A comparison between the British 24 Hour Operational Ration Pack (ORP) and the American Meal Ready to Eat (MRE). Some of my opinions and observations, based on my operational experience.
The waxed paper round the Hexi cooker and fuel saved my life, bloody safety matches all exploded and failed to light a broken hexi block, last match remaining, i thought feather some waxed cardboard, and last match lit the waxed cardboard and caught the Hexi block, heated water, filled flask, heated water got a hot brew. Lying in the bottom of a frozen ditch, with snow falling, winds howling, under a poncho, on a groundsheet, and sleeping bag with Bergen as support and windshield is a great learning curve. Now i carry many more ways to start fire, still use Hexi stoves with various fuels, also the BCB (i always put a little foil in the bottom as it leaves a nasty residue) which is re-useable, and home-made starters, but i always include some waxed paper/board and waxed matches, also used waterproof nail varnish to coat some match heads. Learned a big lesson from my first training session in the Brecons and many more since, never stop learning, everything has uses. Great videos, and a salute for your service. I organise my rations in plastic bags but on a full meal basis, with brew kit, biscuits, snacks, main meal, rice/potato or pasta, soup, wipes, tissues spoon, all in one bag for each, so i know each is inclusive. Standard "yaffling spanner" spoon (US type with lanyard hole from a KFS combi) and a longer one for bagged food in pockets. Also have some energy food, sugar, boiled sweets, salt, soup, oxo, rehydrate in my pocket first aid kit and medical kit, handy for shock and hypothermia, and had to use it for others on a number of occasions in the wilderness. Always have a small bag with condiments, curry, herbs, flavours, etc and a luxury bag for a treat every now and then, it works wonders for morale and energy.
In the Swedish Armed Forces we have a personal cooker (soldier stove) and often issued the Flameless Ration Heaters as well. The FRH doesn't work well when it's cold, i.e. most of the year were I live. But the advantage in my opinion is that you can put the activated FRH with a meal in the bergen and "cook as you ruck" (hiking) and you can heat your meal while sitting in a moving vehicle or in a confined space, where an open flame isn't advisable to use. Just a thought. Thanks for inspiration and advice.
In my experience with MRE's we never use the heater it's trash and doesn't work that well. We always just eat them cold. I love this video and would love to try a British ration looks so much better than what I'm used to
I used the heater in the field during survival training refresher and camping...loved it, but we had to take them out of the package before we flew, they would get thrown away in the trash and if water or coffee was thrown in the trash it cause a fire in flight.
I started out with the C-Rations (1977), and the MRE’s came out the year I was discharged (1983). I remember training with the Norwegian Army. They had fresh bread and real eggs in their rations.
@@vipergtsmre The 80s MRE's were referred to as "Meals, Rejected by Ethiopians" by British forces. They were that bad. There was a famine going on during the 80s in Ethiopia. lots of food aid etc. Typical Brit squaddie humour.
The US MRE is a great novelty. Besides military applications they are often used for sustaining people in natural disasters. Personally, I buy them and then get a chuckle watching people's reaction when I used the flameless ration heater while hiking. Steam issuing from a plastic bag does not compute with the average person.
Great comparison, thank you. The crackers though - saw a video some time ago about historic enacting from 17th century. They focus on military food to some extent and rhere they would soak the crackers in teas or soup for consumption. Tried it out, it makes sense, and gonna use it like that from now on.
That was awesome to see the comparison between the US and UK ration. I want to score a few British rations now lol. Your toilet paper is far more substantial than ours, my butt is very jealous lol.
British rations are by far, hands down better than the American MRE! I have eaten both, O MAN the British have field rations mastered! Although I do like a few of the menus in the MRE's. There are 2 things I like about the British Military field equipment, Ration Packs, Belt Kit!🤘👍Thanks for your service to your country! From Michigan, USA.
The flameless heaters usually never work, so they get tossed. The toilet paper, well, you save them one day you can wipe. We generally brought our own to the field. LOL...Cranberry Osmotic came out after my time in service, basically they are or seem to be sugar covered cranberry raisens. We used to heat up our MRE's in a canteen cup in hot water via the Heat Tabs we could get, or C-4.
Great review, I remember back in the early 90s during REFORGER in Germany trying one of the 24-hour packs. Always wondered why we didn't go that way. I ended up trading a pair of my boots for a few meals to take home. thanks. some of the new rations "Forst strike" supplement the MRE and are basically a 24-hour ration.
You did a great review and it was interesting seeing the comparison in rations. Your comments about them were fair and reasonable. I really enjoyed it. Because you asked for suggestions on topics, I'm interested in tying tactical knots. If you know how and can show us, I would appreciate it.
Great vid. I love the British rat packs. I use them for camping/ bushcraft,etc. Never been in the forces. Manage to get the whole 10 menus for a very reasonable price! Probably cheaper than a weeks shopping. Don’t think I would like to live on them though. Stay away from the powdered drinks though…full of aspartame,really bad for a person.And the oatmeal biscuits WILL block you up! Regards👍🏾🇬🇧
Great take on covering both types of meals. That mre’s is a new version that has carried over for years. My first new was the dark brown plastic bag in mid 80s and man those were some ruff meals. but now have changed for the better. I would like to have tried the Brit’s version that assorted drinks is nice.
Our Flameless Heaters either barely heat the water or they are scalding hot. You get used to eating your favorite MREs and try to avoid the rest...Brit Chow always sounded better, but like ours doesn't always taste better...Good Videos Always. Cheers.
Great comparison. I just wanted to throw in a couple of observations. The salt that's included is not just for seasoning but you can pour it into the meal heater and it will get much hotter. The one ORP that I tried was really good but I thought the bisquits brown were kind of nasty. For a comparison between the main meals, the standard British meal is 300 grams and the standard US one is 8 ounces or about 226 grams. So the US one is almost a third smaller.
Trying to light Hexy with a windproof match was an art form in itself. I remember having to go around all the cadets lighting it for them with a lighter because none of them could get it going.
Secret is to wrap the hemi block in the rat pack toilet paper. As that stuff was useless for its intended purpose. The waxed cardboard for the hexi was good to light stuff too.
In the old C-Rations, there was a can, a dessert, in the B3 unit called the Chocolate Nut Roll. It would tend to “block you up” as you say. We determined that the best thing to do with the Dreaded Chocolate Nut Roll was to throw it towards the enemy and hope they ate it.
I recall the US C-Rations canned dessert w/ chocolate cookies wrapped in this silver tin foil, & were commonly referred to as John Wayne silver dollars...
I always used to have a mixture of both as it gave the best of both worlds, that said biscuits brown were rarely taken anywhere haha. Some great videos as always mate, cheers!
In 90s we had a choice and in think in the 80s as well….. I notice no tins or chicken curry with rice! Those biscuits were served to Lord Nelson! I’ll rejoin for the Tabasco.
Enjoyed this video. Somehow the algorithm conjoined my interest in cooking shows and hiking to lead me here, will subscribe. Asked my dad (infantry ‘61-‘93) whether “biscuits brown” was still about in the old days… apparently it was “hard tack” before then. Doesn’t sound like much innovation occurred!
Hey, Thanks for your Video, Food is always important Topic. l would appreciate to know more about the GB Army PLCE Load Carry System. Including Bergans, Webbing and such. How Soldiers from GB use it, how it is be meant to use, how your experience is, Tricks and Tipps from first Hand and so on. Information about the Gear has changend/enhanced/worsened while your Time in the Forces. Maybe your Opinion about different Camo Patterns and Field Experiences (DPM, Desert DPM, MTP) Viele Grüße aus Deutschland!
