So, I have read quite a bit on here from folks who use Mountain House freeze-dried meals when backcountry hunting. I noticed that Bass Pro also sells a brand called "Backpacker's Pantry." I am assuming this may be the store brand, but I'm not sure.
Can anyone tell me how the two brands stack up against one another?
Thanks!
Kingsnake
Never had the backpackers brand... I have eaten a lot of mountain house meals though! The mountain house meals are great.
Mountain house if you eat to live, backpacker pantry if you live to eat.
My fav's of the BP brand are southwest chicken, sweet and sour chicken and granola banana and milk for bfast. The taste of these surpass anything I've had from mountain house.
Mountain house meal are not bad, but no comparison to backpackers pantry.
Maybe ill have to try one of those this year... Ussually by the time I sit down to eat la full meal late in the day or after dark I'm pretty sure dirt would be fine :) . More of a replenish calories thing then dinning experience for me. The rice and chkn mountain house is what I always eat for dinner and its fine but some of the others are bad
A monster put it well. I don't do the breakfast things tho. Seem a bit overpriced for what they are. And oatmeal and or a protein bar usually suffice. REI and Sportsmans Warehouse carry them both. You can't go wrong either way.
Both are good (depending on the entrees), but crazy sodium levels moved them from a 'staple' for me to a 'quick grab/go' thing.
A dehydrator and some creativity will provide excellent meals with lower sodium (and other questionable stuff) content and will be cheaper in the long run.
I tried them both this past month.....I tried a granola and blueberry with milk breakfast from Mountain House...and a jambalaya from Backpackers (it was a no meat version). The breakfast was great...just add cold water, stir and let sit.
The vegetarian version was okay but even after adding boiling water, stirring, sealing bag and letting it sit...it still seemed not completely cooked...and of course being vegetarian did not have the flavor I was expecting. Going to try their lasagna next to see if it is better...
I'm with Daz, I try and stay away from the high salt and chemical meals, it's going to be a real challenge this season if I get to go elk hunting, I have been looking at making and dehydrating my own meals and hope to test them out this camping season.
I was going to suggest that njloco.Not that hard to do with a food dehydrator and a foodsaver.
I have had both on wilderness hunts when they were all we had for days. Without a doubt MH wins out hands down for me. BP is too spicy with way too much seasoning, on most of their meals. I have found MH to be more than just edible but very tasty! Been on a couple hunts where cooking around so many brown bears was just dangerous and never felt I was missing out with MH.
Thanks, all! I have already purchased a couple of Mountain House meals, so I will pick up a few Backpacker's Pantry and do a taste test. I'l also check the sodium levels on both.
I do have a dehydrator, so some home experimentation may be in order!
Thanks, again, Gang!
Kingsnake
I'm with Preston on this one. I had both and the MH was BY FAR the better of the two. A friend gave me the BP after having a few of the meals. I ended up throwing it away... AWFUL.
I noticed someone else above,liked it. MH for me!
I prefer backpacker's pantry but I really prefer the Enertia Trail Foods to both of those options in general.
Of those that I have tried I prefer MH. That said there are other options such as http://www.packitgourmet.com/.
Also, if you want a DIY solution check out the rather extensive freezer bag cooking resources online. Just search "freezer bag cooking".
Definitely try them out before heading to the back country. The MH chicken breast and mashed potatoes downright suck. The MH beef stroganoff is wonderful! I only tried one BP last year. Mainly due to the lack of availability around here. It was a Jamaican jerk chicken and was pretty good BUT was quite spicy, as stated earlier.
I really liked the MH lasagna, beef stroganoff, spaghetti, beef stew. I liked the bacon and eggs at first but a week of them for breakfast was tough on the swallow muscles.
Since last year I have found more BP available at places close by. I do plan to try more of them. The granola one sounds good. I'm certainly looking for something a bit more palatable for breakfast.
The sodium levels really don't bother me. My name is Bruce and I'm a saltaholic. I do understand that some people's diet dictates though.
Buy several and try them at home first. That's my advice.
If you were out for a week and all you had to eat was one of these meals, you would eat it and probably the bag too...
They are convenient but the salt content is certainly a consideration.Too much salt is never a good thing.
Another couple of options (although the DIY dehydrator method is a good one):
http://trailfoods.com/index.html
http://hawkvittles.com/
I've eaten MH foods for since they came on the market. My opinion is they are fuel that doesn't taste real bad.
This year Jason and I are dehydrating our own recipes for our moose hunt with John in Alaska.
