Mountain House Classic Bucket | Freeze Dried Backpacking & Camping Food | 24 Servings

While not official MRE's in the traditional sense, they were all very good and easy to prepare. The variety was good enough to where you didn't avoid any specific menu item and found ourselves wanting to try the other offerings from this brand. And the bucket they arrive in is very handy for many other things once empty. It's sort of a hidden bonus! The meals tasted good, fulfilling, nutritious and quick to prepare. Once cooked, the food was visually as enticing as the taste and smell. The portions were of a good size for hungry adults and the gusseted bags left room to throw in a few fresh veggies or "sides" if desired. The value for the money was outstanding and we found ourselves eating them by choice at home, rather than necessity or a camping trip. Good experience all around and great to have on hand for trips or emergencies.

This could be the best package which includes classic dried foods with great taste.

Great product

Mountain House has been doing this a long time, and the food has always been good. I remember getting their food from mail order catalogs long before the internet. Back then, your options were limited to two or three companies, MRES, or surplus C-rations from Vietnam. I like their buckets/packs because they are one of the few companies that offer a large variety of entrees that contain actual meat. Many others are mainly various permutations of flavored pasta and rice or other grain-based dry goods with no actual meat in it. I like pasta and rice too, but it's nice to have something that kind of "sticks to your ribs" sometimes. Tastes great too, like a regular meal. My meal bucket came carefully double-boxed and arrived in great shape. Once empty, the bucket can be used a variety of ways in an emergency too. They are lightweight so if necessary you can ditch the bucket and put a bunch of them in a pack if you have to bug-out. Recommend others interested in this type of product also check out their webstore here on Amazon, they have a pretty amazing collection of dishes. You can buy a single pouch to try out before committing to a whole box/pail of them. They also have the big #10 cans. As an aside, a "best by" date is NOT an expiration date. The food will remain perfectly edible past its "best by" date for years, it may just not have the same consistency or flavor that it did when new. With recent emergencies like Helene cutting off communities that are hundreds of miles from the ocean, strikes, long term power outages, people panic-buying leaving shelves empty etc. it pays to be prepared. Even a small stash of neccesities can make the difference until help can arrive or things return to somewhat normal, or you are displaced from your home. I trust this brand and recommend their products. All made in the USA too. I do wish they had 4 of each entree item in this bucket for my wife and I, as their idea or a "serving" and mine are pretty different. :) I can easily eat a whole pouch myself.

Some of these were good (stroganoff). Some weren’t - lacking flavor and bland (rice and chicken). Decent variety. They were easy to make, but we didn’t bring measuring cups for the water, so we guessed, and that made an impact on the quality, since it you don’t put enough water they stay crunchy and if you put too much they get soggy. They’re not quite enough food for a full grown man. Needs something on the side to fill you up. Stays hot long enough to eat. Best price on the market. Very convenient for camping