Customer Reviews

MREs (Meals Ready-to-Eat), Genuine U.S. Military Issue

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The product picture shows the real MRE crackers and what you get is totally different. Some crappy things they would give you on an airplane. The only thing as far as I can tell, that's similar to an MRE is the entree.

Anyway, don't make my mistake an order here if you want real MREs!

Yes, I was in the Army for eight years and I know what a real MRE contains.

I'm a backpacker/bike rider who loves to go deep into the wilds with my mountain bike, and these meals are okay for that. With a shelf life, in cool dry conditions, of about ten years means it is the best to keep around for all emergencies and your camping needs. But I would eat them up about every five years or so and then replace them just to be on the safe side.
They typically provide utensils, salt and pepper and even coffee or tea packet. Oh yes, even matches. They do vary to some degree on these items, but that is the average contents.
The food packets are typically a few of the following:

Beef Enchilada

Cajun Rice w/Beans and Sausage

Cheese Omelet w/Vegetables

Chili Macaroni

Meatloaf

Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stew

BBQ Chicken with Black Beans and Potatoes

Chicken Noodle Stew

Cheese Tortellini

Vegetarian Chili with Beans

Some food packets are rare, over others, I do not know why.

The best way to get any real flavor from them is to heat them up, AND bring along your own seasoning for each type of food packet you are taking along (example for beef I use Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning). All the meals taste better that way. From the selections given you are provided a chance to find your own favorites. But, even so, you will find at the very least one MRE that you won't be able to stand the flavor (or lack of) to eat it!!! And none of them, ever, while cold.

I cannot speak for you, but I go outdoors to enjoy myself, just to get away from work--not for the food.

As I was leaving the Army, they were introducing Meals: Ready-to-Eat, which were replacing the venerable C Rations that were packed in tins of which many of the discarded ones were used by the enemy in Vietnam to send back to our soldiers as shrapnel.

We were told that the MRE's were taste-tested by soldiers, and were lighter than the tin contents of C-Rations. You can imagine my shock as I stood out in a frozen wasteland, and tried my first packet. If you ever heard the expression, "I would rather starve than eat this!" that is what everyone in the tent heard me say. Soon dubbed, Meals Rejected by Ethiopians, the MRE's made us question the taste buds of the soldiers who had supposedly given this disgusting kludge a thumbs-up.

Now flash forward to present day.

One reservist brought a box into one of our classes, and I was offered whatever I wanted. I marvelled at the choices. Gone were franks and beans cooked in their own juices, fruit cake and peanut butter (fortified). My favorites, pecan nut roll, ham and eggs, and quartered pears were gone too, but they were replaced with other favorites like spaghetti and meatballs, beef enchilada with cheddar cheese and picante sauce, sloppy joe, beef stew and beef stroganoff. Hoooo-wahhhh!

Each packet includes extras like beverage powder, instant coffee, sugar, iodized salt, a plastic spoon, powdered creamer, a couple of chicklets, a book of matches that resist dampness, and a small packet of toilet tissue that is still too small to make you feel clean. Oh well, some things never change, which means your aim better be dead on. There is also a plastic packet that when mixed with a few drops of canteen water starts a chemical reaction that produces heat. You put the main course in the packet, and place both inside the box the entree came in. Within a couple of minutes you have a hot meal. Whoof! No fire to give your position away. No cooking with C4 which is stable, but still went "boom" on some soldiers, making it their Last Supper. Oh, yes! There was also a giant cookie in my beef enchilada, and a vegetarian cracker. I ate the first while staring at the latter. (I think I will give that one away like I did the toilet tissue). There was a lemon-lime drink powder to wash it all down.

If you're looking for a dietary special, these are not the meals for you. They are packed with carbs, calories, protein, vitamins, and even more fat than I presently care to consume. Three meals should give you enough calories for a lumberman's days work. Even the huge oatmeal cookie had nine grams of fat.

But the food is delizioso. The sloppy joe was excellent as was the spaghetti and meatballs, the beef stew, and beef stroganoff. Years earlier I had been given what was called long range patrol food or "Lurps." It included spaghetti and meatballs in one and beef stroganoff in the other. Both required hot water warmed in the old hatfield helmet. They looked like oatmeal, but tasted and smelled like spaghetti and meatballs or beef stroganoff with noodles. Only the consistency of the food didn't match the taste or smell. The ones in the new MRE's will not give you the same cognitive dissonance. They are much more like the real thing.

The only thing lacking is your inability to make ranger pudding. The old cracker tin from the C-Rations would act as a repository for the cocoa powder, sugar, and creamer. Adding a few drops of water, and stirring vigorously would bring the substance to a nice chocolate frosting consistency to be cherished to the last finger swipe.

Nevertheless, these should be fine meals for even the most discerning of appetites, or at least, you won't have to say, "I'd rather starve to death, than eat this stuff."

Product description did not say it did not come with a way to heat them up. I guess its my fault because it did not say it did either. Who sells MREs without some way to heat them? What am I suppose to do boil water every time or eat them cold? I won't buy again. These are not true Military MREs.

These were just like the ones I used to get in the Army. I like having them around for going on hikes or keeping them in my emergency winter car kit. The only reason I didn't give them five stars was because they didn't come with heaters.

ok...i've been buying these exact MRE's for a long time now, tried some others. not too impressed. yes some of what others may have said is true such as taste...but when you are actually using them for the real purpose...taste will not matter! so cut those ideas out of your head. yes the coffee packet is 97% caffeine free...REASON!...caffeine dehydrates you! but at least they give you some for a quick boost. yes the salt and pepper packets are small, but better than nothing! but if your big on taste, then buy protein bars for your hike and what not. if your in an area likely to be hit by hurricanes and any other natural disaster. then these are for you! so don't listen to what others may tell you! you really don't need heaters to "improve the taste" cause it's just gonna be warmer which will make you think it taste different. but again...if your cold, go for it. you can also use the heating pads...for heat, just don't let any air get out, cause it is toxic. so be careful!!! overall. these are probably the best MRE's you will find! trust me.

MRE is excellent emergency food. Especially in certain parts of the United States during Hurricane Season.

I order for them a month ago. I have always got the stuff i order for within a week or so. But they still have not shipped the stuff i ordered. They will not write you back. They don't care if you need something or not. DO NOT ORDER FOR THEM.

The entrees average less than 300 calories per package. I think there's about 500 calories total per package, from what I've opened so far.
The coffee is 97% CAFFEINE FREE!!! WHY PUT IN COFFEE IF THERE IS NO CAFFEINE?

Now I have to go buy coffee for every damn package so I have real coffee. This is NOT a good survival choice in my opinion, once you know what is in the packages.

The packages come in individual clear plastic bags. They are not packaged in airtight bags, or at least mine weren't. I have seen no MRE heater with the meal. There is a flimsy plastic spoon, and a packet of salt like you would get at McDonald's. I am VERY disappointed with this. Perhaps there is a small packet of black pepper, and oh joy how my spirits would be lifted.

Kind of too late for me now, since I already ordered these 4 cases. You could buy all of this stuff yourself and probably spend half of what they are charging for these MREs.

If you are looking for MREs, I don't know where the better deal is, but I don't think it's with these guys.
I feel like they took advantage of me. I will not be ordering from them again.

Ask them what the hell they were thinking before you order, and you will be doing yourself a big favor.
Don't blindly order like I did.

i am one of the sellers of this item and what is included is the real deal in unopened package just click order from Military Life and not the other stores.
product is guaranteed