Best way to pack Mountain House meals?

[littlebuf]

I would think foodsaver vac bags would be a good option too, and you can suck all the air out. They are more puncture resistant than freezer bags, but need a clip for the top as there is no zipper. You could put a bunch of freezer bags full of MH in one and supersucker the whole lot. That way you can control the shape. Propacks are nice but an odd shape.

BTW of you don’t have a vac sealer you should get one. I use it for everything, even my game bags, first aid kit etc. to reduce space and keep them clean.

kinda tuff to re vacuum pack it in the field when moving to another ridge though. ive thought about it but really it only helps on the trip in, once there open you have the same issue of packing all your stuff, and its going to pack different on top of the mountain

 

[colonel00]

FWIW, you can get mylar vacuum bags with "ziplock" seals and package your own meals up like that too. Granted, you start spending money just to redo something you already spent money on.

The other option I don't think anyone has mentioned is to just open them up and squeeze out as much air as possible then zip up the seal. As long as you know you are going to use them on the trip or within a reasonable amount of time, they will be fine.

 

[Yellowknife]

Truthfully, I used the "tape them together" method on long trips mostly so I don't have a big messy pile of MH bags once I get to camp. Also just faster to load / unload from the pack that way. It's something I've seen a few sheep guides using, and it works well the field. In real life I always have the next few days food floating around as singles and I use that to fill dead space in the pack.

I'm not sure I'm seeing any pressing need to break them down into zip lock bags for my uses. Seems like a hassle and I usually come back with several un-opened one still in my pack.

I've eaten enough MH this already this year, that I'm going to be looking to kill something just so I don't have to eat any more mush in a bag!

Yk

 

[TheRambler]

Just make sure you use the freezer bag variety, have seen people use and then scream bloody murder when the boiling water melts through a regular ziploc bag and pours all over them.

 

[rodney482]

Just put them in a stuff sack...

My T1 can handle it

 

[kaboku68]

I do something different. I get three gallon ziplocs and then empty out all of the different mh in the bags then put that in a whiteplasic kitchen bag then in Sealine(heavy but less smelly). This is for two people for 10 days. We leave two mh pouches that we roll up to eat out of. MH can kind of portion itself out so you can get straight up chili mac or you can get some with some beef stroganof in it. I always take sugar river beef sticks and hormel bacon bits with some spice(crushed red pepper from round table or Sam's club) packets to liven the stuff up. Sometimes we mix some stovetop stuffing/crushed ramen(it gets that way but doesn't start that way) in there for carbs.

We use peanut butter packets as snacks.

Going to try more Alpine Aire dehydrated this year. We will see how it works.

Best of luck to everybody.
Thomas

 

[wannahuntmo]

How many of you use the 2 portions per meal. I cant quite eat 2 servings but like to eat til i am full. One is not quite enough. 2 is to much.

 

[realunlucky]

I eat both my diet is totally based on total calories and factor it in. Helps me sleep

 

[crazy_davey]

I normally add more dried vegetable's to all my mountain house meals, I find it helps digestion and keeps things moving out the bottom end easier. I cut all the MH bags open that I will be using for that trip, add the vegetables and then push all the air out, do up the Ziploc and once I am sure all of the air is out, run a strip of packing tape over the opening to help seal it back up again. I also remove all of the moisture absorbers. I then pack them skinny to fat end and tape together like was mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

[Lawnboi]

I leave them in the bags as of now. Air dosnt weigh much. Maybe a ziplock is a little lighter or even a vac seal bag. But for the extra couple grams ill keep the convenience and shelf like of the normal pack.

Excellent idea Davey on adding dried vegetables. I don't know why I didn't think of that! I think im going to dehydrate some vegetables and some chicken to add into my meals.

 

[crazy_davey]

I buy MH or Thrive dried vegetables to add to my MH meals. I find that they cost so little it is hardly worth the time to dry my own. Corn, spinach, green beans, onions, mushrooms and peppers mostly. Then, depending on the meal I add what I think would add flavor and or make the meal better. For example, to the lasagna I add onions, peppers, spinach and mushrooms, they make it that much more enjoyable. For the stroganoff or similar type meals I add corn and green beans. For the breakfasts eggs etc. I add onions and peppers.

