OMEAL Chili and macaroni

[Norton]

I had a co worker give me this Omeal self heating Chili and Macaroni meal. I saved it until I could test in under field conditions.
So I took it on a overnight canoe trip.

This is a three part system.
1 heavy plastic bag that is the outer container, this has a slide type lock that seals up the pouch after it has been opened.
2 a heater pack that looks like a large tea bag
3 a meal component that looks to be a standard OD Green American MRE foil pouch

With these meals the selling point is they heat up rapidly in the pouch when water is added
One is supposed to open the bag inspect the foil pouch and make sure it has not be punctured
Remove the heater bag from its cellophane wrapper
place the MRE pouch back in it's bag and place the heater bag next to it.
Then add 1/4 cup of water and close the bag via the sliding sealing lip

There is a steam vent on the right hand corner.

I followed instructions and prepared this meal and a standard MRE chili meal boil in the bag style with the Swedish stove.
Within 1 minute I got some steam off the pouch and then at 2 minutes I had a jet of steam and boiling noise.
I was shocked at the heat, you could not touch the sides. I left it in the pouch until the Military chili was cooked

Opened the Omeal and found it looked at and tasted not like Chili Con Carne. Rather it looked tasted and smelled like Chef Boyardee Beef A Roni. Just slightly spicier and with beans. This comparison is not a insult. Rather it is a compliment. Very familiar hot food goes over well when you are cold and in ah hurry to get something in your stomach.
This eaten with standard MRE crackers I was full until late in the evening

I had to mix my regular MRE spicy chili with it to get a full meal as this was not enough to make a stand alone meal.
it was very enjoyable mixed this way. I still had hot water in the bag to wash my bowl and spoon.

This product would be good for a hiker or boater that wanted to eat a' very' hot meal very quickly without a mess to clean up.
Also at 1/4 cup the water use is a minim compared to F/D meals
Or a hiker going on a one day/overnight trip. One night time meal and one breakfast.
The down side is weight they seem fairly heavy.

I am sorry for the photos and missing data , but the cooking was done at dusk and later it was totally dark

[RockyRaab]

Good review. Thanks!

It's a crying shame NATICK can't field a ration heater that works as well as those from foreign or that civvie supplier. I've had a few FRH that worked great, but many that got lukewarm at best. One hopes that the air-activated ones in development will be better, for sure.

[Ruleryak]

Great review - looks tasty!

I just had a Hot-Can two days ago - tomato soup. It was the first time I had one and actually activated it properly. I've had a few before and always thought the heaters were broken, but I realized this time around that I hadn't been pushing the button on the bottom hard enough. This time I felt a noticeable crunch and it was pouring out steam in no time. It got the soup up to the too-hot-to-eat point in just a few minutes too. Too bad the soup was metallic tasting and somewhat bitter.