Mountain House group buy back at ar15.com - ends 20Jan06

Buying, selling, and trading rations
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kman
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Mountain House group buy back at ar15.com - ends 20Jan06

Post by kman » Sun Jan 01, 2006 4:36 pm

For anyone who missed out on the last group buy for Mountain House dehydrated food over at ar15.com, it looks like they just opened up another one.

Here's the current thread over at ar15.com:
http://ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=126&t=318178

And here's the thread from the MREInfo forums:
viewtopic.php?t=187&highlight=ar15+com

I took part in the last group buy so I'm happy to vouch for Broadsword and Dijon, who are running the buy. I received everything I ordered and it was a ton of stuff. I'd love to get more but I just don't know how I can justify it. :-)

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Post by Lifesaver » Sun Jan 01, 2006 4:45 pm

I got in on the last group buy over there, too. Dijon and Broadsword are great people to deal with. They are very honest; and, try hard to make sure everyone is happy with their transactions. I would have no qualms about taking part in this new group buy... if I had the funds right now.

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Post by DIRTYDAVE » Tue Jan 03, 2006 12:52 am

I need your help on this one kman, we need to talk about it and you need to give me advice on what to get.
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Post by kman » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:03 am

Hi DirtyDave. If you don't mind, I'll just answer you in public in case anyone else might be able to use the info and/or contribute.

As for what's available, download and check out the spreadsheet here:

http://home.comcast.net/~justabiker/mh.xls

It breaks down to this:

Cans: 10 servings per can
Pouches: 2 servings per pouch (some with 4 servings)
Pro-Paks: 1 serving per pouch

The food comes in cases of 6. So that's 6 cans per case or 6 pouches per case. For the cans, that's a ton of food per case - 6 #10 cans.

Some people like to stock up ln the cans. That's definitely the most economical way to go because the price per serving drops down to around US$1.30. But with the cans, once you open then, you're pretty much committed to eating everything in there within a couple of weeks. This stuff will last 5-10 years - but only as long as it remains sealed. Once you open it up, the clock starts ticking. If you have a family (3-4 people) this is probably a good option because one can could serve 2-3 meals. But if you just have one or two people, it might not go as fast.

Me personally, I stuck with pouches for the last group buy. Since it's just my wife and myself, I thought the pouches would be a good fit. Also, they're easier for putting in bug-out-bags and for taking on camping trips. The pouches are great! You just rip off the top, take out the little oxygen absorbing pack, pour in hot water, ziplock it closed, and wait 8-10 minutes. Then you can just eat it out of the bag.

If you go with the pouches, you can get the 20oz double-serving pouches or the 16-oz single-serving Pro-Paks. The Pro-Paks are vacuum-sealed just like the MCW entrees. This makes them take up less space than the 20oz packages. Each type of pouch has its advantages. The 20oz pouches are a little cheaper but you only get two 10oz servings or one giant 20oz serving. The Pro-Pak pouches give you a single, big 16oz serving but you pay a little more for it.

What I did last time was just order one case of each type of Pro-Pak (there are 8 types) and then a bunch of the regular double-serving pouches, too. So when I'm real hungry, I can eat a Pro-Pak and when I'm not so hungry (or am sharing with someone), I can use a regular pouch.

They do have 4 serving pouches available but I figure if I want that much food, I'll just order a case of cans.

As for which entrees to get, that's a personal choice. If you have the time, I'd recommend going to a sporting goods/camping store and buying some of the individual packs to give them a try to see how you like them. Also be sure to check out the threads from ar15.com that I mentioned above - some of those posts contain links to reviews.

My favorites so far are:

Beef Stroganoff
Spaghetti
Lasagna
Chicken and Rice

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Post by DIRTYDAVE » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:21 am

Ok, thanks for the info.
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Post by kyle » Tue Jan 03, 2006 3:25 pm

Hi,me agin,Do consider when buying large cans,during a crisis there may be no refrigeration to save leftover's!
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Post by kman » Tue Jan 03, 2006 3:32 pm

But also keep in mind that with the large cans, you can fix as much or as little as you want. So don't prepare the whole can all at once if all you want is one or two servings.

You just need to make sure that after you open a can, you don't try to put the can back in storage for months and months because the stuff won't hold up once it's been exposed to air.

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Post by Twobravo » Wed Jan 11, 2006 12:46 pm

Over on the 20th? I thought they were going to wait and do a big group buy near March after everyone had their tax refund checks. :(

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Post by kman » Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:54 pm

Yes, over on the 20th. I was surprised that it happened so soon after the other one ended. But if you don't get in now, there's a good chance they'll hold another one in a couple of months.

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Post by kyle » Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:48 pm

kman wrote:But also keep in mind that with the large cans, you can fix as much or as little as you want. So don't prepare the whole can all at once if all you want is one or two servings.

You just need to make sure that after you open a can, you don't try to put the can back in storage for months and months because the stuff won't hold up once it's been exposed to air.
Sorry,Iwas thinking-refrigerate after opening-the same oxygen problem.
Ye who live by the sword,get shot by We that don't!

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