I didn't read all the 250+ comments, but I haven't seen anyone mention it yet.. But I cut mine open carefully, then re-use the bags (the main heavy plastic pouch) for lots of things, they are great size bags and they last a long time
yeah~ I had those before and they are VERY tasty plus VERY fulfilling too, I had the US version and they are super charging up your body too~ nice stuff!
@testsubjectzz the point to buying MRE's is to have a food source that cna sit around for a long time in case of an emergency where you cant buy fresh food
A few MRE tips: Storage temp variations are more important than the temp itself. Storing in a place that goes from 100 in summer to 30 in winter will shorten the life more than storing in a relatively constant temp, hot or cold. You can tell if an individual MRE is spoiled if the envelope is puffed up like a balloon. That's the gas from decay. Toss it. An old mre that's not spoiled will be safe to eat but may not have enough nutritional value left for the body's needs. Great videos! Terry
@88Azazel Keep in mind that if you choose to pack de-hydrated food instead, you will need to hydrate it before consumption. Dehydrated food + water, is generally the same weight/size as the same number of calories worth of hydrated food.
@rickrocker A code is a rule for converting a piece of information (for example, a letter, word, phrase, or gesture) into another form or representation (one sign into another sign), not necessarily of the same type.
My Dad is retired Army & in the early 90s I got to try an MRE he had from the early 80s. Surprisingly, it was pretty tasty. From what I've heard, the quality & menu has improved considerably even since then so I'd say you've got a pretty good kit going there. Provided you've got refrigeration when you do have to use them, you can even make one MRE last a couple meals due to the high-calorie count per MRE (active-duty soldiers burn thru TONS of calories). Bon Appetit! :)
i ate K rations in the navy and c rations. in army it was c rats,mre's and T-rats. i was 1st division deck ape and we used to clean k-rats out of life boat/ whaler to replace with newer stuff. K-rats had a full pack of camels or lucky strikes or chesterfields. wrapped in plastic then a huge piece of stuff like duct tape.when we cleaned them out after cuban missle crisis we found WW II k-rats being saved.
Jeff In case you didn't know DO NOT consume the dairy shakes in your MREs. The FDA has discovered samonella in them. For more information check out the dairy shake recall article on mreinfo Thanks
yes I do this is a steady diet for me when Im doing nothing, lol...not to mention my regular diet as most peope, these days are packed full of calories, most woudl be suprised if they went calorie counting on a daily basis...
Thanks for this video, it brings back memories. When I was in Bosnia I ate these for 6 months. I think the newer ones do taste a bit better but back then I had the older ones in brown bags and eating them for 6 month straight sure got old quick even with all the variety.
Wow, these remind me of when my dad was in the 82nd Airborne. He would buy/trade for the extras that his buddies wouldn't eat. He would bring back cases of these things for me. When you are 8-9 years old and eating an "army man dinner" it is one of the coolest things ever!
my uncle is a major in the canadian army (currently posted in kandahar) he brings these meals for us when we go camping, the canadian ones are a little different, but they are still really good. i know that most of the ones i have include cookies. but the meals are made to a higher level than most would think. i have to say, the bread isnt to good by itself, but the canadian meals most have jam or peanut butter with them, so its decent
they were both built the same day but have different serial numbers meaning both made ther same day but one might have been made a few hours before the other one...
actualy there are differences down to somethgin as simple as the matches, military versions wil have matches most of the time where as vicilian versions cant due to shipping codes...so if they are the sasme that means the companies are violating laws...Im not sure thats the case..
Jeff, In ROTC I had these all the time. We used to fight over the beef stew, I cant remember what number it was. They really arent that bad, and do have tons of calories, so they keep you full, when you are running and gunning. If you space them out, you can get two meals out of one package. Eat the main course, then the bread or whatever else is in there. Thats what we used to do. Look for more info Thanks woohog1
Brings back memories of my travels in the Pineland Forest as a boy. Enjoy your MREs. In my opinion, they taste rather decent, and I grew up on home-made food.
@capitalmindz mre's are inspected periodically over their shelf life. The next inspection for these meals is January of 2011, if they were still in circulation. After they are inspected, they are reboxed with a new date
@EddieCubillo It depends what temp you keep them at. If you have them in your closet you should be ok for 6-7 years. From date of manufacture to inspection date is 3 years. Usually you have 3 or 4 years after that. There is a small red sticker on each case that will change color due to a combination of environmental temperature and age. When the red turns to black the case is probably bad. If dealing with an older case the best thing to do is look for bulging packets and use your eyes & nose.