Will be using a lot of fresh vegis out of the garden and making high calorie, low sodium meals that actually taste good too. LOL
Mike
I like them both. The breakfasts are filling in the MH. They say it feeds 2 but I eat the whole thing. I can not live off oatmeal even with a good breakfast I am hungry by 8 am and have to refuel. I think I have the metabolism of a shrew!
after my limited test will be Mountain House or military MREs (yes I started on the dehydrated pork patty of the 1980s...and LOVE the recent vacuum sealed variants comparatively. LOL)
if weight is not an issue would consider buying vacuum sealer and doing food in advance...chili, spaghetti, casseroles, etc...then just drop in boiling water to heat...then can use the boiled water for drinking when it cools or coffee and cocoa right away. :)
I tried BPP but I won't buy them again. A nasty after taste.
I suspect Preston Lay had a really awesome MH chef cook for him!
We have gone to our home made for canoe trips and Mountain House. The Backpackers Pantry kurry chicken is the closest thing to old tractor battery that I have ever tried to eat.
I did a taste test with 5-6 brands of freeze dried from a handful of different manufacturers. MH came out on top (8 testers participated). Try their chicken fajitas with bring your own tortillas....YUM!!!
I make all of my own dehydrated meals. There is a book ouy there called "Backpack Gourmet" by Linda Frederick Yaffe. Once you eat these meals you will wonder why you ever ate the store bought stuff.
Stone Sheep...Thanks for the book title! Several others in this thread mentioned making their own meals, but my dehydrator experience has been limited to deer jerky. So, I really wasn't too sure how to do full meals.
My plan is to head into the mountains with bow, pack, tent, bag, and light foods, but switch to venison (or squirrel, or whatver else jumps up) as soon as possible. Of course, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. I will be sure to have enough prepared meals to get me through the week even without fresh supplements.
Kingsnake
So I've tried the dehydrating thing. And im not good. All these other packaged meals are Freeze dried. Which is different. I looked into that and boy is it expensive. Hence the cost of these things. $7 for noodles or rice is a difficult to justify purchase. But I make it every year
Every brand has their good ones and bad ones. Before I tried the BPP, I researched on line and found which ones got the best ratings. I grabbed the ones I found locally and everyone that tried them at camp was impressed. I like VERY spicy food, so I really didn't notice the spice. Try the three I mentioned and I bet you will be impressed.
I put my own mre style meal together for camping and backpacking. Its even kinda fun. I just put a couple of dehydrated meals in a vac seal bag, along with snacks and any thing else I might want. you can customize each one for what you like and its much more wallet friendly. I can make six days of meals for under 20-25 dollars, compared to mre style meals at 8-10 each.
Matty's point is a good one. While the dehydration of your own fixin's is a great idea... it is not the same as freeze-dried. It will not be nearly as light and is isn't prepared as simply/quickly.
I also take ramen noodles along and a foil pack of chicken or tuna to add to it. The spices are terrible for you (the ones that come with the noodles), but you can get by using just 1/2 of the packet... especially when adding chicken. The chicken adds lots of protein.
I found that one block of noodles with one pack of chicken makes enough for a meal for two adults. You can't go wrong with the weight, packability, taste and nutrition for the price.
IMO :p
Ya' know, Brock, I had never considered boil-in-bag meals with re-use of water. Great idea!
:thumbsup:
Kingsnake
QuoteOriginally posted by Kingsnake:
Ya' know, Brock, I had never considered boil-in-bag meals with re-use of water. Great idea!
:thumbsup:
Kingsnake
Downside of that is the water for the food is already in the bag. This means extra pack weight.
Lost Arra,
Thanks, but, one must pay attention to ingredients, some of the meals you mention above, that you left the link to, has Hydrogenated oil, It's a silent killer ! one of the worst things one could eat, that is why I will experiment with my own dehydrated meals. Plus, I could make what I'd like and I know whats in it !
I'm not too big on the pre-packaged dehydrated stuff and I usually throw together my own meals with packaged meats, couscous, quinoa, and bulk dried goods from big supermarkets.
However, if you are looking to go pre-packaged for weight or convenience, I have had a couple of these Hawk VittleS meals and they are pretty darn tasty, way better than the common big brand stuff from my experience:
http://hawkvittles.com/
Not sure if you are allowed to link other sites but check this guy out. http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-food.html save your self some dough and have fun.
QuoteOriginally posted by Bivyhunter:
I did a taste test with 5-6 brands of freeze dried from a handful of different manufacturers. MH came out on top (8 testers participated). Try their chicken fajitas with bring your own tortillas....YUM!!!
If your new to backpack hunting read everything South post twice :thumbsup:
I tired mountain house for the first time today. I had the chilli mac with beef. It was actually really good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-MWgqiFCOk
The buffalo Chicken (MH) is good even without the tortillas!
I like the MH chicken beats and tatos.
My general guideline now is 100% MH and avoid the rice meals in favor of noodles and tater menus.
BPP: think of a rancid garlic sort of thing going on there!