Where to get cheap bulk MREs?

[Bolvangar]

Originally posted by: Jawo

Originally posted by: Bolvangar
I'm not sure where your finding dehydrated food for 7 bucks a pop.....but that is ridiculous you can find them for half that price easy.

MRE's would be a big no no for any serious mountains for a variety of reasons.

Best and cheapest food for climbing is to make all your own stuff, oatmeal for breakfast, power bars etc, trail mix, and if you get creative you can find A LOT of stuff that you can just add water to for dinner, lunch, and breakfast. ramen noodles (there are much better tasting brands), easy mac, all kinds of crap, just go look at your local grocery store. i've climbed 5 of the 7 summits and see people all the time buying all dehydrated pre made crap that they end up not liking it and end up spending 2x the money i do on food. find your own stuff, you'll like all of it and be much happier.

Impressive! Do you have your own dehydrator for fruits and vegetables?

no i dont, the local natural type grocery store has a pretty impressive isle of dehydrated fruits and vegetables.

 

[Bolvangar]

Originally posted by: fitzov

Originally posted by: Bolvangar
I'm not sure where your finding dehydrated food for 7 bucks a pop.....but that is ridiculous you can find them for half that price easy.

MRE's would be a big no no for any serious mountains for a variety of reasons.

Best and cheapest food for climbing is to make all your own stuff, oatmeal for breakfast, power bars etc, trail mix, and if you get creative you can find A LOT of stuff that you can just add water to for dinner, lunch, and breakfast. ramen noodles (there are much better tasting brands), easy mac, all kinds of crap, just go look at your local grocery store. i've climbed 5 of the 7 summits and see people all the time buying all dehydrated pre made crap that they end up not liking it and end up spending 2x the money i do on food. find your own stuff, you'll like all of it and be much happier.

I'd appreciate a list of equipment for hiking reference. ty

What kind of equipment list are you looking for?
I can send you my typical gear list I use, but its going to include a lot of stuff like technical equipment and some seriously warm clothes that I dont think your going to need?

 

[orakle]

Originally posted by: rudder
Do you need it in 10 pound quantities?

Y'know, maybe a box of them around the size of an alternator?

 

[TitanDiddly]

Nowhere. They're in short supply for civilians, since all the stock is going to the military. Best bet is to make friends with a non-deployed serviceman and ask him to bring some back after his next training weekend.

 

[Bolvangar]

Originally posted by: fitzov

Originally posted by: Bolvangar
I'm not sure where your finding dehydrated food for 7 bucks a pop.....but that is ridiculous you can find them for half that price easy.

MRE's would be a big no no for any serious mountains for a variety of reasons.

Best and cheapest food for climbing is to make all your own stuff, oatmeal for breakfast, power bars etc, trail mix, and if you get creative you can find A LOT of stuff that you can just add water to for dinner, lunch, and breakfast. ramen noodles (there are much better tasting brands), easy mac, all kinds of crap, just go look at your local grocery store. i've climbed 5 of the 7 summits and see people all the time buying all dehydrated pre made crap that they end up not liking it and end up spending 2x the money i do on food. find your own stuff, you'll like all of it and be much happier.

I'd appreciate a list of equipment for hiking reference. ty

I dont really do much regular hiking, but here's a gear list that could be used for just about anywhere besides the himalayas and antarctica.

[ ] Ice Axes
[ ] Adjustable Ski/Trekking Poles.

[ ] Lightweight Underwear.
[ ] Expedition Weight Underwear Top. Expedition weight Capilene.
[ ] Fleece or Synthetic Jacket.
[ ] Down Parka.
[ ] Down or synthetic Pants.
[ ] Gore-Tex Shell Pants & Shell Jacket with hood.


[ ] 2 Pair Synthetic Gloves.
[ ]Mitts w/ double liners.

[ ] Light hiking boots or trekking shoes.
[ ] Teva Sports sandals.
[ ] Double plastic climbing boots.
[ ] Crampons.
[ ] Gaiters.
[ ] Wool or Pile Socks.
[ ] Liner Socks.
[ ] heavy duty scarpa boots

[ ] Baseball Cap
[ ] Bandana's
[ ] Wool hat.
[ ] Balaclava.
[ ] Neck Gaiter.
[ ] Headlamp.
[ ] Glacier glasses with Side Covers.

[ ] Backpack.
[ ] Daypack.
[ ] 2X -40 Sleeping bag.
[ ] Compression Stuff Sacks.
[ ] One Therma-Rest pad.
[ ] One Closed-Cell foam pad.
[ ] Knife
[ ] Sunscreen. SPF 40 or better.
[ ] Lipscreen. SPF 40 or better.
[ ] Water Bottles: 2.5 liters minimum capacity.
[ ] camelbak
[ ] Pee Bottle
[ ] Small Personal First-Aid Kit.
[ ] Cooking Gear


[ ] Large duffel bag
[ ] Smaller Duffel
[ ] 4 Trash Compactor bags.
[ [ travel clothes
[ ] Toiletry Bag
[ ] Water Purification tablets.
[ ] Camera Gear.


[ ] Climbing helmet.
[ ] Wall Hammer
[ ] Alpine climbing harness.
[ ] Locking carabiners. 4 pear-shaped automatic locking.
[ ] Standard carabiners. 10 standard ovals.
[ ] Insulated Supergaiters.
[ ] other various technical equipment depending on mountain and route

[ ] FOOD

theres a lot of other small stuff, but thats the big things....your looking at around 50-60 pounds of gear there.

 

[Specop 007]

MRE's suck. They have 2 things going for them. Nutrional value and conveinence. You can literally tear it open and eat it.
If possible I would not take MRE's, I prefer something with a bit mor etaste. I would recommend Mountain House freeze dried foods. They last as long, are a bit lighter and taste worlds better. The downside is they need water, which means you either have to haul (extra) water with you or plan your trip to pass by water sources you can use for cooking. Theres a variety of retailers and e-tailers that sell MH foods. Hell, you can get them at Wal Mart I think if you want to try before you buy.

The ouches have a 5 year shelf life, the cans 30 year shelf life. I have a few cases of cans for "What if" situations.

If you dont need them right away another forum I'm on does group buys for MH foods. You get the product at cost. You will NOT find it any cheaper unless you steal it off the back of the truck. We've done a few of them and all have went very well. The guy who does them is highly respected, so no worries. If your interested in a group buy (And I dont know when the next one is, probably going to be a few months) PM me.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I agree. The only thing MREs are good for is survival and killing a hangover. Stay away from the funky omellette ones....maybe the canadian versions are ok, but the US versions are pretty gross. Chicken Ala King is decent....just take advantage of the tobasco that comes with the pack.

 

[engineereeyore]

I think Army/Navy stores often have them, or can order them anyway.