Best place to get MREs?

WoobieJ

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Apr 28, 2012
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Where is the best place to buy MREs online. Was going to throw a few in my go bag and various places. I don’t want to pay $119 for shipping from MREmountain.
 
I got mine from an Amazon seller. I will say the 2021-23 MREs are not as good or intuitive recipe concocting as the late 90s-00s versions. I'd be fucken bitter if I were a troop in war and got some of these vegetarian fucking things. Oh, the maple ham MRE: Maple ham, maple pound cake, maple syrup, like they were playing a joke on the troop getting that one.
 
We lucked out here. A tiny, local discount grocery store named “Deb’s Discount” got in a few full pallets of legit A/B menu MIL MREs that still had 1-2 years left on their expiration dates (not that it matters, because they last 10 years easy if properly stored).

They sold them for $20 per FULL/SEALED box of 12. They sold me a full pallet of 90 boxes (1080 individual MREs) for $1,000 flat (less than $1/MRE). Split them up among family and neighbors. We kept 20 boxes and sampled one of each A/B menu. Some were actually pretty decent (Pot Roast) but a few of the menu items are definitely not something I’d eat unless I had no other options.

Unfortunately, they haven’t gotten any more in the last couple of years.
 
Not the perfect response to the question, much prefer Mountain House after about day 3 eating MREs my stomach will fast track them to the exit. Mountain House gtg. My last time with MREs is 20+ years ago.
I got a lot of Mountain House meals. If you can boil/heat water they're great. Beats the pants of WISE meals. Fucken WISE tastes like shit and 100% carbs. Mountain House gets you some protein and way better taste. The beauty of the MRE is you don't need to heat them.
 
I got a lot of Mountain House meals. If you can boil/heat water they're great. Beats the pants of WISE meals. Fucken WISE tastes like shit and 100% carbs. Mountain House gets you some protein and way better taste. The beauty of the MRE is you don't need to heat them.
MIL MREs come with the water-activated heater. 1/4 cup of water (doesn’t need to be potable) is all you need to serve up a piping hot meal. Or you can eat them cold, of course.
 
Most of the sites that I look at lately all list inspection dates instead of expiration dates, and that can be misleading , I personally go with mountain house products, 25 yr self life and best tasting of all the freeze dried prepper foods I've tried. I stopped buying after the pandemic however because the prices almost doubled , used to get the buckets with the 12 Meals for 61.00 at academy, now 115 online , and that down from 150.00 at the peak of the covid scare. Don't know if the prices will ever return to pre covid , but I figger I've got a good years supply , for just one person , so I'm gonna waiti and see.back in 2021 here in Texas when we had the big freeze the local emergency folks were giving away cases of MREs I got 3 of them , and slowly used them up , just to see if the were worth a fuck , I'll take the MH any day .
 
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This is what a proper prep looks like.
 

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Anybody heard of readywise? They got 25 yr shelf life as well

I've tried the wise, they're OK but not as good as Mountain House , Augason farms is good too.
 
I remember the good MRE's from the 90s.

I was going to buy some, but the menu options are a damn joke now. Who the hell wants vegetarian or mushy pizza?

If I could buy cases of just the beef options I'd consider it. (Chicken is just another bland vegetable, red meat or no meat for me).
 
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no shit there i was..... circa 1994.....6 months out from becoming a civilian. spent the previous 6 months drinking like a fish, chasing skirts, and just cutting loose after being on the clock pretty much constantly for the previous 3 years. all my money was spent on booze.
woke up one morning, and i think it was day 3 with no food-i would drink instead of eat. this morning i HAD to eat...but had spent all my cash the previous night at $2 pitcher night. the fridge was empty...but i had a "tuna and noodles" mre left in my ruck. i got it, crawled my hung over ass out to the curb in the shade and cut it open. took the first spoonful and put it in my mouth, chewed it, and tried to swallow it. i couldn't fucking do it. i ended up spitting it out, and dropping it right there in the gutter.

you guys enjoy your MREs.
 
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no shit there i was..... circa 1994.....6 months out from becoming a civilian. spent the previous 6 months drinking like a fish, chasing skirts, and just cutting loose after being on the clock pretty much constantly for the previous 3 years. all my money was spent on booze.
woke up one morning, and i think it was day 3 with no food-i would drink instead of eat. this morning i HAD to eat...but had spent all my cash the previous night at $2 pitcher night. the fridge was empty...but i had a "tuna and noodles" mre left in my ruck. i got it, crawled my hung over ass out to the curb in the shade and cut it open. took the first spoonful and put it in my mouth, chewed it, and tried to swallow it. i couldn't fucking do it. i ended up spitting it out, and dropping it right there in the gutter.

you guys enjoy your MREs.
Crackers...I would believe you if you added the crackers...
 
