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Grand Fromage posted:You guys have opinions on which MREs are the best? A recent large earthquake nearby has reminded me to finish stocking my earthquake kit and I'm going to pick some more up. Chinese MREs are godawful but I can get American ones on the internet no problem. The seller has every option so I just have to pick. French MREs.
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Aug 24, 2017 17:26
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Furious Lobster posted:French MREs. Those are $60 each so I'll stick to American.
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Aug 24, 2017 17:31
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I can actually eat in a French restaurant for less than that.
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Aug 24, 2017 17:49
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Grand Fromage posted:You guys have opinions on which MREs are the best? A recent large earthquake nearby has reminded me to finish stocking my earthquake kit and I'm going to pick some more up. Chinese MREs are godawful but I can get American ones on the internet no problem. The seller has every option so I just have to pick. US MREs are actually my favorite so far. Along with being really acceptable to an American palate, they have a lot of variety and a decent amount of food. Just remember that 2 or 3 are necessary per day, as each only has 1000 to 1300 calories. Lithuanian is a contender as well, though I think it has less food and variety. Be very careful to buy military surplus MREs instead of civilian clones. Civilian MREs tend to be lower quality, have less food, and lack important items like the flameless heater. I actually wasn't a big fan of French. They overshot their ability to make high cuisine and ended up including kinda gross or average dishes that would ordinarily be expensive restaurant fare (like pork cheeks, or a cold beef salad).
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Aug 24, 2017 18:11
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Just make sure you get enough MREs you can trade your skittles for your survival buddy's jalapeńo cheese. Or just ratfuck the boxes for it, up to you.
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Aug 25, 2017 00:10
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Make friends with somebody with a peanut allergy, so you can trade your cheese packets and skittles for peanut butter packets and peanut m&ms
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Aug 25, 2017 03:40
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Internet Wizard posted:Make friends with somebody with a peanut allergy, so you can trade your cheese packets and skittles for peanut butter packets and peanut m&ms You monster.
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Aug 25, 2017 03:43
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Grand Fromage posted:You guys have opinions on which MREs are the best? A recent large earthquake nearby has reminded me to finish stocking my earthquake kit and I'm going to pick some more up. Chinese MREs are godawful but I can get American ones on the internet no problem. The seller has every option so I just have to pick. The Russian 24hr is great. Definitely eat the kasha.
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Sep 2, 2017 23:09
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Marxist-Jezzinist posted:The Russian 24hr is great. Definitely eat the kasha. Your avatar and forums name makes this suggestion suspect. Honestly, you can assemble your own short term (as in, within the next 2 years kept at stable indoor temps) kits from commercially and grocery available dehydrated soups, tinned and shelf-stable meals and meats, and powdered drink mixes. Otherwise, https://www.mealkitsupply.com/MRE/US/product/mre_12-pack/ and hope you like pasta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIG_6ZOSQys&t for review by our favorite MRE reviewer. Suspect Bucket fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Sep 3, 2017 |
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Sep 3, 2017 02:16
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Suspect Bucket posted:Your avatar and forums name makes this suggestion suspect. The kasha is loving garbage fit only for animals you don't like.
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Sep 3, 2017 09:28
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Chitoryu I haven't forgotten about you!! I have been super busy, but will try get this Aussie pack over to you ASAP
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Sep 4, 2017 06:17
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Ahh, the ratfucking. Since I was usually the oldest guy in any unit I was in, I would always stand by when a new box of MREs were opened and let the younger guys all stampede the box like the greedy little ratfucking poo poo piglets that they were. Of course, that inevitably meant that fully half of my meals for a year were monster on a stick posted:Get the omelet if you can, that was legendary.  Don't fall for this trap. I genuinely have no idea how this escaped development and saw commercial production. Everyone hated them and that's among Marines in an infantry unit, whose diets are already notoriously raccoon-like. If you were given the omelet entree by itself with no context, you would not recognize it as food. There is nothing about the color, texture, or smell that would lead you to think that it was a food product if you hadn't read the label on the package. I say without hyperbole that dogs won't eat it. Whether some chemical in it puts them off or if they just don't think it's food, I don't know. That said, it's not inedible. Like all of the less popular MREs, there's some tricks to make it a bit more palatable. Step 1: Melt that poo poo. Apply as much heat to the omelet as possible before even trying to deal with it. Step 2: The MRE comes with a pouch of bacon-flavored hash browns. Stir that trash in there, it'll be all of the texture in the meal. Step 3: Add absolutely any condiment you can get. You might be able to try a sympathy ploy to get a condiment out of someone once they see you have the omelet, or if that fails you can grudgingly trade out the included 2-pack of Pop-Tarts. This is also where Tobasco really shines. Tobasco does one thing and it does it well: it completely overwhelms and destroys the flavor of any food that it touches. In a civilized kitchen, that's a detriment. In the world of the MRE omelet, it's a superpower. Or, you know what, do get one and just eat the entree as is like a big, cold, wet, wobbly candy bar.  e: to add the word "wet" to the description xoFcitcrA fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Sep 17, 2017 |
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Sep 4, 2017 14:03
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McSpergin posted:Chitoryu I haven't forgotten about you!! I have been super busy, but will try get this Aussie pack over to you ASAP Great!