Thanks CL for this video, tons of great information as usual. I have wanted an MRE almost my whole life, but up until around Y2K they were nearly impossible to get a hold of. Seeing how they are easy to get a hold of now, I ay actually get to try one finally. Thanks again for the info!
Oh yeah, of course, we all have those different dialects here in the United States of A! I just point it out because CL mentioned "chiminey" in another video.
This is interesting. I was going to buy some the other day for a 3 day Hiking expedition I have coming up in a couple of weeks. Might pick up a few out of curiosity!
fair enough, but in a bad situation there is somethgin to be said about anhearty hot meal, sure anyoen cna eat an old calorie bar thats dry pasty and tasteless, but its also about moral not just survival...
my bro and i had some MRE's after 2 days of our camping and canoe trip from hell. When your beat to heck and hungry/tired...they are INSANELY GOOD!! oh man...you will always think fondly of them if you really need to "survive" and you've got one!!
there 2 years old but yes probably why their sellign them if I had to guess I woudl assume soldiers sell them, I mean they get cases for free why not...
Word of warning about keeping them in your car. Your car can get very hot and that can cause the MRE to spoil quickly. I used to have three in my car for emergencies and needed to eat one. they were less then a year old and the Chili & Macaroni(menu 10 for those who care) had become a solid mass of nasty. I checked the package and it was unbroken or punctured, Leading me to believe it was the heat which can get to almost 150 degrees in your car.
its the date when they should be reinspected to make sure the packages arent puntured/spolied or need to be replaced. if you keep these stored at like 60 degrees farenheit you can store these for a LONG time
i just looked through the site, better watch out for dairy stuff: The U.S. Military has issued a "Do Not Consume" order/recall for Dairy Shake powder found in MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat) , UGR-E (Unitized Group Rations - Express), and TOTMs (Tailored Operational Training Meals). 2008 menu's affected: 1 - Chili w/Beans 9 - Beef Stew 21 - Tuna 22 - Chicken w/Dumplings
lol, I remember those things from katrina. The meals are ok, but the heaters are a lot of fun to play with. BTW the Jalapeño cheese spread is fantastic.
i was told by somebody in the forces that the 'flameless heater' is an explosive element which can be made into a makeshift bomb, which is why they are not for sale to civilians. he also said they taste great :)
They stay fresh pretty long, ate one of my older ones that spend like 5 years in a kitchen shelf. Still "fresh, but you would notice some sort of lack of taste.
The site you recommended was very interesting. I enjoyed looking at the pictures from the international rations, the French are certainly the winners if you like pork.
My buddies on active duty always tells me how practical the American MRE's are. They always try to get their hands on some to have as backup for long operations. Our MRE's are the old fashioned ones that you need to heat up so the 'just add water ones' are no doubt more handy. Even more so for our sniper division, they sometimes will have to eat the food just soaked in cold water cos they can't afford to give of a heat signature. Imagine eating food that is supposed to be boiled but ain't :)
@2hyped1 most camping/survival websies along with military surpluses will sell them. But they are expensive. Mostly around $7-10 for ONE. If you don't care about taste and you're saving them or you're cheap, survival bars by mainstay might be better for you.
thats $7.50 a meal...I dotn know any place other than say a dinner where you cna get a meal for $7.50...Im talking about going out to eat somethgin peopel do normaly...So fro less than $8 you got a meal that cna hang around for at least 3 years...the only other way to go is dehydrated food, which is a lot better for storage but also more expensive...
I live in Finland and the MRE's I bought from a military surplus store cost almost three times as much as the ones you got. They're also the military version so I wonder where they got them from.
really you make the sound easy, yeah Ill just go ahead and hunt, sure that will workm some of the time but if your a hunter youll know youm cant rely on it...in a real emergency situation the only thign my gun is good for i defending myself and taking other peoples food from them...
interesting, the british ration packs are kind of rubbish from what ive had when hiking. dont get a heating element just a load of boil in the bag stuff some buiscits and a yorkie bar and a few other things i cant remember
My bid on a case B packaged 2016 on eBay just won! I got an AWESOME deal. $29.99 with 20.00 for shipping. I'll never get another deal like this!! My patience paid off, really glad I didn't settle for 70-80 for one case. Thats @4.00 per meal😁
Military Surplus and Non-Military are available from many vendors and manufactures. Always check for manufacture date to determine expiration date. We prefer Military Grade.
One a day for a month would cost $187.50. Additionally, no utilities would be used in their preparation. No hot water or soap would be used for clean up. For a person on a very limited budget those could all be important considerations. Also, there would be no chance that anything could be left on the stove or the oven turned on forgotten. If soldiers can survive on them, I am sure the elderly could too with the addition of a few calories and a vitamin. They could be a great aid for independence
