Where to buy MREs

I want to get a half dozen MREs to keep in my truck for emergencies / SAR. But surplus stores sell them for $6-7 each which seems like highway robbery to me. Does anybody know of a good on-line source?

I'd sell you some of mine, but shipping would probably be more expensive than what the MRE's would cost you. I always brought home extra from the field, and no, it's not because I liked them, I just didn't eat them if I had other means of nourishment.

I don't thnink that $6 is all that bad. I'm sure that you can go online to places like Uscav.com and others, but I'm thinking that MRE's + S/H = $30-40 for 6 and it'd be slow shipping.

Maybe you could find someone's Y2K stash that they want to get rid of. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-Jason

I like to look at this website. Copy the name of the mre into a search engine. Then look at all the stores and compare prices. Also, check out www.cheaperthandirt.com .
http://www.equipped.com/watrfood.htm#RationsandSuch

kbOrrg,

I too thought I'd like to keep some MREs in my car but after doing some checking, I don't think that they'll work, at least on a long term basis.

Most good sites give specific shelf life info and inside car temps aren't very conductive to MREs. It all depends on temperature. I think a hot summer will cause them to degrade in quality rather quickly.

I don't think they spoil per se but they just turn goofy. Maybe others know for sure.

Jeff,
You say they will degrade, how could they? They are terrible to start with.
I would rather have canned anything over a MRE. It was after I got out and had a whole bunch of them I had saved before I discovered they had a fairly short shelf life, something like 2-3 years. Mine were all over 7 years old so I tossed them. If you eat one you will think they have a shelf life of 50 years and the one you're eating is 51 years old.

I once saw a guy eat two complete MRE's in a single sitting. An hour later he wasn't feeling well at all. If you are prone to constipation, stay away from MRE's.

On one of our little 5-day grunt campouts we weren't allowed to carry any chow other than the MRE's. When given a choice between eating an MRE or going hungry for 5 days the MRE's start tasting pretty darn good.

I would store canned meat or vacuum sealed dried fruit in the car over an MRE.

You can also buy them off ebay for a decent price. Be sure to buy from a person with reputable feedback though.

Soemtimes I get tuna fish in retort pouches at the supermarket and stick them in my backpack. It costs a little more than canned tuna and IMO doesn't taste quite as good, but it's already drained (doesn't drip all over when you open it) and packs pretty well. That plus some crackers makes decent sandwiches. I wouldn't want to keep them around for months at a time though.

i just keep some unopened trail mix and cereal bars in my bug out bag in the trunk of my car along with bottle water. It's stuff I eat fairly regularly so I just replace it with fresh stuff every couple of months.

At home I stay stocked up on canned food and fruit.

Try EmergencyEssentials.com or Nitro-pak.com. I've bought from both of them with no problems.

I just keep some Natures Valley Trail Mix bars in my truck, taste great, I eat them up so often it doesn't really go bad.

If you've got one of those food dehydrators, you can make yourself your own jerkey or dried fruits/nuts. Then grab a vacuum sealer and presto... Your own freshly made MREs...

Hmm, I guess to-each-his-own eh? I've had MREs years ago and I thought they tasted really good. LOL.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
DieselDave said:
I once saw a guy eat two complete MRE's in a single sitting. An hour later he wasn't feeling well at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not surprising, the blamed things are around 2000 calories a piece. Regardless of the quality of MRE's (which I never really minded) 4000 calories is a bit much for the body to process. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

MichiganMan,
I think the newer MRE's are about 2k of calories. These were two of the old dark brown ones. I think the new ones are green or tan, this story is from back in the late eighties. I think they were about 3K calories each back then or at least that's what we were told. That's a whopping 6k calories total. He drank 2-3 canteens of water trying to get things moving but all that did was make it worse. Our whole squad laughed uncontrollably. I ended up having to finish digging our two man fighting hole with the non optional grenade sump alone, in the rain no less. Our company motto was, "If it ain't rain'in we ain't train'in. Dec 87-Jun 88. As I remember that was "Company in the defense at night" training. I hated anything with the word defense because the next words always seemed to be, "Start digging boys"

Enough off topic rambling but darn, the talk of MRE's gives me flashbacks. Excuse me while I go dig a hole.

Josh:

Thanx for the link! I thought that MS&S had closed up a long time ago! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

BTW, I also always felt that MRE's were kind of expensive for their content. I keep canned goods like vienna sausage, pork and beans, corn, canned fruits, etc for emergencies. A lot cheaper, and comparable storage times with MRE's in my subtropical climate.

P.S.- If you go the canned goods route, don't forget a good can opener!

MREs' were designed as combat rations, where taste is of no concern, but, nutrition is. Of course, if a Nutririonist has anything to do with it, it won't taste good!

I have had cases of Civilian MREs before, and there is a definite inconsistency in packing: they are all supposed to contain a packet of coffee, sugar, and whitener. Some do not.

i keep a couple mre's in the back of the jeep just in case, there is also some lifeboat rations and tea etc.

about once a year i rotate the mre's out and eat them . i have never actually had one go bad on me in the jeep and they are there through cold and hot weather. i live in alberta canada so we get all the weather you can think of.

for what its worth to you.

Botach currently has MRE's on sale for $59.00 per case (12 meals).