Mountain House Just in Case 72 Hour Kit

We bought this kit to test out Mountain House products before making a more extensive purchase for our emergency kit. We were very pleased with it.TASTE - My wife and I were both surprised and pleased with how good this food tasted. Without exagerating, this food was not just palatable -- it's actually good! We enjoyed eating it. The only meal we didn't really care for was the eggs and bacon. The dinner entres were all quite tasty. (See my review of Wise foods for a comparison.)SHELF LIFE - With a 7-year shelf life, it will last a while. If you buy these things to take hiking or camping, I'd say it's perfect. If you're stocking an emergency food supply and don't intend to use it otherwise, seven years may go by faster than you think (I'd recommend buying the Mountain House #10 cans, which have a 25-year shelf life; that's what we did).WEIGHT/CONVENIENCE - The individual meal packets are light and convenient, but if you're cooking for several people and weight/bulk isn't a factor, I'd say the #10 cans are a more cost-effective approach.The biggest downside, which seems to be a common theme with freeze-dried emergency food, is the low calorie count per serving. Each serving is about 200-250 calories. Since, on average, men require 2500 calories per day and women require 2000 per day, you'd need to eat 10 servings a day to keep up your energy levels (probably more in an emergency situation, where you're having to exert yourself). There are 2.5 servings per packet, so if you figure there's about 500-625 calories in a packet, six packets are enough calories for one day of heavy exertion or two days of sitting and resting. Plan purchase quantities accordingly.

Light, simple, and tastes quite good. I purchased this kit almost 8 months ago to have "Just in case." Plus I wanted to try it because I was thinking about going on a solo camping trip last summer. That didn't happen, but they are good for over 10 years. The "Best used by" dates are all July of 2027 on all the pouches in my kit. I had a recent emergency, meaning I was too lazy to go to the grocery store, so I decided it would be a good time to sample one of the pouches in this kit. I tried the Beef Stroganoff with Noodles. My first impression opening the bag wasn't a good one. The inner "zip closure" wasn't fully connected to the bag so no way of fully closing the bag during the re-hydration process. Not that big of a deal, but I'm a perfectionist so I did take a star off for that. I followed all the instructions on the bag. I heated 2 cups of water in the microwave because I already covered that...lazy plus technology. It wasn't technically boiling but was very hot. I poured it directly into the bag and stirred it up a bit. I closed the bag as best I could and let it sit for 10 minutes. I gave it a stir and sampled a little. Their was still a few crunchy bits so I closed it up and gave it a few more minutes. Would have been fine to eat as is but I thought I'd give it more time since my water wasn't boiling and the bag wasn't sealed completely. It tasted good. I thought I may have to add some salt and pepper or something to liven up the flavor but none was necessary. I guess I don't really know how to describe it but I would compare it to a decent home cooked meal. Not one cooked by me of course. My culinary skills consist mostly of following the microwave directions on the side of a box. In other words, it was a step up for me. Luckily I don't have to cook for myself most of the time. I know other questions or reviews have concerns about serving size. Yes, the pouch says 2.5 servings but in reality it is a healthy sized meal for 1 male adult. Filled me up. Everything you buy uses the 1 cup = 1 serving theory. Personally, I figure about 2-3 servings is what I typically eat so this pouch was about right. Price is relative. I would say it's a little expensive for what you really get but for the convenience and shelf life, I think it's a good value. I will definitely buy more in the future and I am thinking about buying a few #10 cans to have on hand for... ya know Zombies! Don't worry about me though. I'm pretty sure my brains won't be highly sought after when they are looking for brains to eat. Anyway, I only tried the one but I was impressed. I'm going with the assumption that all the different meals they offer are good tasting and quality too. I would definitely recommend for anyone looking for longer term food storage or light weight camping or hiking. I really really want to give it a 5 star rating because I think it's that good but since the pouch I opened had the faulty inner seal I have to deduct something. Happy hiking or hiding from zombies adventures to you. Get some, it's good.

We purchased these for use in case of an emergency. Since we purchased these back in 2014, we just tried them today March 2018. They are delicious! For a freeze dried product I didn't expect this. We tried this versus another provider and this tastes better than the other. Even 4 years after we purchased them. And the meals we tried from the other provider we just purchased in February 2018! The other service has a stroganoff that is very pastie using the recommended water amount. Also, the Mountain House pack are ziplock reclosable after opening in case you do not need to use the whole pack in one go.These packs are air tight with an air absorption packed that you need to remove after opening. You can even use the packs to steep the product with hot water! The other provider gives you one use packs that are "4 servings" each. But if your one person using them, they are pointless since their bag is not reusable. Both use water proof, airtight bags so even in the wet, the contents will stay dry. You get 8 packets that are enough for 2 people each except the eggs & bacon which is 2, 1.5 servings packets and a granola meal which probably a good mid day boost. If you like that type of product, you will enjoy it as it is better than a leading manufacturer of a store purchasable brand.Expect a shelf life of up to 5 years or longer if stored properly. This 72 hour case could feed up to 4 persons over 3 days. There are 3 packs of 2 identical products you can use over three days so stock up more as your family would need. Our box included 2 Chicken teriyaki w/rice, 2 Pasta primavera and 2 chicken with rice and for breakfast 2 freeze dried eggs & bacon, 1.5 servings bags. The contents of each box is as described in the product description.Update 7/4/2014These are sealed in air tight and water tight containers. Our basement flooded twice now and these came through uncompromised, but the box did not. I recommend either putting the entire box in a heavy duty plastic bag ( vacuum seal if you can ) with a label reminding yourself what is in the bag or just storing these on a high and dry shelf plainly. I hope you find this helpful.

Haven't tried them yet but I'm pleased with the length of time they keep.