Having served in the Italian army and living now in the UK I can say one thing...british rations are hands down a world better than what we were given. You'd think with our cuisine our rations would be something to look forward to have...but from then 1st time we had them as recruits we realised we had to nick some other rations from other NATO forces ahahaha. Our rations had stuff like ravioli and pasta (unsurprisingly) but they were extremely slushy and either bland or too salty, but worst of all we had lots of stuff in tins! Heavy as hell a 24h ration would be twice the size of the old British one and damn heavy with things like cans of tuna or tinned beef. The good thing though was a little plastic bag, not dissimilar to those little yogurt filled bags, with something inside called cordial...yes...we had booze in our rations! Very small mind, but rather welcomed
See, this is where it pays off to come from a country where mushy, soggy food is basically our national standard! Turns out most of the food we like in Britain works really well if you seal it in a plastic bag. Pasta, though... No chance. My personal favourites, though, are south-east asian mres. You just cannot go wrong with rice and curry. I'd happily eat them every day. 🤗
I think they meant the French and Italians. You'd have to be an idiot to give the Bri'ish alcohol in an MRE. We'd be off to liberate the nearest pub, no matter what the actual objective was 😂🍻
Having experiences from the 80's until the early 2000's ending some time after serving in Gulf 2, I can state both types of rations have come on leaps and bounds. The American rations use to be horrible. Unusual menus, with very little inside, and the taste was of cardboard. The Yanks use to call the MRE's Meals Rejected by Ethiopians. During Optelic, the yanks tried to barter or grab our rations. Until, in certain parts of Iraq, we were only issued the MRE's.. After gulf 2, the Americans created the Action Rations for combat troops, that looked very close to the compo we got issued. I assume they may still issue those sometimes, but my guess is there was too much money to be lost by the original production companies, so the compromise we see today was born. The main flaw in the American psyche for these rations, is to think their supply lines will not be disrupted. In the Gulf, many were only issued one MRE pack at set times, and sometimes the following pack never turned up... However, remembering the Yanks celebrating about a cake they produced for Arctic troops, by dropping it by parachute while a brass band played, I guess we can stomach their eccentricities.
The MREs issued in the late '80 were disgusting. Like you said unusual menus, often freeze dried to the point where they never reconstituted or just inedible ( the chocolate covered fudge bar) and nothing to heat anything up with. Before going to the field, we would raid the px for sterno and canned foods like stew or spaghetti.
David, l have a fair bit of experience of both types over 33 years service too, including seven operations. There’s definitely pros and cons to both, and they’ve both improved over the years. Even though most Brits love MREs, l think that’s down to novelty value, l reckon ORP is more practical overall.
When we first deployed on op Telic we had MREs- after we got out supply chain going we got ORP again- menu D mostly 🤮 The going rate was 2 MREs for 1 ORP with our American friends! It was the novelty factor- we were glad to go back into ORP tho
Biscuit Brown AB with a square of a Yorkie bar or a couple of squares of Cadbury's Dairy Milk eaten together was, with a lot of imagination, a substitute for a Chocky Hob Nob!! I much preferred the Brit Rat Pack to the MRE during my service. Going back to when we had the tins you could create some lovely dinners. The highlight of the day!!
@@seasoldier3902 Back in 80s we had the tinned types to. Absolutely roght you could make a pretty good stew. Plus more stuff to swap usually worked out well that way. We had some ace stuff too. Condensed milk in a tube. Plastic tubes of jam. And a metal tube of butter. Canned cheese. Awesome survival biscuits add hot water dob of condensed milk like hot weet bix for breaky. Buy a small knob of salam before you could make great meals. We used to have a small 4 piece pack of PK chewing gum wrapped in waxed paper and a bag of barley sugar or boiled sweets. Current ones, geeze, more sugar more chocolates and less real food. Toilet paper was in a celophane wrapper, precisely 10 pieces lol
When I was in we had real thick oat dog biscuits, tinned processed cheese, bacon grill and fine blackcurrant, orange or strawberry crystals that looked like Kali (Flavoured Sherbet powder!) boiled sweets and the Hexamine cooker. I am led to believe after Eighty odd years campaigning together, our friends across the pond have decided to add boiling vessels in all their fighting vehicles!
Really interesting to see the new rat packs and that Biscuits Brown made it through - guess Biscuits Fruit did too. The Fire Dragon stuff is far better than hexi for lots of reasons. I agree about desserts, I always dumped them too. Is the screech improved or just a different packet?
The flameless heater works better if you pour the salt from the accessory packet into the heater before you pour in the water...this is the only thing I've ever used that salt for. In the last few years they've been putting in a "hot drink bag" that's just a long skinny Ziploc bag that you can put in the heater to make hot coffee and such. The chocolate drink bag thing isn't just a chocolate drink, but a freezedried milkshake.
I was a C -Ration generation as well, along with the P-38 (John Wayne) carried on your Dog Tags, MRE's was about 1983 if my memory serves me correctly, but I recall while serving on Reforger, the Brit's had a Rum ration included in their rations... At that time, I witnessed there kit w/ the verry heavy FAL & cotton canvas Web gear... Oh I also witnessed the " West German" troops they had some clever kit, but there rations were pitiful, no thank you please.....
Here is a tip from the colonies. Those alcohol wipes, they can be used as fire tender in an emergency (at least if they are like our alcohol prep pads) just warned alcohol flames are pretty much invisible and as I remember can only light from an open flame.
Back in the days of C-Rations, we used the peanut butter tins for a fire extender. Drop a trioxane tablet into the peanut butter and it would burn for almost an hour.
That "or something" that you leaned the MRE heater on in the desert with nothing but sand around, was usually the sole of your boot, or put it inside your canteen cup if it was not already occupied by your beverage.
Great look at the 2 side by side. You can definitely see a difference in philosophy. Never had the British one but had a few MREs and the Canadian IMPs I rate pretty high. That sticky toffee pudding sounds good but me Mum make them so I don't think I could eat one out of a bag lol. How do you fuel your day hikes, 3 day camp and week long events now? Nate
My Favorite meals in Afghanistan were the LRRP rations. those were extended calories. We ate MRE's for almost 6 months straight in the Korengal.. Love seeing the Brit rations though! you guys are a little heavy on the beverages for a day.
Nice video. I had a fair amount of exposure to the US MRE and the Canadian Individual Meal Pack (IMP) a few years ago. I found the IMP had better tasting and more substantial entrees but the MRE was much more practical. Although they had many thing is common there were a few things made them distinct. IMP had specific breakfast, lunch and supper menus which meant a bit more effort and time in drawing rations. Also a bit of a morale issue if all you got was a bunch of breakfasts (better entrees in lunch and supper plus lunch got a chocolate bar and supper got cookies but all breakfast had was gum). IMP had a main entree plus a dessert such as fruit cocktail or peaches in syrup. These taste good but had too much liquid that made it messy to eat in a moving vehicle or outside if it was windy. For dismounted ops the dessert would be left behind as they were not calorie dense enough to justify the weight and space they took. In contrast the MRE had all sorts of "pocket food" that lent itself well to dismounted activities or eating on the move. They were also liked as they were generic meals. In a nutshell I would take MRE if there was going to be any sort of dismounted or high tempo activity (view them as good tasting fuel). However, if I knew we were going to have vehicles available to carry kit or remain static IMP would be the pick (viewed as better tasting food). Now to be fair my comparison between the two is a few years old and I know the IMP has changed a bit since then but think both can borrow ideas from each other such as the larger IMP entree and bread In the MRE and to replace the IMP dessert with pocket foods. Add the UK stove kit so you could heat more than just the entree and I think we would have an awesome ration.