I hope that gives you guys a few ideas. I know for myself it makes the meals better and helps me digest them as I have had a few problems in the past and have felt like complete garbage for a week or so after a long mountain trip. I no longer have those issues by adding the vegetables...

 

[littlebuf]

I leave them in the bags as of now. Air dosnt weigh much. Maybe a ziplock is a little lighter or even a vac seal bag. But for the extra couple grams ill keep the convenience and shelf like of the normal pack.

Excellent idea Davey on adding dried vegetables. I don't know why I didn't think of that! I think im going to dehydrate some vegetables and some chicken to add into my meals.

the other benefit to zip locks is when your done there a lot smaller trash to pack up than the big MH pouches. and if your burning your garbage they disappear pretty quick in a flame

 

[unm1136]

I was playing around with my Kifaru KU pod set. I put the docking buckes back through the buckes, and the tighten the straps to mold the load. Small pod holds thee days+, medium holds 5-7 das, large holds... more. The bags are easily packed in my pack, hung from a tree, or in the event I am packing meat the pod can just snap onto the outside of my pack. The pods hold MH meals, tortillas, snacks, hot sauce, and tools. If you do a search I posted pictures a while back, including picks of how I set up the buckles, and comparison picks of how large the pod are full, and how much they hold.

pat

 

[SJ-AK]

I am firmly in the Ziploc camp. One gallon bags for daily food bags and my Mt House and Top Ramen in quart freezer bags. They have worked for me without fail for years. Like others have mentioned, they make great garbage bags when you are done and burn easy when given the opportunity. All of my daily food bags are labeled with calories and weight.

 

[MAT]

and if your burning your garbage they disappear pretty quick in a flame

I am going to call foul here and hopefully not use the language that’s currently in my head, but BURNING PLASTIC IS A HUGE NO-NO, and likely illegal. Since plastic contains chlorine they form dioxins when burned. Backyard garbage burning is the #1 source for this very toxic compound. Do the right thing and pack it out.

 

[Daniel_M]

I am going to call foul here and hopefully not use the language that’s currently in my head, but BURNING PLASTIC IS A HUGE NO-NO, and likely illegal. Since plastic contains chlorine they form dioxins when burned. Backyard garbage burning is the #1 source for this very toxic compound. Do the right thing and pack it out.

I think your mixing legalities with personal ethics. Based on his handle and pics, I'm gonna leap out and say he's here in Alaska. Open burning is actually a fairly common thing up here especially in rural areas. It's not illegal.

 

[littlebuf]

not in Alaska any more but I was born and raised there, Wasilla to be exact and yup we brunt our garbage. sometimes I burn my stuff while back packing and sometimes I pack it out. if your really worried about the emissions from one little plastic bag I would say the freezer bags give off less than the MH bags since they burn up quicker

 

[Daniel_M]

not in Alaska any more but I was born and raised there, Wasilla to be exact and yup we brunt our garbage. sometimes I burn my stuff while back packing and sometimes I pack it out. if your really worried about the emissions from one little plastic bag I would say the freezer bags give off less than the MH bags since they burn up quicker

Also "if" you need to burn your trash, make sure the fire is nice and hot first. A smoldering burn is considered the most toxic.

 

[MAT]

Likely more than you care to know, but it's illegal in many states, for a good reason. And don’t give me that it’s only 1 bag crap. I only drive 1 car but so does everyone else. Things add up. How hard is to to pack out an empty plastic bag? Are you really that lazy? If I smelled you burning that crap in the wilds we’d have a few words for sure.

http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/backyard/

http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf04232327/pdf04232327dpi300.pdf

 

[Daniel_M]

Likely more than you care to know, but it's illegal in many states, for a good reason. And don’t give me that it’s only 1 bag crap. I only drive 1 car but so does everyone else. Things add up. How hard is to to pack out an empty plastic bag? Are you really that lazy? If I smelled you burning that crap in the wilds we’d have a few words for sure.

http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/backyard/

http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf04232327/pdf04232327dpi300.pdf

Why don't you check yer attitude, pal. No need for the ethics police here. Fact is, it's legal, so if someone chooses to do such, you have no say.

Shitting in the woods and leaving TP is also frowned upon, I suppose you pack that home?