Mountain House vs. MREs

[elkhunter00]

Which do you guys like better for backpacking? Which one is quicker, easier to use. I'm talking about the actual military versions, not what they sell in stores.  Never had the Mountain house, but love the MREs. 

[trophyhunt]

If you love mre's then you'll flip for mountain house. I havn't tried all the options but the few I have tried are pretty damn good, now you got to understand that's trying them after long hunts in the field. I did try the mac n chesse at home and it was still really good, in my opinon much better than mre's. The only good thing about mre's for me is you don't have to worry about taking a crap in the woods for a while.

[JPhelps]

Mountain House no question.  I would eat them for dinner at home if not so expensive.

MREs are heavy, have trans fats and not that great tasting.

[dr.derek]

MRE's are real weight food and Mountian house are dehydrated making them much lighter. but then I guess you have to add the weight of a stove to that. Mountian house for me but Im testing some MRE;s this summer

[elkhunter00]

MRE's are real weight food and Mountian house are dehydrated making them much lighter. but then I guess you have to add the weight of a stove to that. Mountian house for me but Im testing some MRE;s this summer

Thats what I was thinking, I could skip the stove and be about even for weight.

[NRA4LIFE]

I haven't bought any MRE's for awhile but the last ones I had were pretty good.  And they had the wafer thingamabob in he packet that boiled water to heat up the entree.  That was pretty slick.  Mountain House is the way to go though, especially for multiple night/day trips.  They do taste better too.

[Pathfinder101]

Mountain House is lighter food to carry and most people say it tastes better (I agree-but then, I have eaten too many MREs over the past 22 years...).  MRE's  have more calories, and they come with their own heat source.  If you are going to carry them very far, I would suggest field-stripping them (that means open the original package, take out what you want and leave the rest behind).  We used to take all the main meals and tape them together, all the crackers and tape them together, all the fruit packs and tape them together...etc...  Saves room in your pack.

[JLS]

MRE's are real weight food and Mountian house are dehydrated making them much lighter. but then I guess you have to add the weight of a stove to that. Mountian house for me but Im testing some MRE;s this summer

A lightweight stove, fuel and a titanium cup don't weigh very darned much.

[Bluesdude]

Neither, Packitgourmet kicks both of thier asses! the best freeze dried backpacking meals you will ever have.

http://www.packitgourmet.com/

[dreamingbig]

Mountain House.  No question!

[RadSav]

If water is not an issue I always go with Mountain House.  Be sure to try each first.  Some are great and some make me sick.  Last place you want intestinal issues is in the back country when your chasing "The One!".

I've had few MRE's that I enjoyed eating.  But, when you are 2,000' above timberline chasing goat or sheep water can be a scarce resource.  MRE's can be the answer as are other no water needed meals.  That kind of country tends to require plenty of calories, protein, fat and water.  MRE's fit that bill well at about 1250 calories each meal balanced well.

Another option when water is an issue is to pack your Mountain house with emergency water pouches.  I actually freeze pre-measured water and then vacuum seal the icecube in the tough FoodSaver bags.  This keeps you from drinking the water needed for meal prep.  Plus keeps you from carrying too much or too little.

MH Lasagna = Yummy!

[7mag.]

MRE's are really bulky. Like Pathfinder said, they need to be field stripped, but still they are more bulky, and weigh more than MH. The weight of your stove and pot, are not going to be as much as the added weight of MREs, unless you are only going for a night or two.

[Pathfinder101]

MRE's are really bulky. Like Pathfinder said, they need to be field stripped, but still they are more bulky, and weigh more than MH. The weight of your stove and pot, are not going to be as much as the added weight of MREs, unless you are only going for a night or two.

Or if you don't have a watersource and have to pack your water in.  Then the weight thing is a wash because you'll have to pack in the same weight in extra water to hydrate the MH meals.  Most of the time here in WA you will have access to a water source though...

[Special T]

I would have to go Mountian House. Since i cannot eat wheat i think its great they have a list of packets i could eat. Pretty sure that most MRE's have wheat in them... Couldn't find a break down.   http://www.mountainhouse.com/allergen.cfm

[Wanttohuntmore]

Over 32 degrees, and out for 1 day, MRE.....  More than a day, mountain house.  There's lots of sodium in the mountain house meals.  Chili Mac is a fav, also partial to turkey tetrazinni.  I can pack a weeks worth of mountain house, but only one days worth of mres.