Overland Journal – August 01, 2019

OVERLANDJOURNAL FALL 2019

48

I

canstillrememberthesmellofthehorseshashlik,a tub

ofmeatandindecipherableseasoningsthatwepulled

froma freezerintheremoteRussianvillageofKosh-Agach.

TheonlywayI knewit washorsemeatwasfromtheline-art

drawingofanequineonthelid,andtheconfirmingnodand

smirkfrom thestorekeeperwhenI pointed and whinnied.

Food wasscarce inthisextremelyremote areaof southern

Russia,and thiswastheonlymeatavailableforsaleatthe

outpost.Westocked upasbestwecouldinanticipationof

severalweeksof travelontheformidablenorthernroadacross

Mongolia.Theborderprovedbrutalwitha combinationof

entry delays andan incidentwiththelocalmilitary where

a drunk drivercrashed theambulancehe wasdriving into

theborderfence.Wewerealmost outoffoodandhad re -

sortedto eating goatskullbartered froma local.Thenext

night,camped ontheMongol steppes,we foundourselves

officiallyoutoffreshfood.Fortunately,I hadpacked 72 hours

ofbackpackingmealsintheJimnyforjustsuchanoccasion,

and thetaste ofthatfreeze-dried spaghettiwithmeatballs

still lingers.Forthis comprehensive test,we evaluated the

bestshelf-stablefoodonthemarketandemployedthetaste

budsoffivemembers of theOverland Journal team to help

choosea winner.

WHYPACKSHELF-STABLEMEALS?

Aswithanythingwepackinourvehiclesormotorcycles,

evenfoodrequiresjustification.Simplicityshouldalwaysre -

mainthemantra,leavinganygrandaspirationsofmealprep-

pernirvanaat thealtarof payload.However,thatmakesa case

forhaving 72 hoursofshelf-stablemealsinthevehicle.They

areoftendesigned forbackpacking;thepackagingis com-

pactandlightweight,andthefoodrequiresminimalcooking

complexitytoprepare.Thenewestmealsarealsoquitedeli-

ciousandnotablyhealthy,soit is theperfectexcusetoturna

daytripintoanovernighter—everythingis alreadyonhand.

I keepa combinationofbackpackingmealsanddry goods

with me, along with a simple

Primus Lite+ all-in-one stove,

and a few bowls andsporks. I

have used these meals many

timesontheroadorduringim-

promptucamps.Theyareessen-

tialtohaveforbackupwhenthe

fridgestopsworking,orevento

helpsomeoneelseinneed.

Backpackingmealscanalso

bea necessityincertaincondi-

tions whereit is impossibleto

keep fresh food for extended

periodsoftime,suchasduring

long desert crossings or polar

expeditions.I survivedonfreeze-driedanddehydratedmeals

for monthsduring myAntarctic and Greenland crossings,

andtheyneverfailedtowarmthebellyandfeedthespirit

when it was -40°. These meals are also a key consideration

forremotemotorcycletravel,whereweightandspaceareat a

premium.Withthat,themotorcyclistshouldalsobelooking

formaximumcalorieloadfromthemeal,asriding adventure

bikesinthedirtis a seriousenergyexpense.

SELECTINGTHEBESTMEALS

ThebestpieceofadviceI cangiveis totrythemealsbe-

foremakinga bulkinvestmentandreadthereviewsonpopu-

laroutdoorretailersites.Theflavorandqualityoftheseprod-

uctsvarywildly,withsometastingworsethananMREand

othersbeinghardlydistinguishable from something served at

yourlocaldiner.

STORAGELIFEItwas surprisinghowmuchthestoragelife

variedinthebrandswechose,fromaslittleaseightmonths

fromthedateofpurchase(Patagonia)tonearly 30 yearsfor

thelongest lasting (MountainHouse).This wide variation

is duetothedifferencebetweenfreeze-drying,dehydrating,

andinthecaseofTastyBite,theuseofretortpouchesanda

processsimilartocanning.Freeze-dryingis themostmod-

ernandtechnical oftheprocesses,perfectedduringWorld

WarIIasa methodofpreservingplasma,food,andmedica-

tions.Thereareseveraladvantagestofreeze-drying,including

lighterweight,a muchlongershelflife,andhigherretention

ofnutrientsbecauseofthelackofheatusedintheprocess.

Dehydrated meals take muchlonger to prepare and cook.

Curiously,almostalloftheavailable backpacking meals are

dehydrated,notfreeze-dried.

WEIGHT ANDPACKABILITY This consideration is primarily

forthemotorcyclist,but thepackagingof thesemealsvar-

ieswidely,particularlywhenyoucomparethecaloriedensity.

MountainHouseis thebulkiestinthetestandhasoneofthe

lowercaloricloads.It is alsoimportanttocalculatehowmuch

wateris neededforrehydratingandplanaccordingly.Inareas

wherefreshwateris plentiful(andcanbefiltered),thenre -

hydrationis nota problem.However,inareaswherehauling

wateris a factor,thereis nodownside to bringing shelf-stable

mealssuchas TastyBite.

HEALTH, NUTRITION, ANDCALORIEDENSITY Travelers can

havea widerangeofnutritional anddietaryrestrictionsor

preferences.Fortunately,it is easytofindvegan,vegetarian,

orpescetarianmealsthatareglutenfree,dairyfree,etcetera.

Thosewithnutallergieswillhavea moredifficulttimeasthe

Backpacker’sPantrywastheonlyoptionthatdidnothavea

nutwarning.It is alsopossibletofindmealswithhigherpro-

teincontent,butit is farmorechallengingtopurchaseketo-

andpaleo-friendlyoptions.I wasimpressedbythenumberof

mealsthatwereorganicornon-GMO,withPatagoniaProvi-

sionshavingthestrongestoverallenvironmentalstance.

FLAVORANDPALATABILITYIn my experience,nearly every

backpackingmealtastesamazingattheendofa longdayof

hiking, so we tested this lineup from the comfort of our offic-

BEFOREYOUCOMMIT

The best pieceof advice

I can give is to try the

mealsbeforemakinga

bulk investmentand read

the reviewson popular

outdoorretailersites.The

flavorand qualityof these

productsvary wildly,with

sometastingworsethan

an MREand othersbeing

hardlydistinguishablefrom

somethingserved at your

local diner.