The recent group buy on Ameriqual A-Pack MREs got me thinking a bit. So I began researching MREs and even though there is a lot of information on the internet, there are also a lot of choices. Not every reseller provides the same product and it seems that there are those out there that will purchase MREs and resell the components. Not wanting to deal with this I decided to order a case of A-Packs directly from Ameriqual in Evansville. The cost was $81 delivered for 12 meals and I received the order in less then 48 hours.
Last week I found an MRE in my parents garage which must have been left by my former brother-in-law. I am guessing that the meal is 4 years old. It was Beef Stew and said that it was packaged by Ameriqual.
So I am comparing an A-Pack w/ Beef Stew to a Military MRE w/ Beef Stew:
1) Packaging - Yes this is different. The Military version has a very nice plastic bag that would be durable and weather resistant. The A-Pack is packaged is a flimsy, clear plastic bag. Nice thing about the A-Pack is that it clearly lists the contents of meal along with nutritional information. Both meals would provide about 1400 calories. The A-Pack is slightly smaller and both are of similar weight.
Contents of the Military MRE: Beef Stew Entree, Heater, Chocolate Sports Bar, Hot Beverage Bag, Vanilla Dairy Shake 3.5 oz, Crackers, Peanut Butter, Spoon, Gum, Tissue Paper, Hot Sauce, Salt/Pepper, Moist Towelett, Matches, Coffee w/ sugar & cream
Contents of the A-Pack: Beef Stew Entree, Heater w/ salt water, Oatmeal Cookie, Vanilla Dairy Shake 1.75 oz, Crackers, Peanut Butter, Lemonade Drink Mix, M&Ms, Spoon, Pepper, Moist Towelett
The heaters appear to be identical with the only difference being the markings on the bag. The A-Pack does come with a packet of salt water for the heater.
The Beef Stew Entree is also the same.
The best I can tell the A-Packs are the same components as their Military cousins. Biggest difference is the condiment pack in the Military MRE. The A-Pack does not include the coffee, matches or tissue paper. The A-Pack replaces the coffee with lemonade which seems more practical for the kiddos. One significant difference was the spoon with the one in the A-Pack being cheap and in my opinion to large. The A-Pack is also missing the tobascco sauce. (I love hot sauce!)
Another difference is the size of vanilla dairy shake. The A-Pack only contains half of the amount that is in the military version. So a 200 calorie shake instead of a 400 calorie shake. The calories are made up with the addition of the M&Ms. To be honest I would rather have the larger shake mix since since a fortified powdered drink seems better then candy and also the thicker mix tastes better. (Yes I tried them both) I am sure my kids would rather have the candy and this was the first item to dissappear upon opening the packages.
I decided to eat some of the food. Not all at once since this would be way too much to eat at one sitting. I tried the Military MRE so that I could see how well it stored in the non air-conditioned garage. The beef stew was a bit discolored but tastey. Not quite as good as Dinty Moore but with a little tobascco sauce was quite palitable. (Did I mention I love hot sauce!) The crackers surprised me. They are flat, hard and lack salt, but I really liked them. The peanut butter does not have as much sugar in it as the commercial JIF that we always seem to keep plenty of on hand. The oatmeal cookie tasted a lot like a sugar cookie. I liked the cookie! It was plain and not too sweet. Either the cookie or crackers tasted good by themsleves or with peanut butter. My 7 year son tried the lemonade and really liked it. Lemonade was very sweet!
Both the entree and sides were filling. I plan on adding some dried fruit or a granola bar with one of the meals and I am confident it will be plenty of food for an entire day. For the civilian market I think the A-Pack is a good product. No it doesn't have any matches or Poo Paper, but those are things that should be on our list of things to have. I think my kids would drink the dairy shakes and eat the entree. Crackers & Cookie are in durable packaging and can be easily split from the rest of the meal for rationing throughout the day. While I am not big on the M&Ms, in an emergency they would provide a form of comfort food for kids.
Last week I found an MRE in my parents garage which must have been left by my former brother-in-law. I am guessing that the meal is 4 years old. It was Beef Stew and said that it was packaged by Ameriqual.
So I am comparing an A-Pack w/ Beef Stew to a Military MRE w/ Beef Stew:
1) Packaging - Yes this is different. The Military version has a very nice plastic bag that would be durable and weather resistant. The A-Pack is packaged is a flimsy, clear plastic bag. Nice thing about the A-Pack is that it clearly lists the contents of meal along with nutritional information. Both meals would provide about 1400 calories. The A-Pack is slightly smaller and both are of similar weight.
Contents of the Military MRE: Beef Stew Entree, Heater, Chocolate Sports Bar, Hot Beverage Bag, Vanilla Dairy Shake 3.5 oz, Crackers, Peanut Butter, Spoon, Gum, Tissue Paper, Hot Sauce, Salt/Pepper, Moist Towelett, Matches, Coffee w/ sugar & cream
Contents of the A-Pack: Beef Stew Entree, Heater w/ salt water, Oatmeal Cookie, Vanilla Dairy Shake 1.75 oz, Crackers, Peanut Butter, Lemonade Drink Mix, M&Ms, Spoon, Pepper, Moist Towelett
The heaters appear to be identical with the only difference being the markings on the bag. The A-Pack does come with a packet of salt water for the heater.
The Beef Stew Entree is also the same.
The best I can tell the A-Packs are the same components as their Military cousins. Biggest difference is the condiment pack in the Military MRE. The A-Pack does not include the coffee, matches or tissue paper. The A-Pack replaces the coffee with lemonade which seems more practical for the kiddos. One significant difference was the spoon with the one in the A-Pack being cheap and in my opinion to large. The A-Pack is also missing the tobascco sauce. (I love hot sauce!)
Another difference is the size of vanilla dairy shake. The A-Pack only contains half of the amount that is in the military version. So a 200 calorie shake instead of a 400 calorie shake. The calories are made up with the addition of the M&Ms. To be honest I would rather have the larger shake mix since since a fortified powdered drink seems better then candy and also the thicker mix tastes better. (Yes I tried them both) I am sure my kids would rather have the candy and this was the first item to dissappear upon opening the packages.
I decided to eat some of the food. Not all at once since this would be way too much to eat at one sitting. I tried the Military MRE so that I could see how well it stored in the non air-conditioned garage. The beef stew was a bit discolored but tastey. Not quite as good as Dinty Moore but with a little tobascco sauce was quite palitable. (Did I mention I love hot sauce!) The crackers surprised me. They are flat, hard and lack salt, but I really liked them. The peanut butter does not have as much sugar in it as the commercial JIF that we always seem to keep plenty of on hand. The oatmeal cookie tasted a lot like a sugar cookie. I liked the cookie! It was plain and not too sweet. Either the cookie or crackers tasted good by themsleves or with peanut butter. My 7 year son tried the lemonade and really liked it. Lemonade was very sweet!
Both the entree and sides were filling. I plan on adding some dried fruit or a granola bar with one of the meals and I am confident it will be plenty of food for an entire day. For the civilian market I think the A-Pack is a good product. No it doesn't have any matches or Poo Paper, but those are things that should be on our list of things to have. I think my kids would drink the dairy shakes and eat the entree. Crackers & Cookie are in durable packaging and can be easily split from the rest of the meal for rationing throughout the day. While I am not big on the M&Ms, in an emergency they would provide a form of comfort food for kids.
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It did freshen the breath a bit but it turned into a pastey mush after chewing on it for a few minutes. I have heard rumors that they put a laxitive in the gum. Is this true? Sounds like an urban legend to me, but I can see why they would since the contents of an MRE seems to mess up my morning ritual.
