MREs... Please enlighten me

[Kozak]

I stopped by a military surplus store in the finger lakes and they had individual MREs for sale at $15/each. They had a case (unknown quantity... 10? 12?) for $125. The price seems steep to me, but I am not too knowledgeable on the market. I also don't know what the best meals are. My veteran buddy gave me a chilli mac once and that was pretty tasty. Where should I shop or these and what price should I expect to pay?

 

[Darth]

What about them?

I like them, but they are expensive AF now.

 

[Kozak]

What about them?

I like them, but they are expensive AF now.

I accidentally posted too early before I finished typing. I have since edited my post. What is expensive AF? The prices I mentioned?

 

[pshift]

People are cashing in on those who call themselves 'preppers'.

 

[Podmonkey]

Anything you see on the secondary market will be at or near the expiration date so don't buy them thinking you'll be stashing them for long term preps. If you are curious and could use the near term go ahead, the price you listed seems a bit low actually, I wouldn't be surprised if they were older, rotated out stock.

 

[GTN]

Mountain House just had a 25% off sale

 

[kev74]

$12-15 is where I was seeing them priced a year or two ago. I haven't looked in a while.

I never put much thought into what variety I was getting, figuring if the price was right, the expiration date was far away, and I was hungry enough to eat it, I wouldn't care that much. I don't recall ever eating a bad one, although some were better than others.

 

[togmaster]

The salt in those meals will kill you.

 

[JaguarJaguarGolf]

Check the expiration date!

They do not last as long as canned goods.

Don't store pop top canned goods, get ones you must use a can opener

 

[Hochulsucks1234]

MREs are too expensive and don't last as long as people think, especially compared to the old C-rations. You are better off buying #10 cans and/or buckets of sealed food from places like Auguson Farms, Mt House, Nutristore, etc. Cheapest route would be to prep and seal your own. High salt content and preservatives are expected with food that is sealed to last 30+ years.

 

[tc556guy]

I wouldn't pay more than $5-10 each for them. I cant believe people are paying more than that for nearly expired ones

 

[Podmonkey]

The salt in those meals will kill you.

The high sodium thing is a myth, even the American Heart Ascociation has admitted there is no scientific link between sodium consumption and blood pressure in healthy adults. People used to eat large quantities of salted meat all winter every winter.

 

[Deplorable Me]

In lieu of MRE's we've always kept a well stocked pantry of things we rotate through anyway. We try to keep it balanced & healthy. Plan meals around things we stock. Keep an eye on expiration dates. Waste nothing. MRE's seem to be high priced for what I can pick up otherwise. Back in the 70's I tried Korean War surplus C-rats and have tried MRE's. My inspiration for keeping the pantry full and well managed.

 

[stokes]

Ate a lot of C rats from WWII when I was a kid, into the mid 1960's. My father was a WWII/ Korean war vet and his credo was "it was good enough for us at war, its good enough for you shits to eat playin tiddly winks" also suffered thru too much instant potatoes, powdered eggs and margarine for the same reason. The C rats were more for fun, never served at the table, he would get them and give it to us at lunch occassionally but the other crap was. I wont eat any of it anymore.

 

[Kozak]

People are cashing in on those who call themselves 'preppers'.

Ahh... I see. I wanted some to throw in my camping pack.

 

[technicalgadget]

Not to mention they are unofficially designed to help prevent dysentery by backing you up. If you eat nothing but MRE's for 2 weeks straight, you will not feel like you have crap until the very last moment which can result in something pretty explosive at the end.

 

[kev74]

Ahh... I see. I wanted some to throw in my camping pack.

I like to keep a few around. I've given some to my kid for camping trips. I'll throw one in the truck if I'll be away from civilization for a while.

The ones with the heater packs are handy too.

 

[RedBreast21]

MRE's are butt plugs. Eat only when absolutely necessary and have plenty of consumable water while eating them. I think there are better option. lol

 

[GTN]

The ones with the heater packs are handy too.

I learned the hard way NOT to use those heaters in the house. It set off every carbon monoxide detector I have

 

[kev74]

I learned the hard way NOT to use those heaters in the house. It set off every carbon monoxide detector I have

Did you light them on fire?? There shouldn't be any CO.

 

[Steal2B]

 

[Xae289]

If you eat them regularly for any period of time, you will poop out a rock. On the bright side, if you receive oncoming fire, you probably won't be capable of crapping your pants.

 

[Mosinitis]

Avoid beef patty, it's dry dog food. Beef stew, if they still make them, was not too bad.

 

[dsdmmat]

Won’t catch me eating any of them (anymore). 18 years in the service (C-Rats before them) and the two tours in Afghanistan as a civilian was enough for a lifetime. However, if you throw them at hungry people you may be able to get away from the zombies before they eat you.

 

[penrod72]

Location/ name of army navy store in Finger Lakes please?

 

[GTN]

Did you light them on fire?? There shouldn't be any CO.

Nope I followed the directions

 

[thughes]

Ahh... I see. I wanted some to throw in my camping pack.

I bought a case a while back as backups for camping or whatever. I keep a few in the truck's emergency bag, throw a couple in with my gear before I head out moto-camping. They're good to have if you roll in late and don't have a chance to grab dinner in town before setting up camp but I wouldn't want to rely on them as a meal plan for an entire trip.

 

[Far king]

Why not just put together your own MRE’s from the supermarket?
You can put together meals from a wide range of non perishable items, get exactly what you like and nothing you don’t and save yourself a butt-load of money.

 

[Acer-m14]

invest in mason jars and a pressure canner ...

and a Food Saver vacuum machine ..

even a food dehydrator

hell with them 100 yr old MRE's ..

 

[spat]

They can be good for short term emergency use, but not real prepping

Like "keep a couple in the truck so your not hungry if your stranded" kind of emergency, but not "load up the garage with 20 cases" kind of emergency.