5:12 A friend of mine is ex-army as tells me the mixed bag is the one thing he used to take with him.... mixed bags of peppers / spices etc when all you have too eat is pigeon (bag of peppers gives a dull meal and bit of life.....
Good old USA! I wonder what our New Zealand Troops got? In WW2 our rations were considered to be good according to my father, he mentioned Bully Beef and Corned Beef, And yes there was lots of swapping going on to get variety especially with the Americans, they also liked our woolen jerseys and Great Coats. Good old New Zealand wool. Of course the New Zealanders got on well with the Aussies and often got into trouble with the British MP's in Cairo.
I will preface my comments by saying that I was a US Marine for 4 years, then a 10-year US Army leg infantryman, and then 8 years combat engineer. The main meal is smaller but if you eat it you know with the entire ration it's enough food. And Americans really don't do "Brew ups". We drink coffee generally in the morning, so not all the MRE ration packs come with coffee. On longer Ops we used to get several day's rations and break them down, (mostly just taking main entrees and coffee) because of weight, and a lot of times you're eating on the move. In Sapper School we got one MRE a day and got to eat it between 0600 and 0700 while conducting personal hygiene and weapons maintenance. We had to turn in all residue and couldn't "save" any bits to eat later.
Hi mate, thanks for the food tour, as always good and bad, but on whole I'd stick whith orps, rather than U S MRE, field rations are always a compromise between cost ,weight, calories, but we brits don't do too bad, better than ww11 rations, on ops ,bully beef and hard tack, water.My father was a DDAY veteran , and said his unit went for whole week on nothing but tinned Irish stew 3 times a day, that was after the Mulberry harbour was partly damaged in a storm, he never ate Irish stew again, lol. Cheers mate, and thanks to all those who serve ,past or present. Best wishes to all, Stuart Uk.
Great review. Always wondered why the US doesn't do 24 hr ration vs individual meal. seems it would make logistics easier. I guess the first strike ration is a 24 hr ration but that is only for the initial assault supposedly..We got a meal every six hours on submarines. Funny how sometimes you would get up to catch a meal that was a favorite. It was also how you knew what time of day it was by the meal LOL.
The first strike is pritty tasty if you can warm the sandwiches and the chicken or tuna up that most of them are made up of. I put them in a canteen cup of boiling water the last one i opened had a bacon and cheese Bridgeford sandwich in lol
I'm former U.S. Army, late 80s early 90s, we were usually issued trioxane heat tabs similar to hexamine and canteen cups for cooking. The Army at that time discouraged reusing the water after heating entrée pouches for some odd reason.
@Prepared Pathfinder I think the pouches might have had pvc or some other coating on them, being light infantry and carrying water, of course we ignored the advice
I once given a ten man ration pack back in 83 for a nato exercise to last me two weeks. I just can’t face chicken supreme anymore 🤢 Great video buddy!!
Another Idea, talk about Sleepmat, Bivy Cover, Sleeping Bag. Not doing a Review kind of Video, maybe there are first Hand/long Time Tipps and Tricks like you British Soldiers have come up with. Or show the most often uses of Sniper/Scapa Tape nobody thinks about. Combat Uniform, Smocks, Rain Gear.... Thats Stuff at least a would appreciate to hear/see :-)
The issue sleeping bag was like a medicine ball from the gym; heavy but kept you warm! Foam sleeping mat inside the bivy bag, with the sleeping bag and the shelter, protected you from most of the elements. The secret was not to pull the bivy bag over your head otherwise the condensation produced got you wet. Each individual had their own choice of kit, within reason, and packed it to suit. The kit that is issued nowadays is far superior to that of yesterday. You learn by experience!
It’s funny how we all have our opinions on MREs. I always loved them, but only ate them as a last resort. I was a bit of a REMF at times during my career. I would usually be served two hot meals per day and be issued an MRE for lunch, which was often midnight lunch because half the time I’d be on night shift in the TOC. I’ve always been an avid backpacker. I would often just save my MREs for my own use, bringing home a duffel bag full after an exercise or deployment. Often I could get some type of other food. For example, one time in Korea, there was an old lady who had her own GP Medium tent outside the gate and she would cook steak subs in the middle of the night. God bless capitalism. I love MREs, but it always seemed like a waste eating MREs when I could get a hot meal.
To be honest with you i never liked either ration. The only good thing with the MRE is the fact that it is easy to prepare and its limited weight and size (especially after your strip it). As a taste etc i prefer to go fasting. In Greece we have nice rations but they are in cans which means a lot of weight so again we strip a lot!!! From other countries i really liked the french but again it was heavy due to cans but the food was nice. Also Turkish MRE were quite nice and in a very compact and light containers. For small operations i was making my own pretty much with tuna, crackers, can of cheese, peanut butter, and dryied fruits and nutts. Also tabasco is a must. When on move i used 1 full mean per day and for OPs 1/3 of a ration. Sometimes i was taking a qube of knorr with water and some crackers. light and nutricious. for marching always a mix of drying fruits (bananas, apricots) and nutts. to everybody remember if you are sitting down or if you want to go to combat better be hungry rather than full.
Depends what unit youre in as to whether these are suitable. I'll scran every single item in these, and after a week in the field I still kilos of weight every time and im skinny to begin with. Having the same rations for tankers as they do for commandos and airborne just doesnt work. The only way for me to survive and thrive in the field is by bringing an extra 1k calories for each day, usually biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit etc
The spoon, is it made of plastic? Maybe you can light it on fire to get damp kindling to light up? Some guy on RUclips does taste tests of the military rations(MRE1989). He did this 24hour ration for Indian troops in British service, if I remember right. Sounded delicious. Actually wanted to try it. And the Spanish rations sounded good too. American culture is not so much about brewed hot tea, as we are coffee. Iced tea is our thing, especially, sweet tea in the Southern States. I think of sweet tea as a tea flavored syrup, but I am a little removed from my Southern roots. My version of sweet tea is most definitely not sweet tea to my cousins. In our rations I remember a tea flavored drink mix. And just avoid that is my advice. But it will make treated puddle water a bit more palatable, kinda.
The Brits have always had multi choice rations! Even the old ‘compo’ C rations where multi choice (73-95). But of course depended on the QMs issue! I picked up some yanks on a big ex in BAOR from the side of the road and put them up with my section and these guys raved about goulash and chicken curry. Strange thing was they abandoned their AFV and just hitched a ride! This though in the day they where still conscripting. In the Falklands after the surrender we used to supplement with Argie rations ( not good), and trades with helo crews for fresh rations from the ships for Argie kit. This included NGVs / weapons you name it, I had it. Biggest prize was fresh bread.
We’ve always had different menus, but they used to come in a box of ten all of the same menu. If you got several of the same menu boxes of ten, it meant eating the same thing for days on end.
@@PreparedPathfinder yes agreed. But they where 10 men / 4 men crew rations as I remember Sir. Inf do not normally receive crew rations of course - always 24 hr individuals. Not to say you would never see them of course, but I would assume if you did it would pre- deployment whilst you have central cooking?
