[pct-l] Meals Ready to Eat. Or MRE's

[Gregory Wilson]

I served as a sniper in a long range recon unit in the army, and they had these special MREs called LRP (long range patrol) meals.
They are much lighter and contain all freeze-dried meals which, in my opinion, taste a thousand times better than the regular ones. 
I don't recommend bringing MREs with you on the trail for the exact reasons Russ has said below; however,
if you really want to go that route I'd recommend the LRP meals. I ate my share of MREs in Iraq and I hope I never have to eat another.
Warning, if you eat MREs for too many days in a row, your going to need a stool softener. =)

See you on the trail in April!

Greg Wilson
http://postholer.com/gwilson

-----Original Message-----

I retired from the Army 3 years ago...skip the MREs...
1) they are significantly heavier than dehydrated food
2) you can minimize weight by stripping off excess packaging, but still they
will weigh more
3) prolonged usage can lead to dehydration and constipation (as a battalion
commander I was under retsrictions as to the number of continuous days that
we could eat 3 MREs/day
 
On the other hand..
1) they come in a wide variety of flavors
2) can be eaten cold, if necessary
3) usually taste good with Tabasco sauce
 
Russ Garner
 
-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Scott Bryce
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 12:18 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Meals Ready to Eat. Or MRE's
 
On 2/6/2011 12:36 PM, Gerry Zamora wrote:
> I have alot of friends in the military and I have been talking to them 
> about my hike they all recommend MRE's as my food source as they 
> provide around 3500cal at a couple of ounces per meal.
 
According to Wikipedia, a typical MRE weighs between 18 and 26 oz and
provides 1200 calories. That comes out to between 66 and 46 calories per
ounce. Typical backpacking food provides twice as many calories per ounce.
And at a cost of about $7.50 per meal, they are very pricey.
 
As someone else already pointed out, you will wind up with a lot of trash.