Riverwalker’s Survival Food Test - Part One - LRP’s from the Freeze Dry Guy

LRP's in BOB

Food items should be considered an important part of a properly packed Bug Out Bag. Unfortunately, your BOB may sit in the closet for a while before it’s needed. This also means that it may not be checked as often as it should be to make sure everything is good to go. This creates a problem because you will need food items with a good shelf life that will remain viable for use over a longer period of time.

LRP’s from the Freeze Dry Guy may be just the alternative to MRE’s or other type of food items you may have been considering for your BOB. What are LRP’s? They are Long Range Patrol Rations that are similar to MRE’s but weigh significantly less (approximately 1/3 of a standard MRE). If your BOB is anything like mine, it’s already heavy enough without adding any more weight than necessary. LRP’s are also vacuum packed which keeps their size small enough so that they won’t take up a lot of space in your BOB.

There is also a wide variety of LRP’s that are available along with LRP’s with no pork or shellfish. This is an important factor because you may want to include a variety of food items in each of your BOB’s, as well as food items for those with special diets. They are also made by the same company which manufactures Mountain House freeze dried food products.

Here’s a list of the sample package of LRP’s that was tested:

Entrees:

1 - Beef Stew

1 - Mexican Rice & Chicken

1 - Spicy Oriental Chicken    

1 - Turkey Tetrazzini 

Cereal:

1 - Granola & Bananas Pouch

Dessert:

2 - Ice Cream Sandwiches (1 ounce pouch each)

Each of the entrée pouches were approximately five ounces and made approximately 21 ounces of food when rehydrated with approximately 16 ounces of water per the directions. The breakfast pouch was a two ounce pouch and the ice cream sandwiches were each one ounce pouches. The cereal required only about 4 ounces of water and there was no need to add water to the ice cream sandwich pouches.

LRP's in BOB Closeup

The test results so far are very promising for the LRP’s. They did extremely well in several of the important categories. Here is a brief summary.

Test Category

1. Shipping - The product was received in 7 days and was within the 5 to 7 day estimated shipping time indicated during the order process. No back order or out of stock problems as everything arrived in a very timely manner by UPS.

2. Packaging - The LRP’s packaging was very good and held up well after being “stuffed” into my BOB, where they resided for several days before the test. They should hold up well for even longer periods.

3. Compact - The LRP’s were amazingly compact due to their vacuum packaging. This is a great feature as it will save a lot of room in your BOB, GHB or wherever you decide to keep them packed.

4. Lightweight - At an average of 5 ounces per meal, you can’t get much lighter and the LRP’s shouldn’t create a significant problem in the weight category. The total weight, not including the cereal and ice cream sandwiches, of the four LRP’s was only slightly more than a pound.

5. Variety - The variety of meals was excellent. At about 1/3 the weight of a standard MRE, you can have several meal choices for the same amount of weight and space. There are also LRP’s available for those with special dietary needs.

6. Preparation - The preparation of the LRP’s was quite easy by just adding water. This could be done easily by any member of your family. This can be helpful if you’re busy with other equally important tasks.

7. Cost - The cost of the sample pack was similar to most freeze dried products available on the market but this was more than compensated for by the increased shelf life. It also didn’t contain a lot of “extras” you might not need or use.

8. Taste - The final and most significant test category is taste. An in depth coverage of this part of the test will be covered in the second part of my review of LRP’s. This is a critical part of the test and it’s important to include all family members in this part.


You can read Part Two of my survival food test here:

Riverwalker’s Survival Food Test - Part Two - LRP’s from the Freeze Dry Guy

Got LRP’s?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker