Wise Food Storage

[Duke Dillio]

Does anyone have experience with these meal kits for CAP or otherwise.  I was considering investing in some for my kit but wanted to know about taste, ease of preparation, variety, etc.  Thanks in advance.

[Stonewall]

Try a sample.

Never heard of them, but interested.

I have 2 cases of brand new MREs at home (got them last month), as well as a case from almost 10 years ago. 

I'd be willing to try these, but I'm cautious of the 25 year shelf life.

[Eclipse]

The 10 year old ones you have are likely well past their shelf life unless they were frozen this whole time, and then they are still expired.

I've eaten ones that are 3-4+ years old.  The entrees are usually fine, but the extras like chocolate are usually dried out and discolored.

[Duke Dillio]

I have a sample coming in.  I'll let you guys know what I think.  I was just lookin to see if anyone had tried them or knew someone that had.  On a side note, they sponsor one of my favorite shows:  Doomsday Preppers on NatGeo.

[Eclipse]

If it's any good, the price isn't bad, though it assumes, apparently, that you've got some way to heat water separately.
I didn't check on shipping, where some of this stuff gets pricey because of weight.

A bucket of grab-n-go meals in the garage at less then $4 each would be nice for the bike.

Looks like Mountain House is selling something similar, though not surprisingly more expensive: http://www.mtnhse.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=bkts

[MIKE]

I think I would rather a more traditional MRE for CAP purposes.  I don't need a two serving entree for just me... and there ain't no pound cake.

[Duke Dillio]

They got yogurt and pudding though.....   

[SarDragon]

They got yogurt and pudding though.....   

BLECCHH!!!

[Eclipse]

On a major CAP mission we got a pallet of British "Operational Ration Packs". In addition to the Yorkie bars, and other stuff we were trading back and forth, I learned, quite the hard way, what a "Chocolate Pudding" is.  Hint, it's not a milk-based delicious swirl  - nothing wrecks your day like keeping a foil bag on ice all day expecting a cold, sweet treat, only to open it and find...not Snack Pack.

http://www.mreinfo.com/international/great-britain/british-24-hour-ration-packs.html

[Duke Dillio]

When I was in Kuwait in '97, we had some British guys show up at our Kabal.  They were more than willing to part with their rations in trade for our MRE's.  I didn't quite understand it until I tried what they had to offer.  I don't think I have ever had anything more revolting in my life.....

[SarDragon]

In the '70sd, I was stationed at a Marine Base. They were getting rid of outdated C-rats (MCI), and a supply clerk "acquired" a few cases that got "lost" on the way to DRMO. Some of them had been produced in the early '50s, and had expiration dates in the '60s. We took them camping, and they tasted fine. Like MREs, some were better than others.

From Wikipedia:
In 1973, Army Colonel Henry Moak was issued a MCI ration during his stay in Vietnam. Included in the MCI ration was a can of pound cake, manufactured in 1969. He kept the unopened can and vowed to eat the pound cake when he retired from the Army. On July 24, 2009, Moak opened the forty-year old can and ate the contents. He noted that the pound cake still looked and smelled like fresh pound cake.

[Woodsy]

Guys, lets get real here...  When is the last time anyone needed something like an MRE on a CAP mission??? 


I get that some people like to relive the "glory days" and do stuff like this, but if we're talking for CAP purposes.....  We're not humping across the desert/jungle for days on end in CAP... 

[SarDragon]

Guys, lets get real here...  When is the last time anyone needed something like an MRE on a CAP mission??? 


I get that some people like to relive the "glory days" and do stuff like this, but if we're talking for CAP purposes.....  We're not humping across the desert/jungle for days on end in CAP...

Need? Probably not. But they are convenient to carry, and fun to eat once in a while.

[Eclipse]

What else should we carry?

I use them for all kinds of activities, and always have a couple on my bike. A handy way to eat quick for about $5.

[Private Investigator]

Guys, lets get real here...  When is the last time anyone needed something like an MRE on a CAP mission??? 


