MRE's - Where to buy?

[AlaskaRocks]

Hey guys,

Yet another question from me.

Where do you all get your MREs?  I have done some searching and I have found one website that sells MREs (Sportsman's Guide) but I have also been told that those are not true MREs.  Where do you get your MREs and what are your thoughts on them?

Thanks

[lordmonar]

You can get them at the commissary on base usually for about $8.50 a pop.
Your better equiped surplus stores have them.
And of course on line.

[Eclipse]

Actual government-issue "MRE's" are not legal for sale.  Be careful because a lot of times the ones in the surplus stores have either "fallen off a truck"
or are far outside their rated shelf life.

What you can buy are commercial versions made by the same companies.  Sopako is where I usually get mine.  The heaters have to be purchased separately.  The challenge is that the shipping usually costs as much as the product.

http://www.sopakco.com/

If you have a military commissary in your area, you might be able to arrange to have someone with access purchase them for you, in some cases by the case or even pallet. We have done this for bivouacs and missions.

[AlaskaRocks]

SoPakCo's product looks pretty good - I'll look into it.  $6.50/meal (plus heaters) doesn't look too bad, unless the shipping's really as terrible as you say it is...

[Eclipse]

SoPakCo's product looks pretty good - I'll look into it.  $6.50/meal (plus heaters) doesn't look too bad, unless the shipping's really as terrible as you say it is...

Their pricing hasn't changed too much since I started using them 10+ years ago.  The trouble is these things are relatively heavy.
It's not prohibitive, more just annoying, and raises the per-meal cost.

At one point I was trying to but a pallet, but was never able to figure out a dock for the receiving.  They can't deliver a pallet unless you've
got a dock or a lift.

[lordmonar]

Actual government-issue "MRE's" are not legal for sale.  Be careful because a lot of times the ones in the surplus stores have either "fallen off a truck"
or are far outside their rated shelf life.

What you can buy are commercial versions made by the same companies.  Sopako is where I usually get mine.  The heaters have to be purchased separately.  The challenge is that the shipping usually costs as much as the product.

http://www.sopakco.com/

If you have a military commissary in your area, you might be able to arrange to have someone with access purchase them for you, in some cases by the case or even pallet. We have done this for bivouacs and missions.

Again you have no idea what you are talking about.
The contractor who supplies MREs the military is free to sell them to just about anyone.
The commissary is the base repository for the contigency plans for MREs.....and they sell off those lots of MRE's that are approaching their "best used by date".

[Garibaldi]

I usually get my MREs from the surplus store. The lady who owns it tells me she gets them from people in the military who don't eat them or have a a few "sitting around" from after their deployment.

www.armygear.net has cases for sale.

It's hard to find any with heaters nowadays but since I don't use them (I'm a culinary masochist who eats the things cold) I have a few sitting around.

[RRLE]

Just go to any gun show.

[Eclipse]

I usually get my MREs from the surplus store. The lady who owns it tells me she gets them from people in the military who don't eat them or have a a few "sitting around" from after their deployment.

Those would be the ones specifically illegal for commercial sale and of questionable vintage.

[lordmonar]

I usually get my MREs from the surplus store. The lady who owns it tells me she gets them from people in the military who don't eat them or have a a few "sitting around" from after their deployment.

Those would be the ones specifically illegal for commercial sale and of questionable vintage.

"Specifically illegal"?  Is this just an Ill thing?  To sound like I am repeating myself.....cite please.

[Spaceman3750]

www.mredepot.com

[Eclipse]

I usually get my MREs from the surplus store. The lady who owns it tells me she gets them from people in the military who don't eat them or have a a few "sitting around" from after their deployment.

Those would be the ones specifically illegal for commercial sale and of questionable vintage.

"Specifically illegal"?  Is this just an Ill thing?  To sound like I am repeating myself.....cite please.

The sale of government spec MRE's, per se, is not illegal, so a civilian who is tossed one off of a guard truck and then sells it to his buddy
is fine, however since issued MRE's are government property, that would fall until Title 108 of the UCMJ.

10 USC § 908 - ART. 108. MILITARY PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES—LOSS, DAMAGE, DESTRUCTION, OR WRONGFUL DISPOSITION
Any person subject to this chapter who, without proper authority—
(1) sells or otherwise disposes of;
(2) willfully or through neglect damages, destroys, or loses; or
(3) willfully or through neglect suffers to be lost, damaged, destroyed, sold, or wrongfully disposed of;
any military property of the United States, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

You won't find any legal ones commercially available that have been packaged for sale to the US government.

In my personal experience, though the ethics of the resale are an issue, the real concern to our members is the shelf life.
During the Ice Quake in KY, we were told that the Army disposes of MREs as unusable for repack (meaning bringing them back to
the supply depot after running them out for use), if they are more than 1 year old. 

I've seen MRE's on the shelf for years at a time in the local shops, but I'd say a good guess is that anything you're buying at
"Sarge's Surplus Hut"  is likely at least a year or two old, so unless you eat it on the way home, you're gonna be at risk
on the shelf life if it sits in the average member's gear packed in the trunk for another year or two. 

I cycle a lot of these because they make great meals for the bike and when I'm teaching, and anything outside of two years
tends to be dicey.

www.mredepot.com

Excellent example of the issue.  They want top-dollar price for MRE's that are already over 2 years old.

[Eclipse]

This is the generally accepted shelf life for MRE's now (though different manufacturers show slight variations.


Considering most CAP members store them in the garage, basement, or car trunk, anything over 36 months is pushing it.

[Eclipse]

While we're at it, we might as well dispel the calorie wive's tales.

MRE's average 1200-1500 calories per meal, nothing close to the numbers I've heard from people that range from 3-6000 each.

[Spaceman3750]

Last time I was at NESA they were using these http://www.longlifefood.com

[Eclipse]

Heh - "exotic"

[Fubar]

Heh - "exotic"

Hmm, I wonder if that's as expensive as "tactical"

[AngelWings]

MRE's are not what you want in your system, trust me. I worked very long and hard hours at my JCLC for JROTC and we were given them. They caused a great portion of my platoon constipation. Just pack your favorite canned food in a special pack that won't leave mission base (lock it if you feel someone is going to steal it on you) and bring what you need with you. So far, that has worked for me. Poptarts or mini donuts for the morning, chef boyardee for lunch, and in a cooler sandwich stuff at mission base for dinner, or otherwise supplemented by chef boyardee if I am not there. MRE's are very hyped up for energy this, survival that, "ooh, I'll have what the military is having", but they're not all they're hyped up to be.

[RogueLeader]

MRE's are not what you want in your system, trust me. I worked very long and hard hours at my JCLC for JROTC and we were given them. They caused a great portion of my platoon constipation. Just pack your favorite canned food in a special pack that won't leave mission base (lock it if you feel someone is going to steal it on you) and bring what you need with you. So far, that has worked for me. Poptarts or mini donuts for the morning, chef boyardee for lunch, and in a cooler sandwich stuff at mission base for dinner, or otherwise supplemented by chef boyardee if I am not there. MRE's are very hyped up for energy this, survival that, "ooh, I'll have what the military is having", but they're not all they're hyped up to be.

They are good for the field where quick trips behind a tree are cut back. I still use them. There are reasons that people use them, not just because the military use them.

[SarDragon]

Different strokes for different folks. They affect each person differently. I've never had any issues with them, other than some flavor/taste dislikes. Drinking more water helps the exit problem.