Mainstay 3600 Emergency Food Rations, 9 Bars

by Mainstay

Product Features

• 5 Year Shelf Life
• Non - Thirst Provoking
• Withstands Temperatures of -40F to 300F (-40C to 149C)
• Enriched with vitamins and minerals exceeding the RDA requirements.
• Ready to Eat: Each package contains 9 pre-measured 400 calorie meals.

Product Description

Mainstay TM has emerged as a food product unlike any other. Before it came into the picture, emergency food bars were only being made for short-term use.


Great-tasting, non-thirst provoking product with an extraordinary five-year shelf life.



Key Benefits

5 year Shelf Life

Non-Thirst Provoking

Withstands Temperatures of -40 F to 300 F (-40 C to 149 C)

Ready to Eat: Each package contains 9 pre-measured 400 calorie meals.

Individualized portions eliminate the messy breaking-up that occurs with other bars

Allows for on-land emergency consumption in a high-stress active situation.

Contains no cholesterol or tropical oils.

Meets the US Coast Guard standards (160.046/23/0). It's new modern packaging even meets the stringent guidelines set by the Department of Defense (SOLAS 74/83).

Enriched with vitamins and minerals exceeding the RDA requirements.

Pleasant lemon flavor which appeals to everyone.

Mainstay TM is Kosher and it meets the dictates for Halal.

Product Details

• Item Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000QZ3CWC
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #4 in Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Camping & Hiking > Safety & Survival > Emergency Blankets
  • #7 in Home Improvement > Safety & Security > Emergency Kits

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great For Backcountry Camping, June 12, 2008

By 

J. G. Hayslett - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mainstay 3600 Emergency Food Rations, 9 Bars (Misc.)

As my title suggests, these are excellent for Backcountry Camping. You have the equivalent of 2-3 days worth of food. It weighs next to nothing (2 pounds if I remember correctly), and can be eaten on the go. It's not gourmet dining to be sure, but it's not meant to be, and they still taste pretty good. I bought a whole case of these when I drove from the East Coast to Alaska and they cut down on my travel time because I wasn't stopping all the time to get fast food or some other obese-inducing garbage. As I said, I wouldnt want to live on the stuff, but it does have some practical uses besides stocking up for the apocalypse or some other craziness.

59 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One Giant Mediocre Cookie per pack., January 20, 2010

By 

The Raptor (Lurking in the Tall Grass) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mainstay 3600 Emergency Food Rations, 9 Bars (Misc.)

Each package contains 9 bars each. I was hoping that they would be separated, but instead it's one giant block and if you want a serving then you break off a chunk. This means that once open you have to consume they entire package within a few weeks or it will most likely start to go bad.

These actually taste pretty good for survival rations. It's somewhat sweet, like the so-so cookies you get out of a vending machine. One thing to note, is that they do contain trans-fats (partially hydrogenated oils) even though trans fats do not appear in the nutrition facts. I was planning to eat one cookie every week so I could slowly rotate out the old ones and always have a fresh supply, but since you can't open 1 serving without opening 9 and because of the trans fat I will just keep these in storage until needed. It's not a problem though. They have an expiration date of 4-5 years from when you get them (mine expires in 2014) so they should be good for 2012.

208 of 238 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something to think about, September 12, 2010

By 

Arthur Bradley "Arthur Bradley" (Eastern USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mainstay 3600 Emergency Food Rations, 9 Bars (Misc.)

I have mixed feelings about this (and similar) products that I categorize as "survival food." If you are looking to buy individual blocks of food that will last for 5+ years, then these are perfectly fine. Edible enough, but not something you'd normally break out for dinner - not even in most disasters.

I often point out to people that stockpiling survival food is usually wasteful and unnecessary. It is much better to simply increase your stockpile of "regular" food (e.g., canned veggies, rice, beans, boxed foods, shelf-stable milk, etc.). Nearly all store bought canned and boxed foods have a shelf life of many months to several years - detailed shelf life tables are online or in my handbook. I recommend establishing a 30-day minimum food stockpile - no tubs of beef jerky or crates of tuna. Just regular food that you keep rotated. With this level of supplies, you can feed your family a balanced diet through nearly any event, and that includes hurricanes, floods, pandemics, widespread blackouts, etc. It is true that you wouldn't be ready for truly world-changing events, such as if an asteroid hits the planet and destroys all civilization as we know it, but I would argue that being worried about highly unlikely events is not very helpful to living a productive life. It's much better to be prepared for likely threats.

You might think that 30 days of food is totally inadequate, and that's fine, stockpile more. But keep in mind that the average American eats 2,100 pounds of food per year. So keeping 30 days of food for a family of five might be about 1,000 pounds of food - definitely requiring a little creative thinking to store in most homes.

The bottom line is that the Mainstay emergency packs are perfectly acceptable food products, but unlikely to ever actually be eaten. Your money would probably be better spent on just shoring up your food supply. Just my opinion; decide for yourself.

Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family."