I get that some people like to relive the "glory days" and do stuff like this, but if we're talking for CAP purposes.....  We're not humping across the desert/jungle for days on end in CAP...

Need? Probably not. But they are convenient to carry, and fun to eat once in a while.

+100 for the Cadets.

Really it is for the Cadets and giving them a taste of their "glory days". No pun intended   

[Duke Dillio]

Guys, lets get real here...  When is the last time anyone needed something like an MRE on a CAP mission??? 


I get that some people like to relive the "glory days" and do stuff like this, but if we're talking for CAP purposes.....  We're not humping across the desert/jungle for days on end in CAP... 

Every year, sometimes several times a year, I conduct ground team training exercises.  We go into the woods and don't come out for several days.  If you don't bring MRE's or some other form of sustenance, you go hungry unless you talk someone else into giving you some food.  Food is on the packing list and therefore if you don't bring any, you fail the first station:  Prepare and deploy personal ground team equipment.  I also train all of my ground team members to not bring canned goods due to their weight and bulkiness.  I generally see MRE's more than I do any other food product because of the stated benefits above.  Where I live, we could be on a mission for several days in some very bad country.  I have no idea where you come from but I can assure you that there are large portions of land around me where people get lost and don't come back.  I don't personally carry MRE's regularly any more (mostly because of cost) but I can assure you that if I did it wouldn't be to relive the "glory days."

[Stonewall]

Guys, lets get real here...  When is the last time anyone needed something like an MRE on a CAP mission??? 

It doesn't matter when the last time was; it matters when the next time is.  Have I eaten an MRE on a REDCAP?  Of course I have, more than a few times actually.  Not by choice, or because it was cool, but out of necessity. I can even remember at least 4 of the missions, and one was right here in Florida as a cadet, during a several day search for a missing aircraft that was ultimately found.

Secondly, having a certain number of rations is required as part of the ground team member task list.  Not an MRE or "survival meal" per se, I mean,  you can make yourself a PB&J if you want, but I'll stick with an MRE that can sit in my 24/72 hour pack for a few years so I don't have to worry about it when I get called up.

At the end of the day, it's just practical to have emergency rations as part of your kit, even if your kit stays in the car because you're on a UDF mission.  Likewise, why eat your MRE if you can stop in at a local restaurant?  Save it for later use.

As for the purchase of MREs or these Wise Food Storage units, I have personally never spent money on them.  Fortunately I've been in the military and there's no shortage of spare meals when training is over.  Over the past 2 years, between my wife and I, we've managed to acquire at least 3 or 4 cases worth of MREs, one or two meals at a time. 

I get that some people like to relive the "glory days" and do stuff like this, but if we're talking for CAP purposes.....  We're not humping across the desert/jungle for days on end in CAP...

Just because not everyone has done this, or willing to do it, doesn't mean it doesn't or won't happen.  Over the years, the non-distress UDF type missions in urban and/or suburban areas certainly outnumber the missions that have required me to carry a pack, use a flashlight, manage a search line, or RON in a shelter.  But at the end of the day, that's what we should be prepared for.  Naturally, each member can pick and choose their limits – you may say "I'll stick with UDF missions where I never venture 100 feet away from my car,", while the next guy can't wait for the post apocalyptic mission he's dreamed of for years that requires a 2,000 hour pack.  For me, it all depends.  It's easier to deescalate than it is to get somewhere and find out you're missing the essentials, like an MRE.  Not all mission bases have a field kitchen, nor do all missions happen where there's a BK or Mickey D's.  Yes, places like this do exist.

As for reliving the glory days, I've been living mine for years now, but I want to make sure that the cadets who join CAP and participate in ES, or any activity for that matter, has some good stories to tell when it's their turn to bore the heck out of their underlings 10 to 20 years from now. 

[Duke Dillio]

I got an email from the Wise Food Storage company today and they are sending me a sample of their product.  When it gets here, I will post my opinion.

[Luis R. Ramos]

When I was active ten years ago I carried MRE's as the required meal for the 24-hour pack. I probably carried them well past the expiration date. I do not carry them now because of price. However if price did not matter I would carry them again, not because they are cool, but because of the convenience.

