Rations

[Woz]

I tried some military rations from different armies all over the world to find the best, in case I ever build my own survival bag.

I tried

German EPA
British ORP
US MRE
US First Strike Ration
Russian IRP
Canadian IMP
Portuguese RIC
Swedish ration
Dutch Gevechtsrantsoen
and French RCIR

Well... most of them are OK for emergencies. I was impressed to find different concepts of heating the food. While the US "instant cooker" is very simple to use and effective, it needs water to work. Other countries like Germany and GB issue an ESBIT type cooker to the soldiers, so the canned meals can be heated in the field using these cookers. France and some others add small cookers to every pack, they can be folded and work with included fuel tablets. Sweden has a Trangia cooker issued to the soldiers.

Most countries add quite a lot of "non food" stuff to the packs. Plastic knives, forks and spoons, tissues, wet wipes, water purification, matches, cookers, fuel tablets, ...

All of the am Spices. Some only small packs of sugar, salt and pepper, others tabasco sauce or other hot sauces too.

Beverages: Coffee, tea, milk powder and some kind of instant mineral drinks are part of most packs. Some even have instant hot chocolate. I realized, this is where most countries use "normal" instant drinks that can be found in every supermarket.

Sweets. I LOVE Yorkie bars! Zapplesauce is strange, but OK. But my favourite are those nut/raisin mixes in some rations. All rations have gum or mints. US gums is caffeinated.

Breakfast: Hm, I´m not sure if it is intended for breakfast or as a snack, but crackers, biscuits or canned bread and cheese spread, canned meat, tuna or jam (even peanutbutter) are nice to have.

Some countries have some kind of cereal too.

So, what is my favourite? By far the RCIR! French soldiers are lucky, they have really good food. I liked the Swedish and British ration too. German EPA is tasteless, MRE too. Worst are first strike rations, but they are easiest to carry and eat, so they seem to be very useful. Are there any civilian MREs that are good?

What is your favourite? Any rations (and sources to get them) you can recommend?
Oh, one more info: I had one ration whenever I got one from ebay or a trade, so I could not compare them directly. I had to consider my notes for my comparison. And, for I never planned to write something like this post, I did not take pictures. Sorry mates.

I decided to get my own meals. I will get dehydrated food from trekking and outdoor stores, add canned food, water and some choc bars and make my own version. None of the military rations really worked for me, but now I have a good idea what I want and how to build my own ration.

[Millhouse]

Not tried any of the recent military rations. When I was younger, I remember trying some British Army Compo rations. Absolutely terrible. Fortunately, the addition of curry powder and tabasco worked wonders.

The only recent ones I have tried are aimed at the outdoor market, from Wayfayrer and Mountain House.

[Tabasco]

MRE: Meals Ready to Excrete.... My Rectums Exploding.....    No mas.....but if you must, this site does carry individual entrees:  http://www.longlifefood.com/mre.asp

I like Mountain House. But I sometimes add 10% more water than suggested and let steep and mix more than the instructions indicate.

I keep Mainstay bars and water rations in the vehicles due to being so temperature stable.
Example only(know nothing of retailer): http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_FM%20R360
 
Any repetitive diet is a morale killer.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

Did your RCIRs come with the little handle gizmo for gripping the edges or the cans? I'd like to see some decent photos of one of those.

[ducktapehero]

Few soldiers wanted the Chicken ala King MRE when I was in. MY 1st MRE in basic training was dehydrated pork. Just ate it dry as we were in a hurry, as usual. It wasn't too bad.

[Gareth]

Great post Woz, I'd heard that the French rations were considered the best before but it's good to hear some first hand experience. 

Personally I tend to avoid the 'wet' pre-packed meals aimed at campers, they're both expensive and heavy IMO.  I tend to take something like noodles  or couscous, with something to add flavour (stock cubes for example) and add chorizo sausage for protein and fat.  Flapjacks and dried fruit are nice cold snacks I find. Some chocolate comes along as a nice luxury and instant coffee is a must.

[Tabasco]

Another link for mil grub: http://www.mreinfo.com/international/france/french-rcir.html
Covers most mil and civilian rations.

[BigMonster]

I think you should try walking in to the outdoor or hunting shop...
Like with every thing there is so many brands on the market making better stuff than military issue.. Knives, clothing, camping... I'm in UK but I'm pretty sure that every bigger shop in your area have at least one shelf with food. When I bought some two weeks ago for a hike, I had to choose from about 10 different dishes, 4 brands and 3 sizes. Each with detailed description about calories etc. Most of them can be eaten hot or cold.
Military rations are contracted and they have to fit the budget... If you want the best stuff for a survival kit go for the commercial alternative. These are made to satisfy you, not to fit the bill...

[Medic82]

If you tried the Swedish rations you also tried the Norwegian ones, they are made by the Norwegian company Drytech   Hva kind of flavors did you eat? Give me your address and I will send you the old Norwegian caned rations, at least the civilian version that you can buy in the store that don't have that much calories in them than the Mil version did.

[LooseNut]

Irish Army 12hour rations include:
1 foot long ham and cheese role (Fresh....ish!)
1 Bottle of Coke
1 Mars bar or Snickers if lucky
1 packet of Tayto crisps

This is no joke we actually get fed this stuff in the weekend warriors, putting the crisps in the role is the tastiest and speediest trick 
The 24hr rations are the real deal and follow the pattern of other countries, we use hexi cookers.