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Sep 5, 2017 03:56
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Well, inspired by this thread, I bought a case of MREs to help me with my pending move so I can pack all my regular food items and cookware to not worry about cooking for a few days. The ones I got are towards the end of their life but still perfectly edible for MRE values of such. Mostly I find that they contain more sweet stuff than I typically I want--I'd rather eat two of the unpopular entrees than even one 'raspberry white-chip cookie'. Still only tried a few of them, but they definitely have enough edibles to be sustaining. I suppose if I were in a military unit I would be one of the many begging for jalapeno cheese spread.
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Sep 20, 2017 06:21
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This thread almost inspired me to buy and report on Belarusian field ration but upon looking it up it just looks kind of boring, like Russian one with less stuff. 2 cans of kasha, tea and crackers.
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Sep 20, 2017 15:15
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Sekenr posted:This thread almost inspired me to buy and report on Belarusian field ration but upon looking it up it just looks kind of boring, like Russian one with less stuff. 2 cans of kasha, tea and crackers. Review the taste of all that fat, at least!
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Sep 20, 2017 16:53
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Sekenr posted:This thread almost inspired me to buy and report on Belarusian field ration but upon looking it up it just looks kind of boring, like Russian one with less stuff. 2 cans of kasha, tea and crackers. Latvian ration is picture of potato on box of rocks. Haha, fool you, is also picture of rock.
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Sep 20, 2017 18:43
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Photo is actually that of dead wife who was raped and murdered by bandit after you were conscripted into army by government
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Sep 20, 2017 21:33
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Zopotantor posted:Latvian ration is picture of potato on box of rocks. A picture of a rock or something
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Sep 20, 2017 22:40
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Zopotantor posted:Latvian ration is picture of potato on box of rocks. Literally laughed out loud.  (But, did you KNOOOOOOW (been watching too much of Movies With Mikey) that for a VERY long while the Federal prison system did NOT have Latvian translators (and still may not, but I have been out of that information loop for a long time)?)
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Sep 21, 2017 12:57
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chitoryu12 posted:Review the taste of all that fat, at least! Its a picture I found on the internet  Like I said, I didn't buy it, this is just too boring. Basically a box with some cheap food lazily thrown in  . Maybe I'll buy those cans of kasha if I see them.
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Sep 21, 2017 13:24
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That sounds like the sort of meal you want to have cheap booze with.
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Sep 21, 2017 13:36
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Great, now I'm addicted to Steve1989's videos. I want to try an MRE  There's an Army/Navy store around Downtown Crossing in Boston, I stopped by but it looks like the only MREs are random SoPakCo civilian ones. They were like $13 too. Oh well.
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Sep 22, 2017 02:16
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You probably have to look online, it's technically illegal to sell actual MREs so it's safer to do it on the internet than in an actual store. That said there are brands of commercial sale MREs that are literally identical other than packaging.
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Sep 22, 2017 04:22
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Are there any (relatively modern) rations that include alcohol? I know there were custom beer cans in WW2, or whatever, and ye olde rum rationnes (where "ye olde" is "until 1970"), but anything packaged in more modern ones? I would assume not, but then I'd also assume Russians wouldn't make their aircraft unflyable by drinking the coolant.
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Sep 22, 2017 08:32
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90s Cringe Rock posted:Are there any (relatively modern) rations that include alcohol? I know there were custom beer cans in WW2, or whatever, and ye olde rum rationnes (where "ye olde" is "until 1970"), but anything packaged in more modern ones? that's kind of sad. Soldiers deserve a couple of beers
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Sep 22, 2017 10:33
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90s Cringe Rock posted:Are there any (relatively modern) rations that include alcohol? I know there were custom beer cans in WW2, or whatever, and ye olde rum rationnes (where "ye olde" is "until 1970"), but anything packaged in more modern ones? Italian ones do. I think maybe French rcir's do as well
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Sep 22, 2017 10:41
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90s Cringe Rock posted:Are there any (relatively modern) rations that include alcohol? I know there were custom beer cans in WW2, or whatever, and ye olde rum rationnes (where "ye olde" is "until 1970"), but anything packaged in more modern ones? I think there's a modern-ish Italian one that comes with a cute little sachet of liqueur. Steve1989 has a video review of it.
