Caribou Gear

Stoveless backpack meals

Greyman

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Joined
Jan 14, 2019
Messages
447
Location
South Texas
A good alternative for "Emergency". Packs light and small with High calorie count. I won't give up my mountain house and tortillas but as part of my emergency day pack these may be a good alternative.
 
Looking at the label, I believe it might be good for a few days. But problem is, at least it wont give you enought Vitamins, especially B12. Anemia, lack of energy can be expected. You will feel weaker and weaker if only rely on this.

When I go hiking/hunting a few days without stove (yes, I like doing this), I eat Soylent, MRE, Spam. Vegatable and fresh fruit can be a problem but if you know some edible plants...
 
You're going to have a hard time convincing me that I gotta rustle up edible plants to keep the fire burning. My longest continuous stint out of a pack was 28 days, and most of that time there wasn't a plant to be seen. Everything was just fine.

I have not tried Greenbelly. I'd be interested to try them for something caloric first thing in the morning, which is generally when I don't care to fire up the stove unless it's really cold. Obviously kind of expensive for regular use. I'd be most interested in reviews on their taste.
 
You're going to have a hard time convincing me that I gotta rustle up edible plants to keep the fire burning. My longest continuous stint out of a pack was 28 days, and most of that time there wasn't a plant to be seen. Everything was just fine.

I have not tried Greenbelly. I'd be interested to try them for something caloric first thing in the morning, which is generally when I don't care to fire up the stove unless it's really cold. Obviously kind of expensive for regular use. I'd be most interested in reviews on their taste.
28 days? I want to hear more about that.

When I worked for the FS we did a fair bit of backcountry work, never for terribly long, but 2-12 days. One year I worked with an exchange program forester from France. He refused to eat dehydrated anything. He packed dry salami and longass rolls of hard french bread on every trip, plus a block of stinky cheese and an apply/day.
 
You're going to have a hard time convincing me that I gotta rustle up edible plants to keep the fire burning. My longest continuous stint out of a pack was 28 days, and most of that time there wasn't a plant to be seen. Everything was just fine.

I have not tried Greenbelly. I'd be interested to try them for something caloric first thing in the morning, which is generally when I don't care to fire up the stove unless it's really cold. Obviously kind of expensive for regular use. I'd be most interested in reviews on their taste.

I am in NE, we have endliess trees, trees, trees here so edible plants is not a problem as long as not cold winter. I skip a meal from time to time, especially in hunting season when I am waiting for deer I usually don't have lunch, but every day (usually every meal) should have starch, meat/fish, and some green, otherwise I would die...
 
28 days? I want to hear more about that.

When I worked for the FS we did a fair bit of backcountry work, never for terribly long, but 2-12 days. One year I worked with an exchange program forester from France. He refused to eat dehydrated anything. He packed dry salami and longass rolls of hard french bread on every trip, plus a block of stinky cheese and an apply/day.

His diet is pretty balanced: starch, protein, fresh plant.
 
This summer I ate my fill of huckleberries instead of having lunch...damn near s**t my pants the next morning trying to get to the outhouse. It's funny now but it took a couple days for things to balance out. Same trip we hike into a different geological formation and there were no huckleberries because the pH was too high.
 
Too whooped for igniting a stove... Protein bar(s), jerky, or heck - coffee grounds for chew between the lip & gums.
 
Greenbelly's are actually very good. Had a few last week. I'm more of a hot food guy but no complaints on the Greenbelly stuff.

Mountain house on the other hand gave me Explosive D - like this:
DumbnDumber
 
I'm a fan of the greenbellys. Decent calories/oz, taste good. They did add a new flavor this year but I wish they had more options. I went 30 straight days this fall on a stoveless menu. Didn't eat a greenbelly every day but every other.
 
When I go on a solo trip for 3 days I usually go stoveless. I've never been on a trip of more than 3 days without taking along the ability to make hot meals or beverages, but I've been considering pushing my stoveless threshold to 5 days. My main reason is that when I'm on a solo trip I like to leave at about sunrise (or shortly after) and stay on the trail all day. When trekking alone it's easy to pace myself, and I prefer being on the trail to spending a lot of time in camp. I bring food that's easy to eat on the trail, and I enjoy the simplicity. I also go stoveless to lighten my pack.

If I'm going with a companion(s) who plans to bring a stove, I try to influence the decision to share stoves to save weight. Sharing meals with companions adds a social component to trips that make the stove weight worth it to me, and if we're sharing gear, we still end up with lighter packs.
 
Has anyone ever tried these?
They look pretty good for when you're just to durn whooped to fire up the stove.
I tried Green Bellies this year for breakfasts and occasionally for lunch. They are good, reasonably filling etc. I couldn't eat them for every meal for several days, but they were fine for a meal here and there. I also use Pro Bars in the same way. If I cook in the backcountry, it is only at dinner. My favorite non-cooking meal is two summer sausage and cheddar bagel sandwiches.
 
I dry a ton of fruit throughout the summer so I can eat it all year round. Dried hierloom tomatoes are my personal favorite snack, it's like a fruit roll up for adults. That said I take a mixed bag of dried fruit and nuts on ALL my back country outings. It makes for a pretty solid supplement to a real hot meal, and in a pinch, a pretty decent substitute.

For the hot meal, I've found a bag of couscous and a few packs of Tasty Bite Indian (way cheaper than Mountain House) food make for a very fast prep in a Jet Boil. If you are too tired to do that, you might need to eat a bit more during the day.
 
You're going to have a hard time convincing me that I gotta rustle up edible plants to keep the fire burning. My longest continuous stint out of a pack was 28 days, and most of that time there wasn't a plant to be seen. Everything was just fine.

I have not tried Greenbelly. I'd be interested to try them for something caloric first thing in the morning, which is generally when I don't care to fire up the stove unless it's really cold. Obviously kind of expensive for regular use. I'd be most interested in reviews on their taste.
Where were you and what were you doing for 28 days?
 
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