When I was in I used to go round and get all the tuna meals that most people wouldn't eat. Personally tuna chilli pasta is one of the best meals! Then I'd split them with me and one or two others. I used to leave most of my deserts and tuna packets or other snacks and take 4/5 main meals per day, much nicer and more decent calories. I did like the boiled sweets though, I found having kept me awake on stag etc.
I love them both and have alot of food preps made up of British rations and cases of mres. And they keep for a long time apart from the cheese spread. There is even pizza 🍕 mre now crazy
Holly shit! I just looked the British ones sell for $85 each in the Us 😂😂😂 damn they looked soo much better I was gonna get some and try them but not when one palate costs as much as an entire case if MREs that’s crazy! No wonder there is so much more in them! For that they should be sending some 3 8oz filets broccoli in a steamer bag and some German cheesecake
Surely all the sachets are weighed out to the proper portions and all nutritionally balanced? I think the yanky has the same portion size as the brits just more compressed in their packaging.
I would love to have British rations on a camp out. I like the American MREs but you have to make sure to get the real thing, there are too many companies making look-a-likes that don't have as much stuff in them. As for Canadian IMPs (2018-2019) they are very boring. For 90% of them, the same old one entree, one side dish (may be fruit or cake), the same old bread (bag of pain), PJ&Jam spreads, a weak attempt at a sport drink. The entree seemed to be the only true variety. The '18s had a wonderful instant coffee but the '19s have that aweful 3-1 coffee crap they all sell at Asian stores; it tastes very fake and you need two of them per cup but you only get 1.
"It's like the inside of a...fking nappy holy crap" A certain British chef's reaction to sausage & beans ration. Will say freeze dried will always taste better, but for the cost and practicality, the retort pouch stuff gets the job done: "Hunger is the best spice" so they say.
The MRE was designed to fit in your cargo pocket, the British ration pack it looks a little bulky, the MRE you can shoot move and communicate and eat at the same 😁
Ha ha, riiiiight! That’s because the UK ORP is for 24 hours, it’s not a single meal. Not sure eating an MRE whilst in contact would be the best idea! 😂
Having spent some time with the UN back in the 90's, there was a lot of horse trading between units. But the best rations are the French (they had a tiny bottle of wine!) and the Italian (they had wine and THE BEST pasta ever put in a small foil bag!) We all found though it was always another nation's packs that were the favourite. No-one thought their own was the best.
British Army rations were completely overhauled and improved in the mid-late 2000s. The variety and quality is actually very good. I'd rather live on British rations than MREs having eaten both.
The day they do away with Biscuits brown, is the day I’ll give up on the Army. I did away with my ballistic plates years ago. Plate carrier is lined with biscuits brown.
That new stove looks useless one fuel cube on at a time, so relighting each one and have the packaging to get rid of, still prefer Hexi. Used to like the old boil in the bags, biscuits, porridge and choc drink new stuff especially the drinks, peanut butter looks sickly sweet.
i remember doing 10 days on the same set of ration pack , still think i only tried the sticky pudding once lol utter shite. traded a couple out for the sausage n beans to the nutters who would.
No one uses the heaters.. that’s the first but if trash when field stripping then.. cold or boiling water.. is the only way.. crackers spews and main meal is all one takes with them.. also no one takes 3 only 2 per day sometimes just 1 depending on the op.. Anyone taking all three sits in a vehicle all day and night
One thing that can't be overstated enough when comparing US MREs to other nation's military rations: Most countries ration packs are an entire day's worth of supplies, where as MREs are meant as a single meal. Under ideal circumstances you would use 2-3 of them a day.
The waxed paper round the Hexi cooker and fuel saved my life, bloody safety matches all exploded and failed to light a broken hexi block, last match remaining, i thought feather some waxed cardboard, and last match lit the waxed cardboard and caught the Hexi block, heated water, filled flask, heated water got a hot brew. Lying in the bottom of a frozen ditch, with snow falling, winds howling, under a poncho, on a groundsheet, and sleeping bag with Bergen as support and windshield is a great learning curve. Now i carry many more ways to start fire, still use Hexi stoves with various fuels, also the BCB (i always put a little foil in the bottom as it leaves a nasty residue) which is re-useable, and home-made starters, but i always include some waxed paper/board and waxed matches, also used waterproof nail varnish to coat some match heads. Learned a big lesson from my first training session in the Brecons and many more since, never stop learning, everything has uses. Great videos, and a salute for your service. I organise my rations in plastic bags but on a full meal basis, with brew kit, biscuits, snacks, main meal, rice/potato or pasta, soup, wipes, tissues spoon, all in one bag for each, so i know each is inclusive. Standard "yaffling spanner" spoon (US type with lanyard hole from a KFS combi) and a longer one for bagged food in pockets. Also have some energy food, sugar, boiled sweets, salt, soup, oxo, rehydrate in my pocket first aid kit and medical kit, handy for shock and hypothermia, and had to use it for others on a number of occasions in the wilderness. Always have a small bag with condiments, curry, herbs, flavours, etc and a luxury bag for a treat every now and then, it works wonders for morale and energy.
In the Swedish Armed Forces we have a personal cooker (soldier stove) and often issued the Flameless Ration Heaters as well. The FRH doesn't work well when it's cold, i.e. most of the year were I live. But the advantage in my opinion is that you can put the activated FRH with a meal in the bergen and "cook as you ruck" (hiking) and you can heat your meal while sitting in a moving vehicle or in a confined space, where an open flame isn't advisable to use. Just a thought. Thanks for inspiration and advice.
Cheers mate! I’ve never tried Swedish rations, l’d be interested in trying them out.
When there was the '82 pattern webbing, the Canadian military used the same canteen/canteen cup/canteen cooker as the US.
In my experience with MRE's we never use the heater it's trash and doesn't work that well. We always just eat them cold. I love this video and would love to try a British ration looks so much better than what I'm used to
I used the heater in the field during survival training refresher and camping...loved it, but we had to take them out of the package before we flew, they would get thrown away in the trash and if water or coffee was thrown in the trash it cause a fire in flight.
The FRH works great if it's new, but yah I've had lots of duds.
We would make MRE bombs using the heater and a 1L soda bottle
Never really had an issue with the mre heaters doing their job unless they are way past their expectations date
I started out with the C-Rations (1977), and the MRE’s came out the year I was discharged (1983).
I remember training with the Norwegian Army. They had fresh bread and real eggs in their rations.
That must’ve been a pain for the logistics of those rations!
The MRE came out in 81, but you are lucky to not have to deal with them. Back then, they weren't great and had limited menus
@@vipergtsmre The 80s MRE's were referred to as "Meals, Rejected by Ethiopians" by British forces. They were that bad. There was a famine going on during the 80s in Ethiopia. lots of food aid etc. Typical Brit squaddie humour.
The US MRE is a great novelty. Besides military applications they are often used for sustaining people in natural disasters. Personally, I buy them and then get a chuckle watching people's reaction when I used the flameless ration heater while hiking. Steam issuing from a plastic bag does not compute with the average person.
Great comparison, thank you.
The crackers though - saw a video some time ago about historic enacting from 17th century. They focus on military food to some extent and rhere they would soak the crackers in teas or soup for consumption. Tried it out, it makes sense, and gonna use it like that from now on.
Ones my uncle gave me came with triosing fuel tabs (probably spelled wrong) that went with the canteen stoves. That was early 90's
Fire Dragon can be used as a hand sanitizer when your in the field. Burns clean and easy to clean the stove. Great system.
That was awesome to see the comparison between the US and UK ration. I want to score a few British rations now lol. Your toilet paper is far more substantial than ours, my butt is very jealous lol.
