Sopakco Sure-Pak 12 MREs
Sure-Pak 12 MREs
Sopakco is one of the three companies that produce MREs for the U.S. military. Their "Sure-Pak 12" product has been the longest-available civilian MRE on the market.
Contents
The Sure-Pak MREs contain many of the same components of the military MREs - the entrees, sides, crackers, and desserts are usually exactly the same (packaging and all) that you'll find in a real MRE. However, the cheese spread, peanut butter, and accessory packet may be different (see pictures below). Probably the best thing about the Sure-Paks is that they still include the standard military spoon. See the spoons section on the Civilian MRE Comparison page for more information.
Heaters
Ever since 2005, Sopakco has been offering the option of buying Sure-Paks with or without heaters. And when they say "with heaters", they really do mean the heaters are included in the meal bag. The heaters that are included are the same as the military Flameless Ration Heaters that are activated with plain water. The Sure-Paks with heaters cost about $9 more than without heaters.
New Box Design
Beginning in late 2009, Sopakco started using a new design for their outer cases:
| Old Sure-Pak 12 Case |
New Sure-Pak 12 Case |
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Menus
A case of Sure-Paks comes with 12 individual meals. There are usually six different menus in each case so you get two of each menu. The menus from Sopakco change often so you don't have to worry about getting the same menus over and over. Even better, some online ordering sites (such as The Epicenter) let you pick exactly which menus you want - other companies just sell you a case and you get whichever menus show up.
Here's a menu listing from a case of Sure-Paks that were packed in August, 2009:
| Menu 1 |
Calories
|
Menu 2 |
Calories
|
Menu 3 |
Calories
|
Chicken Pesto Pasta
Clam Chowder
Crackers
Grape Jelly
Oatmeal Cookie
Lemon-Lime Beverage Base
Instant Coffee
|
420
150
180
70
280
130
|
Veggie Burger in BBQ Sauce
Refried Beans
Crackers
Apple Jelly
Raspberry White Chip Cookie
Lemon-Lime Beverage Base
Instant Coffee
|
260
180
180
70
250
130
|
Chicken w/Salsa
Clam Chowder
Crackers
Grape Jelly
Cookies wuth Pan Coated Chocolate Disks
Lemon-Lime Beverage Base
Instant Coffee
|
160
150
180
70
280
130
|
|
total:
|
1230
|
total:
|
1070
|
total:
|
970
|
| Menu 4 |
Calories
|
Menu 5 |
Calories
|
Menu 6 |
Calories
|
Apple Maple Oatmeal
Grape Jelly
Crackers
Apple Pieces in Spiced Sauce
Raspberry White Chip Cookie
Tropical Punch Beverage Base
Instant Coffee |
200
70
180
150
250
130
|
Chili and Macaroni
Raspberry Applesauce
Grape Jelly
Crackers
Oatmeal Cookie
Tropical Punch Beverage Base
Instant Coffee |
240
110
70
180
280
130
|
Maple Sausage
Hash Browns w/Bacon
Grape Jelly
Crackers
Raspberry White Chip Cookie
Tropical Punch Beverage Base
Instant Coffee |
240
220
70
180
250
130
|
|
total:
|
980
|
total:
|
1010
|
total:
|
1090
|
| |
|
| Average Calories per MRE: |
1,058
|
| Total Calories per Case: |
12,700
|
Each case has an official menu sticker on the outside of the box that might look something like this:
Here are some other examples of menus from different cases. These were taken from The Epicenter's website:
| Case 1 |
Case 2 |
Case 3 |
Jambalaya with shrimp and ham
Chili With Beans
Spaghetti
Cajun style rice/beans with beef sausage
Chicken Strips in Salsa
Cheese Omelet
|
Cheese Tortellini
Pork Ribs
Beef Ravioli
Chili With Beans
Spaghetti
Cajun style rice/beans with beef sausage
|
Chicken Fajita
Pork Ribs (boneless)
Beef Enchilada (or might be Chicken Cavatelli)
Chicken Strips in Salsa
Beef in BBQ Sauce (Sloppy Joe)
Vegetable Manicotti
|
| Case 4 |
Case 5 |
Case 6 |
Penne Pasta with Spicy Vegetable Sausage
Beef Patty, grilled
Chicken Cavatelli
Chicken Strips in Salsa
Beef in BBQ Sauce (Sloppy Joe)
Cajun style rice / beans with beef sausage
|
Cajun style rice/beans with beef sausage
Vegetable Manicotti (or Beef Ravioli)
Beef Roast with Vegetable (Pot Roast)
Chili with Beans
Beef Enchilada
Cheese Omelet
|
Cajun style rice/beans with beef sausage
Vegetable Manicotti
Beef Roast with Vegetable (Pot Roast)
Chili with Beans
Beef Enchilada (or Grilled Chicken Breast)
Chicken Strips in Salsa
|
| Case 7 |
 |
Chicken Fajita
Beef Patty, grilled
Chicken Cavatelli
Chicken Strips in Salsa
Beef in BBQ Sauce (Sloppy Joe)
Cajun style rice/beans with beef sausage |
Official Website for Sure-Pak 12s
While you can find Sopakco at http://www.sopakco.com, the Sure-Pak 12 civilian MREs are handled on their own site at this address:
http://www.surepak-12.com/
Where To Buy
You can find a list of official Sure-Pak 12 distributors on Sopakco's site here:
http://www.surepak-12.com/distributors.html
Of these distributors, the two companies who have been selling these MREs for the longest time are The Epicenter and Meyers Custom Supply and they both appear to the offer the best pricing and menu variety. Current web prices range from $65/case to $85/case so shop around to find the best price. Don't forget to factor in shipping cost.
Please see this page for information about the January, 2009 Sopakco Sure-Pak 12 RECALL.
Click here for the old version of the Sopakco Sure-Pak 12 and M-Packed 12 page.
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