Given the weight of the standard MRE package, I think you could do ALOT better by putting together a shrink wrap packet filled with dry beans, dry rice, a small can of tuna, beef jerky, two vitamin pills, and two trioxane packets for boiling water in a metal canteen cup. The food would taste 10 times better, and I'll bet you would end up with 3 times more food. Sure, you would need some water to soak the rice and beans in, but you can't eat a whole MRE without drinking about 2 quarts of water anyway!
Just my thoughts.
Mannyrock
you nailed it. i used to carry a scorpion stove because i could not have a campfire while on ops. i could however use the scorpion without putting off a signature. obviously a fire can attract alot of attention. so IF you are in a situation where you can use a campfire, that would work just fine. if not, there are some guys on here that have "how to" instructions on an alcohol/popcan stove one can make with just your time invested. sterno would work, too. then all you need is something to boil in. canteen cups work great but are a bit small if there is more than one person. anywhoooo.....
i used to carry ramen noodles, and i have a supply on hand. just add water. it was lightweight, and filling. the great thing is that is makes a great soup base (survival wise) and if you want to wring out every last nutrient out of a critter, make soup out of it. even a tiny critter boiled in soup until the flesh falls off can add alot of nutrition to your food. that works with fish too. or an egg. and, even better, you can add certain wild plants (and example is burning nettle leaves-know the plants of your area) that are very common and give a ton of nutrition. and the thing about being unsheltered for long periods, or even a day, is that hot food has a whole new value. when your spirit is low and you need a pickup, there is nothing like a hot cup of coffee, serving of oatmeal, or cup of soup to bring you back up.
i was well known for being able to scrounge for edibles when no one else had food. i killed trout with a concussion grenade, i picked wild plants, and killed various critters. being able to make food out of them is a very valuable ability. i got alot of respect from my team when we had no supplies and i could provide for myself and the guys with next to nothing. i think alot of us here take it for granted and assume everyone can do it. you would be shocked at how many people can not do that. even if domestic animals are available, the vast majority of people dont know what to do and i believe would starve if they had to figure it out on their own.
vitamen suppliments would also be a very low weight/high value item.
oatmeal is another great thing to have too, and they make it in flavored packets now that are perfect. even just regular oatmeal works great, you can usually find some kind of fruit or berry without looking too hard to add to it for a bit of flavor and added nutrition.
y'all seeing my method here? carry base items and suppliment them with what you can get. that way, you are not trying to live strictly off the land, and not strictly off of what you have. combine the two and you will be MUCH better off.
that is it for now, i am going to TRY to go back to sleep.....wish me luck!