British rations are by far, hands down better than the American MRE! I have eaten both, O MAN the British have field rations mastered! Although I do like a few of the menus in the MRE's. There are 2 things I like about the British Military field equipment, Ration Packs, Belt Kit!🤘👍Thanks for your service to your country! From Michigan, USA.
Cheers mate! 🇺🇸🇬🇧👍
The flameless heaters usually never work, so they get tossed. The toilet paper, well, you save them one day you can wipe. We generally brought our own to the field. LOL...Cranberry Osmotic came out after my time in service, basically they are or seem to be sugar covered cranberry raisens.
We used to heat up our MRE's in a canteen cup in hot water via the Heat Tabs we could get, or C-4.
Great review, I remember back in the early 90s during REFORGER in Germany trying one of the 24-hour packs. Always wondered why we didn't go that way. I ended up trading a pair of my boots for a few meals to take home. thanks. some of the new rations "Forst strike" supplement the MRE and are basically a 24-hour ration.
Roger that mate, we always swapped our rations with you guys when we met up. Cheers brother! 👍
You did a great review and it was interesting seeing the comparison in rations. Your comments about them were fair and reasonable. I really enjoyed it. Because you asked for suggestions on topics, I'm interested in tying tactical knots. If you know how and can show us, I would appreciate it.
I used to love finding a tin of bacon grill in the old 80s ration packs.
Great vid. I love the British rat packs. I use them for camping/ bushcraft,etc. Never been in the forces.
Manage to get the whole 10 menus for a very reasonable price!
Probably cheaper than a weeks shopping.
Don’t think I would like to live on them though.
Stay away from the powdered drinks though…full of aspartame,really bad for a person.And the oatmeal biscuits WILL block you up!
Regards👍🏾🇬🇧
Great take on covering both types of meals. That mre’s is a new version that has carried over for years. My first new was the dark brown plastic bag in mid 80s and man those were some ruff meals. but now have changed for the better. I would like to have tried the Brit’s version that assorted drinks is nice.
Our Flameless Heaters either barely heat the water or they are scalding hot. You get used to eating your favorite MREs and try to avoid the rest...Brit Chow always sounded better, but like ours doesn't always taste better...Good Videos Always. Cheers.
When I was posted in the UK, every exercise I would always try to swap out MRE's with Brit COMPO rations!
Great comparison. I just wanted to throw in a couple of observations. The salt that's included is not just for seasoning but you can pour it into the meal heater and it will get much hotter. The one ORP that I tried was really good but I thought the bisquits brown were kind of nasty. For a comparison between the main meals, the standard British meal is 300 grams and the standard US one is 8 ounces or about 226 grams. So the US one is almost a third smaller.
Never tried adding the salt to the heater, I'll be trying that out soon. Thanks!
@@varnellhopkinsiii6863 It works, you'll be amazed.
Trying to light Hexy with a windproof match was an art form in itself. I remember having to go around all the cadets lighting it for them with a lighter because none of them could get it going.
Secret is to wrap the hemi block in the rat pack toilet paper. As that stuff was useless for its intended purpose. The waxed cardboard for the hexi was good to light stuff too.
Great review, well explained, and very interesting, thanks buddy! 👍
Cheers 👍
In the old C-Rations, there was a can, a dessert, in the B3 unit called the Chocolate Nut Roll. It would tend to “block you up” as you say.
We determined that the best thing to do with the Dreaded Chocolate Nut Roll was to throw it towards the enemy and hope they ate it.
Sounds deadly! 😂
I recall the US C-Rations canned dessert w/ chocolate cookies wrapped in this silver tin foil, & were commonly referred to as John Wayne silver dollars...
I always used to have a mixture of both as it gave the best of both worlds, that said biscuits brown were rarely taken anywhere haha. Some great videos as always mate, cheers!
Cheers mate!
I think the British spork is great, am I the only one!😂
In 90s we had a choice and in think in the 80s as well….. I notice no tins or chicken curry with rice! Those biscuits were served to Lord Nelson! I’ll rejoin for the Tabasco.
Another great video, thanks for sharing. Have you ever tried a french 24 hour ration pack, mega tasty those.
I have, whilst on ex with 2 REP in Corsica, nearly 30 years ago though, so l can’t remember much about them!
Enjoyed this video. Somehow the algorithm conjoined my interest in cooking shows and hiking to lead me here, will subscribe. Asked my dad (infantry ‘61-‘93) whether “biscuits brown” was still about in the old days… apparently it was “hard tack” before then. Doesn’t sound like much innovation occurred!
Yeah they haven't changed much over the years! Same since I was in Army Cadets in 1985...
Hey, Thanks for your Video, Food is always important Topic.
l would appreciate to know more about the GB Army PLCE Load Carry System. Including Bergans, Webbing and such. How Soldiers from GB use it, how it is be meant to use, how your experience is, Tricks and Tipps from first Hand and so on. Information about the Gear has changend/enhanced/worsened while your Time in the Forces.
Maybe your Opinion about different Camo Patterns and Field Experiences (DPM, Desert DPM, MTP)
Viele Grüße aus Deutschland!
Roger that mate, thanks for you comments and suggestions.
Having served in the Italian army and living now in the UK I can say one thing...british rations are hands down a world better than what we were given.
You'd think with our cuisine our rations would be something to look forward to have...but from then 1st time we had them as recruits we realised we had to nick some other rations from other NATO forces ahahaha.
Our rations had stuff like ravioli and pasta (unsurprisingly) but they were extremely slushy and either bland or too salty, but worst of all we had lots of stuff in tins! Heavy as hell a 24h ration would be twice the size of the old British one and damn heavy with things like cans of tuna or tinned beef.
The good thing though was a little plastic bag, not dissimilar to those little yogurt filled bags, with something inside called cordial...yes...we had booze in our rations! Very small mind, but rather welcomed
Yeah that is a surprise, thanks for the info, interesting stuff 👍
Don't you guys have a ration pack with a shot of aperitif? It would make the slushy rations a bit easier to stomach haha
@@TheQuantumPotato no mate, if we had alcohol in our rations it would only end badly! :)
See, this is where it pays off to come from a country where mushy, soggy food is basically our national standard!
Turns out most of the food we like in Britain works really well if you seal it in a plastic bag. Pasta, though... No chance.
My personal favourites, though, are south-east asian mres. You just cannot go wrong with rice and curry. I'd happily eat them every day. 🤗
I think they meant the French and Italians.
You'd have to be an idiot to give the Bri'ish alcohol in an MRE. We'd be off to liberate the nearest pub, no matter what the actual objective was 😂🍻
Having experiences from the 80's until the early 2000's ending some time after serving in Gulf 2, I can state both types of rations have come on leaps and bounds. The American rations use to be horrible. Unusual menus, with very little inside, and the taste was of cardboard. The Yanks use to call the MRE's Meals Rejected by Ethiopians. During Optelic, the yanks tried to barter or grab our rations. Until, in certain parts of Iraq, we were only issued the MRE's.. After gulf 2, the Americans created the Action Rations for combat troops, that looked very close to the compo we got issued. I assume they may still issue those sometimes, but my guess is there was too much money to be lost by the original production companies, so the compromise we see today was born. The main flaw in the American psyche for these rations, is to think their supply lines will not be disrupted. In the Gulf, many were only issued one MRE pack at set times, and sometimes the following pack never turned up... However, remembering the Yanks celebrating about a cake they produced for Arctic troops, by dropping it by parachute while a brass band played, I guess we can stomach their eccentricities.
