Britman's First Strike Ration Review

[britman]

Okay everyone, I managed to land some FSRs (thanks Armyrations.co.uk!) for hiking, in case of zombie attack or other natural disasters, and for my collection. Was well chuffed as they are new and kinda rare. Well, to make sure they are 'fit for purpose' and because I am inquisitive and also couldn't be bothered to do the weekly shop, I kinda munched my way through a whole days worth over the course of about a week or so. Here's the result.

Okay heres what it looks like when you decant everything into the brown resealable bag provided. Everything comes in the clear bag which is properly sealed for longlife and such, but they include the brown bag too - must make it easier to organise in your daysack and pockets, or to use the original plastic bag for your rubbish. Anyhoo, I'm a fan - it means I get lots of plastic bags to waterproof my kit with when I'm done munching this stuff



Okay lets look what we got inside - this is a Menu No.3 - I don't know if these items are meant to go in any sort of order like brekky, lunch and supper, or if you're just meant to graze/snack on them throughout the day as and when you can, but I tried to lump things together as logically as poss (unfortunately I'm not a tuna fan but hey thats me!)



Zapplesauce and the beef sarnie



Pudding!



Snacks!



Crackers and cheese, and the nut fruit mix



The sundries package and a spoon



The sundries package opened up - as you can see its actually a bit more substantial than the MRE sundries due to it having caffeinated chewing gum and mayonnaise in it as well



And last but not least your drinks - one empty and one full propped up against my beltkit - it is not like the 'screech' you get in the British Army rations, you fill the packet instead of emptying it into your waterbottle or mug, and it is shaped in at the middle so you can hold it. The drink is lemon-lime and I think it is referred to as ERGO. There is a resealable bit at the top (like on ziplock bags) so you can put it down without it spilling, and the drink is quite tangy and artificial tasting and leaves a white gunk in the bottom of the package, but it is passable and I would definitely welcome it on a hot day - what can I say maybe I'm more accustomed to screech! I also managed to drop a splash on my top , drinking from a bag is a bit fiddly - need to get some straws maybe...



Okay thats the first batch of piccies done, I will come back with the taste test in a bit!

Regards
BM

[Dekard]

thanks for the post!

[Treesuit]

Oh yes,...post some more pics. I have some a coming and would love a food review just so I can get an idea of the items.

[housil]

I have some a coming...

Enjoy the German "dessert" that will come with it

[MrFahrenheit]

Nice!

Ive actually tried to get these first strike rations a few times now from armyrations.co.uk a few weeks ago they had some menu# 1,
3 of them, but stupidly I left the site to go check I had some money in my PayPal account and when I returned to the site to order, they had gone.

I quite fancy the FSR's as it seems to have a lot in them, also I like to disembowl my MRE's and make up custom packs for when I go camping / trekking and FSR's seem like the ultimate
addition to a custom meal pack.

[britman]

Okay time to munch!



Energy bar. Kinda waxy texture, and not massive, but fair enough I thought. Mocha flavour gets my thumbs-up! Naminaminami!




The sandwich. It is not really a sandwich as with bread. The 'bread' is more like light moist pastry really (i.e. so it does not flake away or crumble). The filling is passable. Not a massive meal but I then you don't want too much in your stomach for lunch/if you will be moving off again shortly, and this is easily the equal of the 'biscuits brown and small can of pate' that you get for lunch in British ORP - I would have it again.




Well I dont know if this is what you are 'supposed' to do with these parts of the ration, but I decided to make a peanut butter sandwich, but with crackers as the bread. I've got to say I found this quite sickly, theres tons of peanut butter and the taste is... interesting. But I also think that I am not American so dont really have a taste for foods like this, people from North America probably love this stuff. In any case it fills a gap in your stomach, a pretty big gap can be filled by this!

[housil]

I´m also not a North American "tounge", but I would swap everything for crackers (non vegetable!!!!) with peanuts butter (or cheesespread)

[Bypah]

PB and jelly sandwich is a normal fare in these lands....you can use either bread or crackers. Specially the MRE crackers, yyuummmmmmm!!!!! they will bulk you up!

[britman]

Okay the last phots are all a bit big (but I'm sure you get the idea of a sandwich and peanut butter with crackers anyway!) so hopefully I get these phots sized a bit better...

Okay, this is your 'peanut butter dessert bar', wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one...





Actually, it's not bad. Bit on the small size so its more of a snack than a full pudding like say you'll get in British rations, but I'm a fan of this as I am usually not inclined to boil up another pouch and have another bag full of food after a whole meal anyway. Certainly fits in with the 'eat on the move' idea and not bad tasting.




This is the second First Strike bar, similar to how I described the first, just a different flavour - cran-raspberry. Good stuff.





Lemon seed poppy cake. One word - YUM! Nomnomnom...
Wish I could find a crate of the lemon cake or a close civvy copy in a bakery near me or something, gorgeous stuff.

[britman]

Beef snacks!




This is Jerky apparently. I have never had it before. It is not bad really! Sort of like 'Pepperami' that you can find in UK shops. It has also made me want to try Biltong, which is meant to be the South African version of jerky.



Zapplesauce! Not entirely sure what to do with this, whether to try and put it on a tortilla or if it was meant to go with something else - the sandwich perhaps, but I already munched that So I just had it on its own, like a jam. It is easy enough to squeeze out like that, you just tear the pouch at the top where it forms a neck. It is easily squeezed out directly into your mouth if you wish. Tastes... tangy... and appley Unusual, but only because it is on its own, and here applesauce is more normally used to dress up some meat or something. I would have it again though!



Now this is GOOD, just like trail mix! It is as if your MoD has realised troops often make up this sort of stuff themselves, as hikers do, and decided to provide it. Perfect as a snack as you tab along. Interestingly enough British rations now come with fruit grains, like this but minus the nuts, in a lot smaller MRE-looking brown bag from New Zealand. It gets the thumbs-up from me.



Mayo on tortillas! Well, I really am not a tuna fan, so the cat had that Maybe next time...