat rations. The flavors range from lemon, to coconut, to cookie tastes.

You should try several brands to find the one you can stomach eating it constantly for a couple days.

If your goal with your BOB is just for a couple days of travel then they work fine if you can handle the taste. But if you plan to try living off them for a week then the mostly sugar/carb calories will leave you weak, and that's if you can even stomach eating them that long. One in the BOB for each person is a good idea. More than that and you will likely have problems.

 

These are only going into a 72 BOB so I don't really mind if it's garbage nutritionally. I'm gonna eat these this weekend to see what's what. I would never eat these for a week - yuck. You gave me a great idea - 3 different brands/flavors for 3 different days. Looks like I have a lot of experimenting ahead.

Those are lifeboat rations. There are several brands. Datrex, Mainstay, Mayday, SOS, etc. Another to look into are Millennium bars. They are basically the same thing, only packaged in smaller servings and they come in a wide variety of flavors.

I'll have to look into Millennium bars - thank you.

I would strongly suggest trying it for 3 days before committing to it in the BOB though. Some brands tend to give some people gastric distress when that's all you eat. I had to switch brands, myself. Though I wouldn't recommend Datrex until they get their packaging issue solved. For a while, some of them were being sent out that had air leaks. I'm sure they have corrected that by now. But there are other brands that haven't had the problem.

Yup, that's what I'm doing. I actually have a sensitive stomach and those fancy MREs trigger projectile vomiting which is why I wanted to steer clear from them and look into these 'lifeboat' options as y'all are saying. I will stay well the heck away from Datrex - thank you for the warning!

 

Those are lifeboat rations. There are several brands. Datrex, Mainstay, Mayday, SOS, etc. Another to look into are Millennium bars. They are basically the same thing, only packaged in smaller servings and they come in a wide variety of flavors.

I use Datrex along with MRE peanut butter and cracker packs as my short term BOB food and it works very well. I did a number of full out test bug outs over several years, and my BOB food philosophy evolved rather quickly. I went the full gamut from camping meals, to store bought stuff, but ended up wanting foods that took no preparation and that I could eat while on the move.

I would strongly suggest trying it for 3 days before committing to it in the BOB though. Some brands tend to give some people gastric distress when that's all you eat. I had to switch brands, myself. Though I wouldn't recommend Datrex until they get their packaging issue solved. For a while, some of them were being sent out that had air leaks. I'm sure they have corrected that by now. But there are other brands that haven't had the problem.

 

Another to look into are Millennium bars. They are basically the same thing, only packaged in smaller servings and they come in a wide variety of flavors.

+1 on the Millennium Bars. I've been using them for a number of years for my hiking/backpacking/hunting trips.

 

Foods for BOB and Disasters

I have read a number of articles that demonstrated that there are a variety of super market available foods that have good storage life (over a year is some cases), have good caloric value, taste good, are inexpensive and are readily available. If you rotate stock, you should be ready for many of not most situations. There is no question that some of the prepared emergency oriented foods are pretty amazing, but there lots of decent options.

 

I have read a number of articles that demonstrated that there are a variety of super market available foods that have good storage life (over a year is some cases).................

A year is not remotely a good storage lifespan. Just about any factory packaged dry food will last that long.

 

Always keep in mind the amount of food you need is directly tied to the needs of your plan.

72 hrs with 1200 cals every 24hrs is all fine and good under ideal conditions doing very little heavy labor. If it is winter, if you are moving fast under a heavy load, crossing rough terrain, walking more than 8hrs per day, etc....

Those Datrex and Mainstay bar types of rations are meant to provide survival levels. Look up the levels provided by eating one day's MREs and the effects of cold weather on caloric needs.

I highly recommend supplementals to add to the calorie count. Stuff like Soldier Fuel bars (for the weight and size, and given a three year shelf life, the best pack of calories out there), packs of hard candy (I particularly like Scotch Mints for this), and thinks like individual drink crystal packs (Tang or such) help a lot.

Don't go cheap and easy on food. Diet has a massive effect on morale and on ability to continue operating.

Much like ammunition, it is always better to pack too many calories than not enough.

 

It's hard to find a more concentrated source of calories than lifeboat rations unless you go to pure fat or sugar. Just because they're designed for near starvation survival of 400 calories a day or so, doesn't mean you have to use them that way. Simply eat more. It's still extremely compact and efficient. I really only added the MRE peanut butter and cracker packs for morale and a sense of fullness. It's easy to eat and light to carry, so it was a good choice to add to the lifeboat rations.