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Our mission is to get people outdoors, not sell gear. That's why our guide starts with the core function that needs to be addressed, then helps you evaluate your options holistically, since sometimes you may not need any gear & can use what you have at home. We want you to think critically about what you need, which is personal to you with no right answer (some people go venture outside naked without any gear, survive & have a great time).
Core function: It's the end of a long day hiking in the sun. Sometimes hot food can be super comforting. But maybe you don't want to go through the trouble of actually preparing & cooking a full meal, or maybe you're several miles in the backcountry and couldn't have carried in ingredients. This is where the backpacking meal comes in. These lightweight pouches of food can be cooked just by adding water (often right in the pouch) and are designed to replace much needed nutrients when you're on trail (sodium, protein, and carbs). Modern backpacking meals also come in all the trendy flavors you might find at your favorite restaurant
Is either the core function or the outdoor-specific gear made for it an essential?
Food is essential, but there are many ways to plan food that don't require this (e.g., energy bars or non-perishable foods) .
For rationale, read our 'what you really need' protip
General Notes
Dehydrated type | |
Model |
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Bushka's Kitchen meals, various flavors Vegan options available. Meals generally gluten free, but can't be certified as such because they are processed in a shared facility. For detailed ingredients & nutritional information, please visit their site |
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Buy MSRP with tax |
$13 |
When you rent online, we will pick a model for you. You can change the model if you pick-up in-store, subject to availability. On the Options page of our online order process, you can also select options or write-in any preferences. This section describes the majority of our models & options, but sometimes we carry others. We will only pick something else if it doesn't conflict with your choices indicated on the Options page; moreover, if there's a major functional difference (e.g., capacity), we will attempt to contact you first
Cool zippers, new waterproofing, etc... sometimes it's easy to get lost in all the hype (over-spending happens on features). Our guide focuses on the fundamental factors you should always keep in mind (thus, this short list is similar across all items). Then only at the end do we have some questions to get you thinking about other minor features.
We highly recommend reviewing Type or Style first, where we review what you can use to address the Core function--a regular item you have at home may work! The other factors are secondary & depend strongly on the Type or Style you've picked.
While we encourage you to use regular items wherever possible, as an outdoor gear shop, we only carry outdoor-specific products
This is one of the only gear guides where we don't start by talking about all the ways people can address the topic of food. This is because from bringing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; nothing but trail mix, energy bars; having a steak; or just having backpacking meals, there are endless ways to prepare food, and food planning is outside the scope of this page.
Instead, we focus on the two main types of backpacking meals.
Preservation technique | Dehydrated | Freeze-dried | |
Shelf life | 1-5 years |
20-30 years Nearly all the water is removed |
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Nutritional value Compared to pre-processed food, not raw ingredients |
~50% lost The process subjects food to more heat than freeze-drying |
Minimally lost No heat is involved |
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Taste Compared to pre-processed food |
Not as good The process subjects food to more heat than freeze-drying |
Very similar No heat is involved |
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Time to rehydrate |
10-20 min Usually boiling water, needs to be re-cooked |
~5 min May be able to use either hot or cold water |
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Can be eaten without rehydration |
Generally no Can be very chewy or stiff |
Sometimes Think astronaut food for kids |
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Effect on secondary factors | Weight | Heavier |
Lighter Since nearly all the water is removed |
Price |
Less expensive You can do this at home to an extent |
More expensive More technical process |
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Why we do/don't carry it = we rent = we sell |
While the table above shows the general price difference between dehydrated vs. freeze-dried food, price is more determined by brand, capacity (see below), and by the food itself, such as:
All backpacking meals tend to be ~$10 for a meal.
In this case, we refer to the serving size of the backpacking meal (if you're buying individual packets). Generally for most backpacking meals, a single serving is 300-500 calories. Meals can be pre-packaged into 1, 1.5, or 2 servings. Depending on your food planning, think about how many servings will be enough. If you've never had backpacking meals before, we encourage you to test them at home or trial them on shorter trips before a longer trip.
As you can imagine, as capacity increases, so does price and weight & size.
If you're thru-hiking 20+ miles (32+km) per day, every advantage counts! In this case, size refers to compactness. You can carry more gear in the same size backpack if all of it is very compact, or for more weight savings, you can get a smaller size pack.
Food strategy is out of scope for this post (probably there are people optimizing for which foods are the lightest when dehydrated or freeze-dried!). Generally, the strategy we observe most frequently is buying in bulk. The biggest advantage isn't weight savings*, but size savings in cutting out individual packaging. Bulk food in a single plastic container is more compactable than several individually packaged meals.
*In fact, weight may be increased, since if you bring bulk food, you may need to bring cookware, whereas with many backpacking meals as we described above, you can cook directly in the package
Here, we give you a list of questions to start thinking about minor features. We hope our approach of savings these features for last gets you to more critically think about what you need & not get caught up in the hype of what's cool and over-spend your budget.
The exact numbers (e.g., weights, dimensions, prices, etc.) used were updated as of September 2019 . That said, there usually isn't dramatic change; we update & review the market roughly biennially.
Thoughts, ideas, questions? Let us know in the comments below! We're Last Minute Gear, the only outdoor gear shop where you can buy, rent, or borrow gear!