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a-e-jones
Apr 8, 2009, 3:57 PM
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i always hear about people bringing canned food and sandwiches, but MRE's seam to be lighter, have more calories and easier to cook
is there something bad i'm missing with MRE's?
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a-e-jones
Apr 8, 2009, 4:16 PM
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maybe i'm a bit off but i quite enjoyed the MRE's i tried not to long ago, from what i understand you just gotta try them all ahead of time and figure out what you like and dont like.
wouldn't perservatives and taste be the least of your worries on a big wall anyways?
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coastal_climber
Apr 8, 2009, 4:17 PM
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Good food can make or break the climb. Check out Jared Ogden's Big walls book for good meal ideas.
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sspssp
Apr 8, 2009, 6:08 PM
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a-e-jones wrote: maybe i'm a bit off but i quite enjoyed the MRE's i tried not to long ago, from what i understand you just gotta try them all ahead of time and figure out what you like and dont like. wouldn't perservatives and taste be the least of your worries on a big wall anyways?
Taste does matter. Some foods I can't eat in the morning (when you most need calories) and other foods can be hard to eat when it is hot and/or you are suffering dehydration.
Preservatives are not automatically bad, but imagine your ascent is a day slower than planned and you are down to a 2 liters of water a day and all you have left is some meal in a box that has 3000mg of sodium. Then come back and tell me that preservatives don't matter.
Checking foods out ahead of time is good. Big walls usually have enough suffering that you might as well lug up foods you will enjoy (given the conditions on the wall).
(This post was edited by sspssp on Apr 8, 2009, 6:10 PM)
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shimanilami
Apr 8, 2009, 6:17 PM
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They are not lighter than canned food, unless you include a stove for the canned food (which I don't).
I'm into the Trader Joes indian foods (in foil envelopes) these days, if you're looking for new ideas.
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budman
Apr 8, 2009, 7:15 PM
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Canned foods usually contains some water and water is good. Hopefully it tastes good because it is much easier going down. But at the end of a hard day just about anything tastes good. Anything that will spoil you eat in the first day or two. After that it's dry or in cans. You're working hard treat yourself. Jolly Ranchers are always in my the haulbag. A couple of beers or some whiskey is nice. How you approach the climbing will determine what you bring. Fast and light or are you climbing, hanging out, and having a bit of a party in the evenings.
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tomtom
Apr 8, 2009, 9:58 PM
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a-e-jones wrote: maybe i'm a bit off but i quite enjoyed the MRE's i tried not to long ago, from what i understand you just gotta try them all ahead of time and figure out what you like and dont like.
I bought a few MRE entrees off eBay a few years ago and tried them out. They're not bad. Not great, but not bad. The entree packaging is ideal for climbing, as it's pretty robust and folds up small afterward. In the end I gave up on the idea because of the expense and availability. They were pretty pricey per calorie basis compared to canned food from the grocery store. Also, I don't know where else to get them except eBay, and shipping is an additional expense.
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a-e-jones
Apr 8, 2009, 11:40 PM
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ya i have extremely easy access to MRE's (5min walk up the street) and price wise they are less then 10$ a meal
the ones i can get are the canadian ones which i've heard from down the grapevine are supposidly much much much better then american MRE's so that might be a deciding factor
maybe this summer i'll take the dive and try just eating MRE's for a week and see how my body holds out
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kristoffer
Apr 9, 2009, 12:14 AM
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They work well, I have used them on a lot of walls.
I wouldn’t consider eating them on the deck, but they actually do taste fine when you’re spent and hungry from all the labors of wall climbing..
Like they say, hunger is the best spice.
Also, the ones manufactured in texas seem to be the highest quality… I would avoid the breakfast ones at all costs and attempt to get the military grade MRE.
Zephyr
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climberex
Apr 9, 2009, 5:07 AM
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I can tell you from experience that living off MREs for 2 weeks is not that bad. i have to do it pretty much every year I'm a SEABEE in the US NAVY. when you look at the packages on eBay if its the whole thing don't buy the green one's thats the older style get the brown package they taste better but if you are buying entries there all green so no help on that
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jccgar1
Apr 9, 2009, 6:08 AM
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my only complaint about MRE's is that you pretty much get constipated, and that sucks big time. that's all i have to say about that.
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climberex
Apr 9, 2009, 6:25 PM
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yeah that happens allot until your stomach gets use to it but that takes a long time
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ncclimber
Apr 10, 2009, 12:37 PM
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Having been in the military I also don't mind the taste . I took them on my first wall (mescalito).
Their are better foods out their than MRE's. I very rarely heat my food don't want to both after climbing to dark.
I take lots of tortilla's, flavored tuna in foil, cheese, (will keep up to 3 days in the haul bag), Chili comes in a box (very tasty). After 2 walls of choking down bagels in the morning with peanut butter i can't even look at it anymore.
Any suggestions for breakfast to shove down before you take off. I choked down bagels with Peanut Butter or power bar with peanut butter. Hard to choke down in the morning.
Look at the time the food takes to get ready and a great variety so you aren't stuck with the same thing in case their is something you don't like when you get up their.