The MREs issued in the late '80 were disgusting. Like you said unusual menus, often freeze dried to the point where they never reconstituted or just inedible ( the chocolate covered fudge bar) and nothing to heat anything up with. Before going to the field, we would raid the px for sterno and canned foods like stew or spaghetti.
David, l have a fair bit of experience of both types over 33 years service too, including seven operations. There’s definitely pros and cons to both, and they’ve both improved over the years. Even though most Brits love MREs, l think that’s down to novelty value, l reckon ORP is more practical overall.
When we first deployed on op Telic we had MREs- after we got out supply chain going we got ORP again- menu D mostly 🤮
The going rate was 2 MREs for 1 ORP with our American friends! It was the novelty factor- we were glad to go back into ORP tho
Biscuit Brown AB with a square of a Yorkie bar or a couple of squares of Cadbury's Dairy Milk eaten together was, with a lot of imagination, a substitute for a Chocky Hob Nob!!
I much preferred the Brit Rat Pack to the MRE during my service. Going back to when we had the tins you could create some lovely dinners. The highlight of the day!!
Yeah l remember the tinned rations, great for making an “all in”, but pretty gopping when eaten cold. Tins are a pain to carry too.
@@PreparedPathfinder Especially with that female designed load carrying system, 58 Pattern webbing, that we all thought was ace🤣
@@seasoldier3902 Back in 80s we had the tinned types to. Absolutely roght you could make a pretty good stew. Plus more stuff to swap usually worked out well that way. We had some ace stuff too. Condensed milk in a tube. Plastic tubes of jam. And a metal tube of butter. Canned cheese. Awesome survival biscuits add hot water dob of condensed milk like hot weet bix for breaky. Buy a small knob of salam before you could make great meals. We used to have a small 4 piece pack of PK chewing gum wrapped in waxed paper and a bag of barley sugar or boiled sweets. Current ones, geeze, more sugar more chocolates and less real food. Toilet paper was in a celophane wrapper, precisely 10 pieces lol
Love the British ration pack. Great for wild camps, etc. Hood menus, too.
All the best👍🏾🇬🇧
When I was in we had real thick oat dog biscuits, tinned processed cheese, bacon grill and fine blackcurrant, orange or strawberry crystals that looked like Kali (Flavoured Sherbet powder!) boiled sweets and the Hexamine cooker. I am led to believe after Eighty odd years campaigning together, our friends across the pond have decided to add boiling vessels in all their fighting vehicles!
Cheese possessed. Brings back fond memories
Really interesting to see the new rat packs and that Biscuits Brown made it through - guess Biscuits Fruit did too. The Fire Dragon stuff is far better than hexi for lots of reasons. I agree about desserts, I always dumped them too. Is the screech improved or just a different packet?
The flameless heater works better if you pour the salt from the accessory packet into the heater before you pour in the water...this is the only thing I've ever used that salt for.
In the last few years they've been putting in a "hot drink bag" that's just a long skinny Ziploc bag that you can put in the heater to make hot coffee and such.
The chocolate drink bag thing isn't just a chocolate drink, but a freezedried milkshake.
I was a C -Ration generation as well, along with the P-38 (John Wayne) carried on your Dog Tags, MRE's was about 1983 if my memory serves me correctly, but I recall while serving on Reforger, the Brit's had a Rum ration included in their rations...
At that time, I witnessed there kit w/ the verry heavy FAL & cotton canvas Web gear...
Oh I also witnessed the " West German" troops they had some clever kit, but there rations were pitiful, no thank you please.....
Great video 👍 I allway enjoyed the British Rations wish I could get them out here thanks mate
Thanks Dave 👍
Have you there tried E Bay or Amazon?
Here is a tip from the colonies.
Those alcohol wipes, they can be used as fire tender in an emergency (at least if they are like our alcohol prep pads) just warned alcohol flames are pretty much invisible and as I remember can only light from an open flame.
Back in the days of C-Rations, we used the peanut butter tins for a fire extender. Drop a trioxane tablet into the peanut butter and it would burn for almost an hour.
I'm afraid they're non-alcohol wipes these days.
Those are alcohol free
That "or something" that you leaned the MRE heater on in the desert with nothing but sand around, was usually the sole of your boot, or put it inside your canteen cup if it was not already occupied by your beverage.
Great look at the 2 side by side. You can definitely see a difference in philosophy. Never had the British one but had a few MREs and the Canadian IMPs I rate pretty high. That sticky toffee pudding sounds good but me Mum make them so I don't think I could eat one out of a bag lol. How do you fuel your day hikes, 3 day camp and week long events now?
Nate
Mate those sticky toffee puddings will rot your teeth straight out of your head! 😂 l use military rations or civvie equivalents, and snack bars.
REMF. That was me REME for 10 years last unit was 16AA at 13AA. I haven't heard that term for years that killed me. Cheers for your great videos
Haha, cheers mate 😂👍
Suggest “R.E.M.F.-Military Word Of The Day” by Angry Cops.
@@Glove513 Rear Echelon Mother Fuckers. Enjoy.
My Favorite meals in Afghanistan were the LRRP rations. those were extended calories.
We ate MRE's for almost 6 months straight in the Korengal..
Love seeing the Brit rations though! you guys are a little heavy on the beverages for a day.
Nice video. I had a fair amount of exposure to the US MRE and the Canadian Individual Meal Pack (IMP) a few years ago.
I found the IMP had better tasting and more substantial entrees but the MRE was much more practical. Although they had many thing is common there were a few things made them distinct. IMP had specific breakfast, lunch and supper menus which meant a bit more effort and time in drawing rations. Also a bit of a morale issue if all you got was a bunch of breakfasts (better entrees in lunch and supper plus lunch got a chocolate bar and supper got cookies but all breakfast had was gum).
IMP had a main entree plus a dessert such as fruit cocktail or peaches in syrup. These taste good but had too much liquid that made it messy to eat in a moving vehicle or outside if it was windy. For dismounted ops the dessert would be left behind as they were not calorie dense enough to justify the weight and space they took. In contrast the MRE had all sorts of "pocket food" that lent itself well to dismounted activities or eating on the move. They were also liked as they were generic meals.
In a nutshell I would take MRE if there was going to be any sort of dismounted or high tempo activity (view them as good tasting fuel). However, if I knew we were going to have vehicles available to carry kit or remain static IMP would be the pick (viewed as better tasting food).
Now to be fair my comparison between the two is a few years old and I know the IMP has changed a bit since then but think both can borrow ideas from each other such as the larger IMP entree and bread In the MRE and to replace the IMP dessert with pocket foods.
Add the UK stove kit so you could heat more than just the entree and I think we would have an awesome ration.
Thanks for your comments mate! I haven’t had the chance to try the IMPs but they sound good! 👍
The MRI is not a 24 hour meal pack which I’m sure numerous people have pointed out. Great show.
Plus l did in the video! Cheers.
I liked the Bacon Grill in the olds ones. I hated the radiation cheese. Keep up the good work. Craig.🇮🇲🇮🇲🇮🇲
5:12 A friend of mine is ex-army as tells me the mixed bag is the one thing he used to take with him.... mixed bags of peppers / spices etc when all you have too eat is pigeon (bag of peppers gives a dull meal and bit of life.....
