12 Hour Rations

[georann]

Just wondering what anyones opinion on the British Army 12 hour ration packs are?
Tried out the new style 24hr packs before I left cadets (just come to Uni) but never saw inside a 12hr pack. Looking down the menu they seem quite interesting especially the lunches- BBQ beef sandwich, apple turnover, maple syrup bun - I wouldn't mind trying any of them!
Don't fancy paying the £13 to buy one though!
Perhaps any army/cadet types on here with spare bits or someone that bought bulk might have some spare?

Dan

 

[Trojan]

Excellent!

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

I have never eaten one but I have read some place they are nearly identical to the American ones.

 

[charliefoxtrot]

Just got my first of the new style 24-hour packs, not too impressed. Many of the old faves have gone, (boiled sweets, biscuits brown etc), lots of packs of civvie-branded sweet stuff. Big sachet of peanut butter, but nothing to spread it on.. ***? Nice bag of nuts and fruit. Pretty good value though at £10 if you add up the cost of three boil-in-the-bag meals plus all the other bits and bobs.

 

[santaman2000]

I have never eaten one but I have read some place they are nearly identical to the American ones.

We don't have '12 hour' rations. Each MRE is an individual meal. Three are issued per day. Unless a hot meal can replace at least one.

 

[11binf]

We don't have '12 hour' rations. Each MRE is an individual meal. Three are issued per day. Unless a hot meal can replace at least one.

hi santaman and my British friends...the new U.S. Army "First strike" rations are the new assault rations and are kind of sort of a one "plus" meal...they contain alot of snack items,like beef snacks and a great applesause and a shelf stable sandwich and pastry snack...the sandwich and pastrys are made by (Bridgeford corp.) and are fairly tasty...i can find them seperate from the " firststrike ration" at the sporting goods store and the surplus store and have them on my shelf right now !...vince g. 11B Infantry...

 

[santaman2000]

hi santaman and my British friends...the new U.S. Army "First strike" rations are the new assault rations and are kind of sort of a one "plus" meal...they contain alot of snack items,like beef snacks and a great applesause and a shelf stable sandwich and pastry snack...the sandwich and pastrys are made by (Bridgeford corp.) and are fairly tasty...i can find them seperate from the " firststrike ration" at the sporting goods store and the surplus store and have them on my shelf right now !...vince g. 11B Infantry...

That's good news Vince. Would you believe they've been promising that shelf stable sandwich since the early 90s? Sort of anyway; back then they told us they were working on a hamburger.

 

[11binf]

That's good news Vince. Would you believe they've been promising that shelf stable sandwich since the early 90s? Sort of anyway; back then they told us they were working on a hamburger.

hello santaman !...i do belive the Germans have a shelf stable hamburger /cheeseburger in a can thats been around for at least a few years now...vince g. 11B Infantry...

 

[Supertanker]

And what pray tell is wrong with the good old bacon burgers? I used to love them fried in a mess tin. Ahhhh, memories. Oh how things have moved on!

 

[santaman2000]

And what pray tell is wrong with the good old bacon burgers? I used to love them fried in a mess tin. Ahhhh, memories. Oh how things have moved on!

LOL. Nothing's wrong with them. The ones Vince and I are talking about though are ready to eat sandwiches (bread and all) No cooking rquired; just open and eat. The hard part was for them to develop a bun or bread that was shelf stable and actually fit to eat.

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

santaman, google tactical sandwich...

 

[sapper326]

My mouth is watering at the thought of the old bacon grill sizzling away in my mess tin, trying to scrape the slices from the tin... mmm the good old days!

And what pray tell is wrong with the good old bacon burgers? I used to love them fried in a mess tin. Ahhhh, memories. Oh how things have moved on!

 

[georann]

So no one has any experience with the British sort? There was me hoping to find someone for a little trade!

 

[ph5172]

I was given a box to try (by a friend who works in Marketing for Vesty Foods (i think)

Nice little pack, i would guess about half the size and weight of a 24 hour one (funnily enough)
As far as i recall it had a Main Type Meal (Boil in the bag) with an MRE Heater, jerky, oat bar, beverage pack (mainly cold) with energy drink powder, energy bar (like a protein bar), a 'sandwich' and a desert type pastry thing.

The 'sandwich' i tried was Italian tomato or something of that nature, it was infact a bit like a flat bread roll and wasn't particularly nice, imagine really dry artificial tasting bread, and as far as i remember from the day i ate it it still had about 3 years shelf life!

The pastry as apple turnover which wasn't that bad.

I think for a walk id just pop into Tesco and get a sandwich that only has a shelf life of 8 days..lol

 

[MikeLA]

too sugary for me. i still prefer the older 24hour versions when i can find them.

 

[Odd_Man]

I agree the older 24hr rat packs are great