Fruit cups in plastic are light and wonderful after a hot day of climbing. Only ever had one blow in the bag. Be careful packing. I try to avoid cans at all cost because of the weight.
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Tipton
Apr 11, 2009, 11:38 PM
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Never done a big wall but for breakfast I'd suggest pop tarts. High calorie count per pastry (180 or so) and two of them will fill you up. Find the ones you like the best (brown sugar...mmm) and enjoy. The only downside is that they crush easily, but who really cares? I've eaten many pop tarts in a crumbled form straight out of the pack and they're still delicious.
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m-earle
Apr 11, 2009, 11:56 PM
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On the breakfast note, if you're in yosemite, you can buy these uber dense muffins that have 900 calories a pop. I think they're made by hostess.
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yetanotherdave
Apr 12, 2009, 1:14 AM
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pudding cups are also good - easy to eat even when you're blasted.
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tarsier
Apr 12, 2009, 1:40 AM
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OK here's my theory for a minimalist food strategy on a big wall:
1) bring a bare minimum of hydrated food,
2) bring some dehydrated food,
3) bring extra water.
Because:
1) you can always dump extra water,
2) water is more critical,
3) this gives you the flexibility to have either extra water or food, for a minimal weight addition.
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Alpine07
Apr 12, 2009, 1:53 AM
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Tipton wrote: Never done a big wall but for breakfast I'd suggest pop tarts. High calorie count per pastry (180 or so) and two of them will fill you up. Find the ones you like the best (brown sugar...mmm) and enjoy. The only downside is that they crush easily, but who really cares? I've eaten many pop tarts in a crumbled form straight out of the pack and they're still delicious.
That's the best advice I've seen in a long time. Pop Tarts are the shiz!
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herbertpowell
Apr 12, 2009, 2:01 AM
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Tipton wrote: Never done a big wall but for breakfast I'd suggest pop tarts. High calorie count per pastry (180 or so) and two of them will fill you up. Find the ones you like the best (brown sugar...mmm) and enjoy. The only downside is that they crush easily, but who really cares? I've eaten many pop tarts in a crumbled form straight out of the pack and they're still delicious.
I can't handle Pop Tarts, they always seem too dry. I always feel too dehydrated to eat something like that. Maybe it is just me though.
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Tipton
Apr 12, 2009, 3:02 AM
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herbertpowell wrote: Tipton wrote: Never done a big wall but for breakfast I'd suggest pop tarts. High calorie count per pastry (180 or so) and two of them will fill you up. Find the ones you like the best (brown sugar...mmm) and enjoy. The only downside is that they crush easily, but who really cares? I've eaten many pop tarts in a crumbled form straight out of the pack and they're still delicious. I can't handle Pop Tarts, they always seem too dry. I always feel too dehydrated to eat something like that. Maybe it is just me though.
I completely understand what you mean. Honestly, it's all about the flavor. It takes a liter of water for me to choke down two strawberry Pop-Tarts. On the other hand, Brown Sugar or S'more and they are gone in no time. If you find one you like, you'll be hooked and will never need to suffer through another bagel, at least until lunch.
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pmyche
Apr 12, 2009, 4:59 PM
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xtrmecat
Apr 12, 2009, 6:08 PM
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I take no dehydrated anything. If I haul it, and work for it, I consume it, period. Just did a winter wall and see no reason for a stove in the warm season, unless coffee is mandatory. I can do out of cans, and tortillas. I also have a hard time with bagels and pop tarts in the AM. Or really anytime for that matter, just too dry. Tortillas go with tuna in foil, beans, peanut butter, etc. Keep for week, lay flat on the outside of the food sack, and fit just about any desire.
I am burnt on bars for food, but cannot find anything else for mid day that can survive in the pocket. I take mayo packets for the tuna, salt shaker and other favorite spice, even taken a small jar of pickles.
For me, it needs to taste great on the ground to even be edible on the wall. Not gourmet, but desirable. Otherwise I just do not want to eat it. I always am thinking when packing if this or that can be eaten with a dry mouth, and not need water to choke it down. If it can, and I like it, it goes.
Also a bag of jolly ranchers, and a big chocolate bar go on every wall.
Here is something I have seen, and always wanted to do, and that is to freeze two or three of my waters, pack them in the bottom around some perishables or other things that need to be cool, insulate them, and on day two or three uncover the treat and enjoy. I just do not live near any walling so cannot get my water frozen. Too bad.
I also take perishables for the first day, nothing like fruit, ready made sandwiches, etc. to start a sufferfest.
Bob
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camhead
Apr 13, 2009, 2:03 PM
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I've ony done a couple walls, but here are my thoughts:
1. No go on the poptarts. They are empty calories, which are more likely to cause "bonking" after the initial sugar rush wears off. They also have zero protein. For breakfast I much prefer complex grains (instant oatmeal can be mixed cold), and plenty of protein (boiled eggs, powdered milk, peanut butter). From an all-day energy perspective, these are a much better use of your weight and calories.
2. Am I the only one so addicted to coffee that I mixed instant flavor crystals into cold water every morning? We did not take a stove, but I HAD to have my caffeine. heh.
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