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Sep 22, 2017 10:43
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Grand Fromage posted:You probably have to look online, it's technically illegal to sell actual MREs so it's safer to do it on the internet than in an actual store. That's actually a common misconception. While MREs are labeled claiming that commercial resale is unlawful, there's actually no law anywhere on the books criminalizing their sale (which is why eBay has steadfastly refused to prevent their sales). Soldiers will get in trouble for being caught selling them, but civilians are 100% in the clear to purchase and sell them anywhere. I've tried several commercial MRE brands and found them all lacking compared to the real deal. Lesser quality food and fewer items.
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Sep 22, 2017 13:59
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Grand Fromage posted:You probably have to look online, it's technically illegal to sell actual MREs so it's safer to do it on the internet than in an actual store. I figured that would be the case. I remember that they started cracking down on it, but I figured I might as well try. And yeah it makes sense that an MRE maker would rebrand for the civilian market, but then it's not as special, you know? Plus, as chitoryu mentioned, price gouging.
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Sep 22, 2017 19:05
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xoFcitcrA posted:Ahh, the ratfucking. I'm so old I had the omelet with ham MRE that came BEFORE the one you're describing while I was in the army! I'm talking OG 1988-1994 era MREs. It didn't come with hash browns, but the omelet itself had all the vile properties you describe, including animals not believing it was food. 
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Sep 22, 2017 20:02
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sean10mm posted:I'm so old I had the omelet with ham MRE that came BEFORE the one you're describing while I was in the army! I'm talking OG 1988-1994 era MREs. It didn't come with hash browns, but the omelet itself had all the vile properties you describe, including animals not believing it was food. Same.
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Sep 22, 2017 20:42
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When I was a kid my Dad brought some LRRP rations from Vietnam. Early freeze-dried rations. The chili was pretty decent, but we may not have rehydrated it enough, as the beans were still powdery inside. Some years later he brought some C rations back from the field. He confiscated the cigs, but iirc the food was meh, at best. After retirement he gave me some new flavor mre's with the heating packet. The spaghetti wasn't bad, and the burger patty was pretty tough. Side note- during the wait for Desert Storm Trudeau had a Sunday comic about mre's and what the troops thought of them. Dad wrote him saying how right he was and Trudeau sent him the artist's proof. I later got that as a Christmas present.
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Sep 22, 2017 23:52
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chitoryu12 posted:That's actually a common misconception. While MREs are labeled claiming that commercial resale is unlawful, there's actually no law anywhere on the books criminalizing their sale (which is why eBay has steadfastly refused to prevent their sales). Soldiers will get in trouble for being caught selling them, but civilians are 100% in the clear to purchase and sell them anywhere. Well 'real' MREs all had some kind or orogin with the military/government, so if someone is selling them they are probably stolen unless you can buy MREs from bulk government auctions.
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Sep 23, 2017 00:02
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Plinkey posted:Well 'real' MREs all had some kind or orogin with the military/government, so if someone is selling them they are probably stolen unless you can buy MREs from bulk government auctions. "Stolen" is a bit dramatic. Soldiers often return from the field with issued MREs that weren't eaten and give them to people or sell them. The government doesn't do bulk auctions of MREs themselves as far as I know, but sometimes contractors who assemble MREs get orders cancelled (in one case I saw, it was a huge order for a PMC that ended up pulling out of the Middle East before delivery) and sell off the product commercially. Even if you want to argue that the MREs are stolen, it's not like they're taking M16s for the black market. It's commercially available food and accessory items in different packaging being assembled in a bag. I think the ghost of Chesty Puller will look the other way.
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Sep 23, 2017 01:19
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Isn't that the basis of like, every Army Surplus store though? Surplus being the operative word.
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Sep 23, 2017 04:03
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You're not allowed to sell issued MREs because technically they're government property. Any extra ones you have after a field ex or whatever you're supposed to return so it can be used later, it's not your personal property. This is just never enforced, though. That being said, there are plenty of ways to legally acquire MREs for personal use. Every commissary I've ever been inside of sells them.
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Sep 23, 2017 14:59
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This thread is amazing and I love it. However, I am a bit concerned that the French heating tablets are called "friendly fire."
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Sep 23, 2017 15:41
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I suspect resale is only frowned upon so you don't have too many instances where you're shipping 100 crates of rations to a combat zone, and 20 mysteriously fall off the back of a truck and end up contributing to some logistics officer's vacation fund instead of actually feeding troops.
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Sep 24, 2017 00:28
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I read somewhere specifically that veterans are allowed to purchase them from PXs though I don't know at what cost. Once they buy them they're private property no matter what the bag says, but I don't know what cost or volume they can get.
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Sep 24, 2017 00:33
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