I got mine from an Amazon seller. I will say the 2021-23 MREs are not as good or intuitive recipe concocting as the late 90s-00s versions. I'd be fucken bitter if I were a troop in war and got some of these vegetarian fucking things. Oh, the maple ham MRE: Maple ham, maple pound cake, maple syrup, like they were playing a joke on the troop getting that one.

I completely disagree.... the vegetarian ones honestly were some of best and had great stuff to trade....

Having had to eat them for over a year I'm a little biased... cheese tortellini was the best

Veggie omelette was the worst of all mre's
 
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For MREs, chili mac (#10?) was always the best…. Especially if you could snag the jalapeno squeeze cheese from one of the other ones to put in after heating it up. That was actually pretty damn tasty.

beef ravioli was ok too…with the contents of a couple of those little tiny tabasco bottles added in on top. Good on the chili mac too.

veggie omelet was the worst…with the tuna casserole abomination a close second. Pouch of plain old tuna was good though.
 
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That's when they were good. BBQ beef and the peanut butter with the crackers hit the spot. Even the chocolate cookie/bar wasn't horrible.
You must've forgotten the dehydrated pork patties & chop suey. 🤮

The BBQ beef wasn't too terrible, but the crackers were completely inedible, unless you could trade some peanut butter for some jelly. Even then, it took a whole canteen of water to get it down.
 
The 1980s dehydrated patties were pretty good if you added your broth packet to the water when you reconstituted them.

Made for a pretty good sandwich that crumbled when combined with the crackers.
 
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FWIW I've had some Mountain House freeze dried stuff in my pantry for a good while. Recently went on a mountain hiking trip and took a few with me. Didn't even think to check the date until I was 1600 miles from home and several miles into the trail the first day. They were ten years old. Everything tasted fine. Some of the meat didn't reconstitute fully and was a little chewy but the rest was comparable to some stuff my friend brought that was fresh. Highly recommend.
 
Last winter, I found some dehydrated meals and desserts from 2001/2002 I had left over from trips to AK and had stored up. (Yes, been at it a long time).

Ate some.
Tasted alright and no issues.

Not as good as current stuff, likely age and just improvements.

They all work.
Backpackers Pantry makes a darn good Chicken Pad Thai.
Chili mac is good.

Work has small packets of Cholula hot sauce. Improves stuff if needed.
Great stuff for backpacking and backpack hunting trips.

And good easy storage.
 
Personally I'd skip the MREs and actually get some good food that will keep your system going and keep you going.
There are lots of options these days. Also there are some good meal bars and energy bars that you can rotate in and out in your go bag to keep you fed for the first hours or so before you decide to stop and camp and have a good meal.
 
They got this store front in my town marked “Recruiting Station” .

Just step inside for enough MREs you will never want another one….

Unless….

View attachment 8248888

You really need one.
Beat me to it.

Go in, fill out the paperwork, raise your right hand... Enjoy your free MRE's.

Hell, they'll even find someone to shoot at you while you're trying to eat them.

Mike
 
They got this store front in my town marked “Recruiting Station” .

Just step inside for enough MREs you will never want another one….


I second this. Just a little enlistment contract and you're well on your way to hating MREs. 1 out of 10 stars, do not recommend.

I remember the Beef Frankfurters, also affectionately known as "the four fingers of death". My body could convert those into diarrhea in a matter of minutes.

Later in my career they came out with milkshakes for a while...also known as "concentrated fart powder". Just add water and watch your friends disappear.

Country Captain Chicken - just sucked
Chicken With Pesto - screaming shits
Cheese Tortellini - crap an orange brick 3 days later

The list goes on an on...
 
Thanks y’all! I knew MREs were shit, but i was thinking the convenience of it all being together and having the warmer packet in there. I went with some more Mountain House. I’ll eat them cold if I’m that hungry rather than pack a jet boil. I’m gonna check out some peak refuel in the future also.
 
Beings I canp, hike, backpack, and hunt in high fire danger areas that are usually windy, I like a switch vs a burning tablet.
Have known of at least 3 fires in CO between those and alcohol stoves that dont have a turn off.

Lots of compact canister stoves that work great with any pot vs “jet boil”.

I run an old Snowpeak Ti pot, fuel, msr pocket rocket, and fuel.
Then if I can safely have a fire, I can conserve fuel and use my pot that way.
 
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Thanks y’all! I knew MREs were shit, but i was thinking the convenience of it all being together and having the warmer packet in there. I went with some more Mountain House. I’ll eat them cold if I’m that hungry rather than pack a jet boil. I’m gonna check out some peak refuel in the future also.
They are very calorie dense. They work ok enough in a pinch. Lots of superior products out there though. Probably doesn't hurt to have a case or two tucked away somewhere cool and dry.
 
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They are very calorie dense. They work ok enough in a pinch. Lots of superior products out there though. Probably doesn't hurt to have a case or two tucked away somewhere cool and dry.
only use i'd have them is to use as bait for some simpleton who thinks they are nifty because they simply lack the required experience......the perfect person to relieve of the things you need more than them. 🤣
 
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