Good old USA! I wonder what our New Zealand Troops got? In WW2 our rations were considered to be good according to my father, he mentioned Bully Beef and Corned Beef, And yes there was lots of swapping going on to get variety especially with the Americans, they also liked our woolen jerseys and Great Coats. Good old New Zealand wool. Of course the New Zealanders got on well with the Aussies and often got into trouble with the British MP's in Cairo.
Great video God bless from Canada eh
Haven't had those mini Tabasco bottles in MREs since the late 90s IIRC. Sorely missed item.
`Remfing it up`. I must remember that one.
I will preface my comments by saying that I was a US Marine for 4 years, then a 10-year US Army leg infantryman, and then 8 years combat engineer. The main meal is smaller but if you eat it you know with the entire ration it's enough food. And Americans really don't do "Brew ups". We drink coffee generally in the morning, so not all the MRE ration packs come with coffee. On longer Ops we used to get several day's rations and break them down, (mostly just taking main entrees and coffee) because of weight, and a lot of times you're eating on the move. In Sapper School we got one MRE a day and got to eat it between 0600 and 0700 while conducting personal hygiene and weapons maintenance. We had to turn in all residue and couldn't "save" any bits to eat later.
Hi mate, thanks for the food tour, as always good and bad, but on whole I'd stick whith orps, rather than U S MRE, field rations are always a compromise between cost ,weight, calories, but we brits don't do too bad, better than ww11 rations, on ops ,bully beef and hard tack, water.My father was a DDAY veteran , and said his unit went for whole week on nothing but tinned Irish stew 3 times a day, that was after the Mulberry harbour was partly damaged in a storm, he never ate Irish stew again, lol. Cheers mate, and thanks to all those who serve ,past or present. Best wishes to all, Stuart Uk.
Great review. Always wondered why the US doesn't do 24 hr ration vs individual meal. seems it would make logistics easier. I guess the first strike ration is a 24 hr ration but that is only for the initial assault supposedly..We got a meal every six hours on submarines. Funny how sometimes you would get up to catch a meal that was a favorite. It was also how you knew what time of day it was by the meal LOL.
Sailors!
Yeah l can imagine how that would work out! I spent a bit of time on ships doing security, meals were definitely the highlight of the day!
The first strike is pritty tasty if you can warm the sandwiches and the chicken or tuna up that most of them are made up of. I put them in a canteen cup of boiling water the last one i opened had a bacon and cheese Bridgeford sandwich in lol
They moved away from 24-hour rations to combat meals in Korea
Good thorough comparison........a "rock or something" - best instruction ever...!!! 😀
Isn’t it? Must’ve been a Friday afternoon in the design office! 😂
I'm former U.S. Army, late 80s early 90s, we were usually issued trioxane heat tabs similar to hexamine and canteen cups for cooking. The Army at that time discouraged reusing the water after heating entrée pouches for some odd reason.
Yeah that is strange. It’s SOP for us to use the heated water for a brew.
@Prepared Pathfinder I think the pouches might have had pvc or some other coating on them, being light infantry and carrying water, of course we ignored the advice
I once given a ten man ration pack back in 83 for a nato exercise to last me two weeks. I just can’t face chicken supreme anymore 🤢
Great video buddy!!
Ha ha, fair one mate 😂
The condiment bag is better than the American ones, but I noticed that yours also lacks matches. Does the heater include matches?
There are windproof matches in the Brit rations mate.
Another Idea, talk about Sleepmat, Bivy Cover, Sleeping Bag. Not doing a Review kind of Video, maybe there are first Hand/long Time Tipps and Tricks like you British Soldiers have come up with. Or show the most often uses of Sniper/Scapa Tape nobody thinks about. Combat Uniform, Smocks, Rain Gear....
Thats Stuff at least a would appreciate to hear/see :-)
The issue sleeping bag was like a medicine ball from the gym; heavy but kept you warm! Foam sleeping mat inside the bivy bag, with the sleeping bag and the shelter, protected you from most of the elements. The secret was not to pull the bivy bag over your head otherwise the condensation produced got you wet.
Each individual had their own choice of kit, within reason, and packed it to suit. The kit that is issued nowadays is far superior to that of yesterday. You learn by experience!
It’s funny how we all have our opinions on MREs. I always loved them, but only ate them as a last resort. I was a bit of a REMF at times during my career. I would usually be served two hot meals per day and be issued an MRE for lunch, which was often midnight lunch because half the time I’d be on night shift in the TOC. I’ve always been an avid backpacker. I would often just save my MREs for my own use, bringing home a duffel bag full after an exercise or deployment. Often I could get some type of other food. For example, one time in Korea, there was an old lady who had her own GP Medium tent outside the gate and she would cook steak subs in the middle of the night. God bless capitalism. I love MREs, but it always seemed like a waste eating MREs when I could get a hot meal.
The spoon mentioned in Bravo-20 was a different type of sooo. They were short heavy plastic that was translucent.
It was still an MRE spoon, and still not the best option.
@@PreparedPathfinder oh I agree with you there the damn things were short lol. They were only about 4” long lol
By the way: what kind of knife is that? Looks very interesting!
It’s a Benchmade Bugout, a great little lightweight knife. Quite expensive though!
The US MRE reminds me of a child's tea set, id take the ORP any day of the week, far better size and options
This video is making me hungry 😄
😂
The sundries / brew kit hasn't changed between the boxes and new style ration.
No, but they have changed over the years. There never used to be wet wipes or a spoon, and there used to be more brew kit.
To be honest with you i never liked either ration. The only good thing with the MRE is the fact that it is easy to prepare and its limited weight and size (especially after your strip it). As a taste etc i prefer to go fasting.
In Greece we have nice rations but they are in cans which means a lot of weight so again we strip a lot!!!
From other countries i really liked the french but again it was heavy due to cans but the food was nice.
Also Turkish MRE were quite nice and in a very compact and light containers.
For small operations i was making my own pretty much with tuna, crackers, can of cheese, peanut butter, and dryied fruits and nutts. Also tabasco is a must. When on move i used 1 full mean per day and for OPs 1/3 of a ration. Sometimes i was taking a qube of knorr with water and some crackers. light and nutricious. for marching always a mix of drying fruits (bananas, apricots) and nutts.
to everybody remember if you are sitting down or if you want to go to combat better be hungry rather than full.
Yes the old rations were very basic with the ubiquitous Dog biscuits that was back in the 1970/80's.
Depends what unit youre in as to whether these are suitable. I'll scran every single item in these, and after a week in the field I still kilos of weight every time and im skinny to begin with.
Having the same rations for tankers as they do for commandos and airborne just doesnt work. The only way for me to survive and thrive in the field is by bringing an extra 1k calories for each day, usually biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit etc
Yeah roger that mate
i first taste of MRE was when I stayed in stillington street with one of my army friends for 4 months, not bad tasting
Yeah generally they’re ok. I had one recently that was gopping though, maybe it was OOD.
The spoon, is it made of plastic? Maybe you can light it on fire to get damp kindling to light up?
Some guy on RUclips does taste tests of the military rations(MRE1989). He did this 24hour ration for Indian troops in British service, if I remember right. Sounded delicious. Actually wanted to try it. And the Spanish rations sounded good too.
American culture is not so much about brewed hot tea, as we are coffee. Iced tea is our thing, especially, sweet tea in the Southern States. I think of sweet tea as a tea flavored syrup, but I am a little removed from my Southern roots. My version of sweet tea is most definitely not sweet tea to my cousins. In our rations I remember a tea flavored drink mix. And just avoid that is my advice. But it will make treated puddle water a bit more palatable, kinda.
