MRE entrees vs Mountain House?

[OhCanada]

We recently got Mountain House 2 person entrees and 1 person Pro-Paks in Canada through the Mountain Equipment Co-op chain or stores.

I've tried several and like them but at 200-310 calories they are not full meals. 2 person entrees cost between $5.25-$6.25 so after tax it's $2.75-$3.50 a serving of approx 8oz.

Some MREs use the same brands as you can buy in the stores so I am wondering if Mountain House or MRE entrees would be better if you were to make your own MREs.

I also like the fact that the MRE entree doesn't require 16oz of water like Mountain House.

Would also like to know cheapest MRE entree supplier close to eastern Canada due to shipping cost.

[MCIera]

It's a matter of choice and selecting items that best address your needs and budget. Freeze dried entree food items are going to cost considerably more, as it does the government when they use the Oregon Freeze Dry (Mountain House) products in MCW rations. Additionally there are a number of commercially available retort food items that you might find in your local grocery that will also satisfy your requirements in assembling your own MRE packages.

so I am wondering if Mountain House or MRE entrees would be better if you were to make your own MREs.

[C-rats]

OhCanada ---- I just very recently purchased close to $750.00 in individual MRE components (everything from entrees to spreadables), including a few T-rats. I spent a lot of time researching suppliers, inventory availability, and of course cost. What I ultimately based my purchases on was #1, AVAILABILITY; and #2 SHIPPING COSTS.

A couple of weeks ago in a different thread I called Long Life Foods "Rip Offs" because of their (seemingly) highest prices for all of their products. Upon closer examination (thanks to MCIera's suggestion) I have discovered that I was wrong in this assumption (open mouth/eat crow.....or is that Country Captain Chicken?). The other two suppliers I was considering were Emergency Essentials and The Epicenter. Originally I was going to order from all three based primarily on item cost, but then by accident I discovered just how much their cost of shipping was going to add to the individual orders. Boy, was I surprised

To make a long story short, I discovered that Long Life Foods was actually cheaper because their prices include shipping (the other two add shipping as a separate charge). I ended up ordering everything I wanted from Long Life Foods that they carried in their inventory and only ordered those items they didn't carry from the other suppliers. This actually had the effect of lowering my overall cost even further as Long Life gives you additional discounts based on your total order cost (I believe they gave me a 7% discount).

So my ration friends, it pays to shop around and take in to consideration the "bottom line" and not just the price per item!

Now excuse me while I get back to unpacking and sorting through my new goodies (mmmmm.....Pot Roast --- Yum-Yum!).


`rats

[kman]

That's some good insight on shopping around for entrees, C-rats. I'm surprised to hear that Long Life Foods won the deal, but if that's how it turned out, there's not much more I can say!

[C-rats]

Just as an example Kman (while "playing around" with the shipping), one of the other two suppliers was going to charge me a little over $14.00 just for adding 18 units of one entree (8 ounces each). Long life Foods charges $3.00 each per entree component, so that seems to add up to $54.00 for the 18. But subtract the $14.00 that the other supplier would have charged me to purchase the "lower" per-cost item and now you have a total of $40.00 ---- or roughly $2.22 per component. If I remember right, that same entree was listed at $2.45 (or maybe it was $2.65) by the other supplier. So the seemingly lower cost entree in reality cost a great deal more. BUYER BEWARE!

As I buy a great deal of ammunition to "feed" my Class III hobby I'm always feeling the sharp pain of shipping, so I'm very warry of these added costs. I have unfortunately discovered that many suppliers pad their so-called shipping "costs" by actually charging the consumer MORE than what the shipping charge to them actually is in order to recoup lost revenue from a "lower" priced item. So the supplier is sticking it to you in the end (ouch! ).

And here comes the really rotten part: UPS actually gives back (sort of a "rebate" program) a percentage of the overall shipping to corporate accounts that achieve or exceed certain business levels. What a racket.....

But again, thanks to MCIera for giving me the idea to do my math!

[C-rats]

Oh-oh...... The dreaded "Douple Tap" of the SUBMIT key....

[MCIera]

A couple of weeks ago in a different thread I called Long Life Foods "Rip Offs" because of their (seemingly) highest prices for all of their products. Upon closer examination (thanks to MCIera's suggestion) I have discovered that I was wrong in this assumption (open mouth/eat crow.....or is that Country Captain Chicken?). The other two suppliers I was considering were Emergency Essentials and The Epicenter. Originally I was going to order from all three based primarily on item cost, but then by accident I discovered just how much their cost of shipping was going to add to the individual orders. Boy, was I surprised

I'm sure that all three of the vendors that you mentioned are not gouging any of their customers in their shipping costs, they just have different means of integrating it into the overall costs. Emergency Essentials only has 3 tiers of shipping charges, $6/9/12 depending upon the total of your order. Epicenter calculates shipping based upon weight and whatever they end up charging you is still below what you would pay for the same weight and distance at an over-the-counter UPS retail location (depot or the former Mail Boxes Etc. stores.) I'd say all three of the vendors that you named are reputable and fair in their shipping charges.

They say "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" but the wisdom that maturity has afforded us can be an invaluable tool in clearing the smoke and wizardry that is often imposed by internet retail practices

Crow? Probably the better choice, it can be prepared to become a palateable dish and be tailored to your own culinary preferences. I'm afraid you're kind of stuck with whatever is in the package with CCC and there is only so much you can do to it the make it edible. Even Tobasco can't help that much

[MCIera]

I don't mean to be critical of you and it certainly isn't intended that way, but it would appear that you did find it welcoming that Longlife Foods gave you a 7% discount because of the monetary total. I'm just not clear as to why you feel that the fact that UPS also offers a volume discount to their customers as being unfair or a "racket."

I'm sure if you did a $100K of business with UPS each month (or most other companies,) they would probably give you preferential treatment, an assigned account executive, a discount on your monthly bill, and probably also send you a gift basket or other token of their appreciation for your business every holiday season.

And here comes the really rotten part: UPS actually gives back (sort of a "rebate" program) a percentage of the overall shipping to corporate accounts that achieve or exceed certain business levels. What a racket.....

[dirtbag]

Yup, it's called 'Business'. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours...

[OhCanada]

The company I work for gives the customer a 5%-10% discount if they regularly buy a lot. It's both a way to say thank you and a way to get them to buy more. That 5%-10% is a discount on their cost not ours.

We always marked up our shipping by 25% of the actual cost. However, we found that for certain regions it was 50% cheaper to use anoher company but we charge the customer the same. In effect we are charging the customer twice the ammount on shipping as we need to...now that is a racket. We don't sell MREs btw.

Back on topic, Long Life will not ship to Canada where I live.