I don't consider them long term storage - perhaps a month at 120 degrees, 5 years at 75 degrees is what I read about MRE's.

Survival food still seems hard to get fast delivery these days

 

It never gets 120 here. And in the house it’s typically 70 degrees. The shelf life at 100 is 6 months it’s almost never above 100 here and prolly averages less than 80 over the course of the year. And they last 3 years at 80.





I don’t actually consider them LTS. I’d call them MTS( medium term storage ) they really do have to be rotated every 5 years. But I’m talking about quantities of 2-6 cases. Not a lot For a family of 4. We will use them camping , etc.

I also like to keep 1 or 2 in my GHB. Of course that will have to rotate every 6-12 months.

 

I'm going to replace some MRE's thats been in a go box for 5 years. I'm interested in this also. I'd like to get the ones that we used in the Military.


Any recommendations?


(Now that I think back, there was a dude here whos name was ISellMres or something like that, time to search. )

 

I'm going to replace some MRE's thats been in a go box for 5 years. I'm interested in this also. I'd like to get the ones that we used in the Military.


Any recommendations?


(Now that I think back, there was a dude here whos name was ISellMres or something like that, time to search.

)

This is my favorite source for MRE advice
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2I6Et1JkidnnbWgJFiMeHA

if he doesn't like it don't buy it.

Personally I havn't been able to legitimize the price yet in comparison to the cost of making equivolent kits, the heater packs can be the only thing that is hard to source for a good price but unless flameless heating is critical for your needs you can get a small cooking stand and some other heating method or just buy the flameless heaters. None the less if you like the off the shelf approach I would do something with meat in the ration -- unless you are actually active hiking ect don't get a sugar loaded ration pack. IMO for the standard prerpper the russian ration packs are probably going to be better as they have good portioned cans, but again it would be cheaper for you to buy this stuff yourself locally unless you have a good source. I have yet to find anywhere online that sells stuff for less than I could assemble it myself for.

The Steven dude has probably eaten more variety of rations from WWI onward than anyone else alive. While he likes the naughty stuff a lot, sweets, coffee, cigarettes, and candies, deserts, he has a brought taste pallet and if he won't eat it you probably don't want to. The military should contract this guy as a ration advisor.

Honestly the price isn’t that much of an issue since I’m going to be buying such a small amount. It’s not worth the trouble of assembly to save a few bucks. I want something tried and true as far as preservation.

The goal here is for a back up in case their is a water shortage or if the generator is down and weather or circumstance won’t let me go outside to cook other food.

Also as a convenient travel meal for BOB/ GHB. I can keep a few in my GHB in the vehicle. Should I get stuck out over night be ( and the family ) have food for the night. Also should I just get busy etc and need food it’s there. And I just have to remember to eat them for lunch every few months to cycle them.

And We can use them in camping and car trips.

 

Originally Posted by Herkemer
I'm going to replace some MRE's thats been in a go box for 5 years. I'm interested in this also. I'd like to get the ones that we used in the Military.


Any recommendations?


(Now that I think back, there was a dude here whos name was ISellMres or something like that, time to search. )

This is my favorite source for MRE advice
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2I...idnnbWgJFiMeHA

if he doesn't like it don't buy it.

Personally I havn't been able to legitimize the price yet in comparison to the cost of making equivolent kits, the heater packs can be the only thing that is hard to source for a good price but unless flameless heating is critical for your needs you can get a small cooking stand and some other heating method or just buy the flameless heaters. None the less if you like the off the shelf approach I would do something with meat in the ration -- unless you are actually active hiking ect don't get a sugar loaded ration pack. IMO for the standard prerpper the russian ration packs are probably going to be better as they have good portioned cans, but again it would be cheaper for you to buy this stuff yourself locally unless you have a good source. I have yet to find anywhere online that sells stuff for less than I could assemble it myself for.

The Steven dude has probably eaten more variety of rations from WWI onward than anyone else alive. While he likes the naughty stuff a lot, sweets, coffee, cigarettes, and candies, deserts, he has a broad taste pallet and if he won't eat it you probably don't want to. The military should contract this guy as a ration advisor.

 

I'm only using them for Water free food in a grab and go plastic box.

 

Know any retired military with ID card? Active duty works too. You need someone with commissary privileges.