Contrary to local lore, I do find them a complete meal. Some entrees I like better than others. And if you use the water-activated heater, there is no need to carry much in the way to a mission. Now I carry other stuff, the canteen heater, the canteen cup, and a bar of fuel (on the 24-hour pack) and several extra fuel bars (in the 72-hour pack). Mind you, these fuel bars, Trioxane, although they look dry, they still burn, they are the survivors of ten years ago...

I have eaten MREs as training in several SAREX and Trainex. I even had them on my only Encampment. For the last part of the Encampment, they stopped giving us MRE's giving us instead I think it was named Jimmy D's. Like canned Turkey or Chicken mix. Worst piece of sh-- I ever ate. To me, even worse than the worst MRE!

In my 10 real missions I never had the need for an MRE. The missions I attended were more geared to an UDF type of search. My 24-hour and 72-hour packs were/are in the back of my car. 24/7. I never had to rely on them anyway. Living in New York City, if I need food or water I find many restaurants and some bodegas or delis open 24/7 where I can get food or water if needed.

Flyer

[Stonewall]

FWIW, today's MREs are friggin' awesome.  Look, I'm a former grunt and currently a "ground pounder" in the Air Guard, so eating MREs isn't a "cool guy" thing, it's a necessity.  I'll take Bono's BBQ, Tijuana Flats, or Outback any day over MREs, but as far as field rations go, I look forward to eating when I'm in the field.  Buffalo Chicken, Fajitas, Chicken with Feta Cheese, Southwest Beef and Black Beans, and the sides are really good.  Nothing beats jalapeno cheese spread, and the Santa Fe Style rice and Beans are to die for.

Is it lunch time?  Cuz I'm gettin' hungry.  That's what waking up at 0430 will do to you. 

[Eclipse]

^ Not to mention the time overhead of eating in the field.

Take a SAREx, for example - when I deploy a Ground Team(s), I tell them to make sure they have the full gear and expect they will not
be back at base until EOD.  They go out, do a mission, then get redeployed elsewhere.

If you want to see a GBD's vein blow out of his head, watch him when he gets a message that "Cadet Timmy is hungry and didn't bring his lunch,
so we have to hit retail, which is 45 minutes away"  - That's a 2-hour plus stall in the mission because Timmy wasn't prepared.  (Or to blow out the other vein, Timmy brought lunch but decided he didn't like what he brought, so when they asked, he said he needed food - BT!@#$%DT).

As a road-warrior for both work and play, I find myself in a lot of places where preparation is key to comfort - Las Vegas convention centers, for example - "across the street" = 1/2 mile away, and on the other end is a $15 convention center burger (thank the Lord for back doors and roach coaches!). Or teaching motorcycle riders - I've got less then an hour and a range full of bikes that have to be put away between me and hitting McD's,
not to mention that most ranges are in the furthest back portion of a college campus, 10 minutes from the gate, let alone a restaurant.  Or I can light up the Jetboil, open my MRE, and watch the sun back the bikes while I enjoy my lunch.

There's simply no easier, simpler way to carry around a 1/2-way decent meal with little attention to it long term.  No matter where I'm going / what I'm doing, a couple MREs, my Jetboil, and some water means I've got some good eatin' no matter what gets in my way.

I'll take a chilli-mac or the tuna fish any day of the week over a Big Mac.

[GroundHawg]

Wise Foods have two options, Camping and Home foods. The camping do not last as long, and the Home packaging isnt mobile.
Keep in mind this is my opinion... Wise Foods are not good to the taste.
Mountain Home or MRE's are much better tasting. If you are looking for food for a survival situation and you need calories and not taste then Wise isnt a bad option, but if you need a mobile meal for a go bag or your GT gear, MRE's are a far better option.

[Noble Six]

I just found another option.  Monkey chow for grub on the go.  I stumbled across this little gem on youtube a few minutes ago.

