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27K views 34 replies 28 participants last post by  JoeD1973 
#1 ·
Which do you prefer and why?
Ive eaten MRE in the military and I don't mind the taste but my wife and son may object,;)
The 10# cans last for over 10 years from mountain house foods.
Seems good to me, As a long term storage solution.
Any opinions?
Kenny
 
#6 ·
Mountain House is much more stable. 10 years? Try 30 for the cans. No worrying about keeping them cool like you must do with MRE's.

As to taste, well we're all different. I had to eat MRE's once upon a time too. Now we stock Mountain House for our long term supplies, amongst others. The wife and I both really enjoy MH. You can get the pouches to try out different meals before you commit to a larger purchase if you are wondering if you'll like this flavor or that one. For MRE's all we buy is the cheese, peanut butter and crackers. The rest just isn't what we want to spend money on.


On the downside, MH will cost you. They aren't giving it away. Thats why we stock a multitude of different products. MH for us is for when we can't devote the time to making something where actual cooking is required but when we also want something we enjoy. In a high stress situation we don't want a food that is going to bind us up or a food that we find bilious. Figure we'll have enough problems then to keep us busy. Having a little luxuries like MH may be what keeps our morale up and keeps us going over the rough spots.
 
#9 ·
Most of my food stores are #10 cans of Mountain house. And like Fishbread said it keeps 30+ years, and the camping bags of MH keeps for like 15 years. Plus the taste is very good, and very easy to use. I still have my 5 gallon buckets of items. But the ease of the MH will be very nice.
 
#17 ·
I'd say it depends on your intentions. In a bug out bag, or some boxes of food to throw in the truck on the way out, I tend to prefer prepared foods like MRE's or store bought - open a package and eat type food. Freeze dried food requires water, plenty of water. In my pack or bug out, freeze dried may be lighter, but you gotta carry the water to eat it or find some to purify then put in your food. I think prepped food and MRE's give you that chance to eat on the move and get to where you are going, whether you have extra water or not. If you gotta keep moving, heating water or purifying water may nor be convenient. I say use the the freeze dried for Storage food and long term stuff. But always supplement with a few cases of MRE's and a few extra MRE's in your BOB or the "Oh Sh*t, we gotta get outta here now" supplies.
 
#18 ·
+1 on mountain house. the only problem is the whole water issue. I've been pretty happy with the product and most of it is tasty.

- On the same lines, you can generally go into a grocery store and make up something very easily that will generally be healthier / cheaper / closer to your normal diet plan. Wander around your grocery store sometime. Its fun.
You wouldnt believe the stuff they have available.
 
#22 ·
I plan on getting a little bit of MH for bugging in only because of the water needed and a case of MRE's for bugging out because you can use them with the heater or eat them cold for conserving water. If you have MH only and no water, no meal, no energy and lethargic.
 
#28 ·
I keep a combo in most of my BOBs. I like to have most of it be MH pouches but keep at least a day off MRE in there in case water is any kind of issue.
 
#32 ·
MRE's and Mountain house are two completely different animals.

Mountain house is very long term, MRE's are 10 or so years, even longer if stored in cool and dark area.

Mre's are ready to eat and don't need water. Also, come with a meal and beverage heater. They also have matches and toilet paper in each menu. The military KNOWS what it takes to eat on "the move".

A longer term solution would be mountain house IMHO.
 
#33 ·
My opinion is that your food stocks should be set up in stages, and none of it should include MREs.

My very first food storage prep was a bunch of MH #10 cans. They were expensive, but I wanted a food supply NOW that I wouldn't have to worry about for 30 years. I have just a couple weeks worth of those cans. Just having those sitting there gives me piece of mind for a long time.

My next step was to add cheaper food like beans and rice and all the other goodies folks typically store in mylar bags. These foods also last for decades, but they take longer to store, and longer to prepare for a meal. It is not trivial to plan out a month's worth of rice, beans, oats, sugar, milk, etc, plus ways to cook it all, so it takes quite a bit more planning. Their benefit is you get WAY more food for your buck, so once you have SOMETHING like MH stored you can add mass amounts of calories to your stockpiles over time.

My third step will be to stock up and rotate normal pantry food. I don't really live a lifestyle where I do much grocery shopping (eat out a lot), so this isn't practical for me yet.
 
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