Then it is a trip east to Polk or west to San Antonio to the bases.

The commissaries will sell new issue cases of the real stuff.

It's also a bad time to buy those MRE civvie clones. The demand has outstripped supply. The usual sellers are all showing sold out.

 

That is not true of all commissaries. I am near a joint base with two commissaries. One has MRE's on occasion and the other never has had them.

 

I have ordered from XMRE before and had no issues, same year production. They shipped them off right away and I got them for a decent price. I also eat them fairly regularly when I'm out in the woods or desert. While the expiration dates are something to pay attention to I have eaten MRE's that were 4 or 5 years beyond expiration with no issues. You will immediately know if they have gone bad when you open up the outer bad due to the rancid stench. Some people might not eat them much past expiration but I can't stand buying something and wasting the money by throwing it away.

I think Zeke mentioned if you are near a military base getting them at the Commissary. That is another really good option as they will sell them either singularly or by the case at often times better prices than the civilian market.

 

Do XMREs have the indicator on the outside ?

 

The last box of MREs I purchased were stored in 70 degree temp rang for a little less than 5 years. I don't remember the brand, but they were inedible when we tried to use them.

Genuine military MREs are likely much better than the consumer crap being passed off as military. I never had a problem with the real stuff.

I'm sticking with #10 cans of Mountain House.

 

72 cents for a can of Macaroni and Beef from Walmart. :thumb:

 

This +1.

There are a lot of good alternatives to MRE's that can be had at your local grocery store for way less cash.

If you look online there are a few folks on youtube who do a pretty good job of making homemade and vacuum sealed MREs with grocery store components.

 

never tried those brands.

i keep 4 cases, replace them every 3 years. they have their uses

damn folks, he didn't ask for a debate on mres, he isn't a newbie. he understands their place, and they have a place.

sometimes we really should just answer a posters question.

prices are real high right now for current production civies, good luck

 

Most of the MRE's I ate while in the military was without heating the main course. MRE heaters are a luxury in my opinion and definitely not a must.
While I was an M1A1 tanker, we just put the main course on the back exhaust grill while the tank was running and it was toasty hot in about a minute.

 

I agree. But the idea is to ah e a self contained solution. I don’t want my food storage replaced with them.

Also if I go canoeing , being able to heat up lunch in the canoe or on the bank without making camp / fire sounds nice.

 

They are expensive, but are handy, taste good*, easy to prepare, and there is a variety of menus. I have only tried and bought Military MRE's. The last case was Sopacko brand, it came today.

My SIL gave three MRE's a couple of years ago. All three tasted good and there were some sweets and other sides in the pack. Since then I have bought three cases in two years. They are expensive, but it seems for a hot meal and a snack it's not a waste of money.

I'll buy another case or two and start rotating them next year or the year after.

They are kept at our cabin in storage buckets for an emergency, or what ever.

 

Welp; didn't take long for this thread to go down the tubes and descend into a ****ing contest about who's the "real" prepper.

Yet another reason why I'm not as active here anymore.

FYI I have several friends who recently became involved in prepping as a result of the mess that 2020 has become. These kind of ****ing contests are exactly why they source their information and ask their questions on places other than this forum.

As to the OP - Sorry this thread became an unproductive mess.

 

Has anybody used these brands ? I’m thinking of adding a few cases of MRE with heaters to my LTS. The MRE star are 98 a case the XMRE are 120-160 depending on style.

Are those good prices ? I want a 2020 production date.

I've used MRE Star. I had bought a case last year for emergencies and they are pretty good. I don't know about XMRE though. Their menus do look good though.

 

Welcome to SB from MI.

 

We bought a couple cases of gov MRE's and a couple of cases of XMRE Shopacko low sodium. The XMRE Shopacko seems to be spaghetti heavy. Tasted good. We are eating a few to rotate. Will buy a couple more when I can get a good price. Was/is bought for quick meals in case of an emergency, portable, expensive but known value.

Those are all stored at the cabin want a couple cases for home, same reason's.

Do the heaters expire?

 

@McMacy

From my experience in Iraq the heaters went bad before the MRE,they would usually get warm but not hot,not a big deal since we didn't use them that often anyway.
I suspect it was the heat that made them weak,most I've used stateside worked fine.

 

From my experience mre’s are a mouse’s favorite. They can smell the food through the packaging.