Monkey Chow Diaries: Day 1

[Woodsy]

Guys, all good and valid comments.  I don't see the likely possibility of a milti-day mission camping out in the woods anymore, but that's just my opinion. 

One of my major pet peeves as a PAO is seeing the organization misrepresented to potential members.  That new member joins up, then after a year or so wonders why he hasn't marched halfway across the state in the worst weather conditions in 100 year history to pull a baby out of a burning airplane, eating berries and hunting his dinner all the way...

[Eclipse]

Two issues, with above.  The times I have eaten them in quantity during week long missions, etc., there were in urban disaster areas, not the woods. Hungry is hungry, and if you're moving ahead of your logistics, or potentially going out where there is no infrastructure and you might get stuck in the field, they are vital.

Second, as a PAO, represent what is happening in your area, and then find out why you aren't doing the other missions.  Its a valid point, but if your collateral and information are all localized, it's a non-issue.

[Duke Dillio]

Guys, all good and valid comments.  I don't see the likely possibility of a milti-day mission camping out in the woods anymore, but that's just my opinion. 

One of my major pet peeves as a PAO is seeing the organization misrepresented to potential members.  That new member joins up, then after a year or so wonders why he hasn't marched halfway across the state in the worst weather conditions in 100 year history to pull a baby out of a burning airplane, eating berries and hunting his dinner all the way...

I might also point out that the Fosset search which was not that long ago was a multi-day mission with bases that were fairly remote.  There were search and rescue teams that were out for several days in the woods.  That search was more of the exception versus the rule due to the high profile nature of the victim.  Then, there was the Conne search and the search for the Kim family both in Oregon. 

My major pet peeve as a GBD is that we are losing out on missions like this because there are some in CAP who say things like what is posted above.  I have been told on more then one occasion that when the wing alert officer gets a call for assistance and GT's are requested, they tell the client that we don't have any ground teams.  They believe that in the era of cell phones and 401 beacons that ground teams are not necessary because we can "do everything from the air."  In fact, in my wing there was a push to issue all DF units to aircrews only because the higher ups thought that we don't need ground teams.  As such, there are very few qualified ground team members.  When I arrived in 2009, there were about 7 people qualified at any GT level and two of them were IC's who hadn't done any GT training in over 10 years.  Since that time, I have trippled that number to about 20 members and I have trained five or six GTL's.  Another unfortunate result of this attitude from up high is that the qualified GT's that we do have a located in a small area in the southwest corner of the state.  As it stands right now, we can cover less than one-third of the state and that is in a fairly populated area whereas we do not have any resources to cover the vast majority of the unpopulated area of the state where a likely multi-day mission would occur.  Regardless of the political and cultural atmosphere, we continue to train because it is better to have the ability and not need it then need it and not have it.

[Duke Dillio]

So to get back to the topic, I received my free sample from them a couple of days ago and tried it last night.  They sent me a two serving pasta alfredo packet.  The package was pretty nice looking.  I think that it would not be quite durable enough to throw it in your pack for 6 months but you could probably put them inside a ziplock bag and be fine.  Following the directions, the package requires 4 cups of water which might be an issue depending on your location (i.e. probably not something you want to use for GT missions unless you are in an area where there is water).  You boil the water and then have to wait for 12-15 minutes after you add the contents.  There is a dehydrator packet inside which was kindof a pain to get out of the bag.  There is an ample supply of food inside the packet (I finished the two servings but I am kindof a pig...)  It tasted pretty good for something that will last for 25 years (so they advertise anyways.)  I had to add a little hot sauce to give it a flavor that I like but it tasted fine beforehand.  It came out thick and creamy as an alfredo should, not soupy like some that I have tasted before.  I did not try cooking it in the packet which may be an option.  The real downside is the amount of water that it takes.  I believe that it would be an excellent product for an SHTF type of situation but not so much for CAP ground teams.  I am planning a ground team exercise for next month so I plan on ordering some of their camping food and taking it with me to give it an evaluation in the field.  All in all, not bad at all.  I have tasted worse...  And unfortunately, there is no pound cake.....