Steve 1989?
The Brits have always had multi choice rations! Even the old ‘compo’ C rations where multi choice (73-95). But of course depended on the QMs issue! I picked up some yanks on a big ex in BAOR from the side of the road and put them up with my section and these guys raved about goulash and chicken curry. Strange thing was they abandoned their AFV and just hitched a ride! This though in the day they where still conscripting. In the Falklands after the surrender we used to supplement with Argie rations ( not good), and trades with helo crews for fresh rations from the ships for Argie kit. This included NGVs / weapons you name it, I had it. Biggest prize was fresh bread.
We’ve always had different menus, but they used to come in a box of ten all of the same menu. If you got several of the same menu boxes of ten, it meant eating the same thing for days on end.
@@PreparedPathfinder yes agreed. But they where 10 men / 4 men crew rations as I remember Sir. Inf do not normally receive crew rations of course - always 24 hr individuals. Not to say you would never see them of course, but I would assume if you did it would pre- deployment whilst you have central cooking?
@@davidalexander8649 yeah l remember those, defo not practical for dismounted troops.
When I was in I used to go round and get all the tuna meals that most people wouldn't eat. Personally tuna chilli pasta is one of the best meals! Then I'd split them with me and one or two others. I used to leave most of my deserts and tuna packets or other snacks and take 4/5 main meals per day, much nicer and more decent calories. I did like the boiled sweets though, I found having kept me awake on stag etc.
Yeah virtually everyone l knew binned the desserts. There was always a big pile of them left when we were on exercises or operations. Massive waste.
@@PreparedPathfinder Agreed, theres a lot of waste in the ration packs. The drinks is another one, they could half those.
@@Bikeadelic roger, they used to come with one sachet of ‘screech’, but they’ve gone nuts with drinks post Iraq/Afghan.
I loved the us mre .mod ones good but the us mre was bit different for me
would love to develope rations
pretty disappointed with the yanks MRE's now, just ordered a brit 24
I love them both and have alot of food preps made up of British rations and cases of mres. And they keep for a long time apart from the cheese spread. There is even pizza 🍕 mre now crazy
Yeah I haven't tried that one yet, I can imagine it's not like a slice of Dominoes though! :)
Nope defo not its like a cheap farmfoods oven pizza but soggy and only a tiny slice
@@fancypantsstungrenades9221 gopping 🤢
Holly shit! I just looked the British ones sell for $85 each in the Us 😂😂😂 damn they looked soo much better I was gonna get some and try them but not when one palate costs as much as an entire case if MREs that’s crazy! No wonder there is so much more in them! For that they should be sending some 3 8oz filets broccoli in a steamer bag and some German cheesecake
They’re nowhere near that much here mate!
Surely all the sachets are weighed out to the proper portions and all nutritionally balanced? I think the yanky has the same portion size as the brits just more compressed in their packaging.
No, their meals are smaller, they just get three MREs a day as opposed to one 24 hour ration. They get more smaller snack items too.
Did you ever use c4 to heat up your rations
No mate it’s better for blowing stuff up.
I think we all fieldpack our rations and trade them with other NATO forces. Haven't been out in a couple of years but we always used to.
No fruit biscuits anymore. The chocolate used to make up a lot of calories too, but can see why there not included.
Yeah l miss the fruit biscuits mate! And corned beef hash!
Why you didn’t taste them?
I've tasted them thousands of times. I've lived on them for weeks on end. This isn't a novelty for me.
I would love to have British rations on a camp out. I like the American MREs but you have to make sure to get the real thing, there are too many companies making look-a-likes that don't have as much stuff in them. As for Canadian IMPs (2018-2019) they are very boring. For 90% of them, the same old one entree, one side dish (may be fruit or cake), the same old bread (bag of pain), PJ&Jam spreads, a weak attempt at a sport drink. The entree seemed to be the only true variety. The '18s had a wonderful instant coffee but the '19s have that aweful 3-1 coffee crap they all sell at Asian stores; it tastes very fake and you need two of them per cup but you only get 1.
Tight gets!, bicckies that could take out tanks with a slingshot. I loved the pop. Chicken korma or tikka. Get it sorted septic.
"It's like the inside of a...fking nappy holy crap" A certain British chef's reaction to sausage & beans ration. Will say freeze dried will always taste better, but for the cost and practicality, the retort pouch stuff gets the job done: "Hunger is the best spice" so they say.
I always enjoyed Canadian Ration Packs over the Meals Rejected By Ethiopians (MRE)
The MRE was designed to fit in your cargo pocket, the British ration pack it looks a little bulky, the MRE you can shoot move and communicate and eat at the same 😁
Ha ha, riiiiight! That’s because the UK ORP is for 24 hours, it’s not a single meal. Not sure eating an MRE whilst in contact would be the best idea! 😂
Having spent some time with the UN back in the 90's, there was a lot of horse trading between units. But the best rations are the French (they had a tiny bottle of wine!) and the Italian (they had wine and THE BEST pasta ever put in a small foil bag!) We all found though it was always another nation's packs that were the favourite. No-one thought their own was the best.
Yeah it just comes down to variety hey? There was an ltalian guy on here earlier saying their rations were awful!
British Army rations were completely overhauled and improved in the mid-late 2000s. The variety and quality is actually very good. I'd rather live on British rations than MREs having eaten both.
The day they do away with Biscuits brown, is the day I’ll give up on the Army. I did away with my ballistic plates years ago. Plate carrier is lined with biscuits brown.
That new stove looks useless one fuel cube on at a time, so relighting each one and have the packaging to get rid of, still prefer Hexi. Used to like the old boil in the bags, biscuits, porridge and choc drink new stuff especially the drinks, peanut butter looks sickly sweet.
There’s good and bad to the new rations to be fair. I prefer the old hexi burners too.
Still like a mars bar or yorkie, even now because of the older packs
The crusader cook set is the best i think the new fire dragon blocks and old hexi blocks work well in it great system 👍🏻
i remember doing 10 days on the same set of ration pack , still think i only tried the sticky pudding once lol utter shite. traded a couple out for the sausage n beans to the nutters who would.
Yeah it's gopping eating the same thing every day constantly. I never ate any of the desserts, except for the chocolate pudding once in a blue moon.
Just my opinion, but no comparison. Give me a Brit GP or ORP any day, over most MRE menus
must have a reasonable price source in USA. if you can find one, 70-100 USD
"Rock or something", pmsl classic.
ST1s are a good substitute for a rock.
No one uses the heaters.. that’s the first but if trash when field stripping then.. cold or boiling water.. is the only way.. crackers spews and main meal is all one takes with them.. also no one takes 3 only 2 per day sometimes just 1 depending on the op..
Anyone taking all three sits in a vehicle all day and night
One thing that can't be overstated enough when comparing US MREs to other nation's military rations:
Most countries ration packs are an entire day's worth of supplies, where as MREs are meant as a single meal. Under ideal circumstances you would use 2-3 of them a day.
Yep, l mentioned that.
The US ration has no way to heat water for a hot drink since they did away with heat tabs. Good luck having hot chocolate.
Yorkie bars used be included before MRES!
They’re not MREs, it’s still ORP.
1 thing, the ORP is a 24 hr ration and the MRE is a single meal
Which l mention in the video.
Always ended up being a curry powder chuck-in!
ORP has more stuff them the MRE because ORP is meant for 24 hours of food and the MRE is a single meal.
To be fair he does mention that towards the end of the video.
Yep l said that mate.