Old MREs

Just a quick note. Recently I was cleaning out the garage and some old trunks and containers and found a couple of MREs ,, one I know was dated back from the Gulf War. Well for shits and giggles we opened it and inspected the contents. What we found was interesting. Also had some original issue MRE bread. The MREs were all inedible to include the sides that came with them. I was hoping to score a freeze dried fruit and test its 20 year life.. O well.... The accessories packets were still in good shape, the hard candy in one was edible and the other had a tootsie roll which we tasted and found well pretty good!The cicklets gum was not looking pretty, skipped it and then we found the drink powder still good, hot cocoa still good, the hard tack crackers still good and the peanut butter still good. The Tabasco sauce looked not so good,,,, So if you have old MREs laying around, there is the potential of finding some good calories in them, as well as usable items. The matches will work as long as they were kept dry, the wet napkin in one was dry, the other it was still wet. They had TP which of course has numerous uses. The coffee, sugar and creamer were all decent. So DONT THROW them away,,,, You can still pick through them and find uses for long expired MREs!!!

Hobo Stove- Ramen Noodles!

OK, decided to try cooking on the hobo stove, this time ramen noodles. You can already see the stove is getting a good carbon build up on it already...
What you see there is what I used for fuel. To start it this time I used a cotton ball rubbed/soaked in Vaseline. The cottton ball in Vaseline is friggin awesome! Burned hot and for a long time, I will definitely be adding some to my kit in the near future. Used my Swedish fire steel to light it and it did it real quick...

Notice how large and hot the flame is, flaming cotton ball from hell, some bark and some shaved pine from a 2x4. went up quick and burned nice and hot.

this is how you feed the stove. slowly push large sticks into the hole and add as needed. Dont add to many at once or it wont burn as hot. The sticks I used where a combo of cedar and blue berry from a bush I cleaned some dead wood out of. I would also add some cedar bark that was wet for some smoke to keep the skeeters at bay, they were bad today.

my little camping cookwear set. I have had it since I was in boy scouts, used the pot to boil some water. Hint: cover the pot and it will boil quicker by trapping the heat. It took about 7 minutes for the water to reach a full boil. crushed up my ramen noodles and dropped them in. about 5 minutes later it was close to done.

ramen noodles ready for the flavor packet. I added the packet and let them heat up for another couple of minutes.

Hot Chow!

Walla, hot chow via my hobo stove! Hot food is a great boost to your morale when out or even in a stressful situation. This weekend I will cook hamburgers on it! looking foward to that... Might also do hot chocolate and light up some cotton balls to see how hot and how long they burn. Will add some video of that.
 So it took around 15 minutes and I got a hot meal on a few handfuls of sticks. twigs and wood shavings. Didnt have to use a lot of energy chopping wood, just scrounged what I had around me and available and went for it. Also note, I used my CRKT Eatin Tool, got that from Cheaper than Dirt online for a great price...

The Hobo Stove part 2!

OK, I FINALLY got back to the Hobo Stove, got a pair of tin snips from work and cut the opening. Well a friend of mine gave me his old coffee maker, he replaced his with a new one, and I am not one to turn down "free". I started the fire with my magnesium fire starter, cedar bark, old man's beard and some shavings from a 2x4. It took me a few tries but as you can see I got it lit up. I fed it some cedar pieces at first to get it going hot then switched over to pieces of shavings and split wood from a 2x4 i had laying over by the wood pile. Used my SOG tomahawk just for that purpose. Its a great tool to shave and split 2x4's or small pieces of wood for the stove.

I let it burn hot to remove any lining in or on the can as well as start to burn the paper off. Then it was coffee time!

You can see how well and hot it burns,, alot better than I thought it would.

COFFEE TIME!!

you can see the 2x4 I used for fuel, I used less than half that piece to make my coffee, you can also see my magnesium bar just off behind it. It took about 10 minutes to finish the cup, and it was really damned good! Had a slight smoky cedar overtone with hints of pine and old man's beard.  I am now compelled to make ramen noodles tomorrow, and use a small cast iron skillet and cook a hamburger on it this weekend. Got the boys on board so we will have some fun with this... SO over all for its size I would call this a great success abd awesome little tool!!! You could use this to pasteurize water, cook a meal , keep a small amount of heat to warm you and roast marshmallows!!! and hot dogs on a stick!!

ONE DAMNED GOOD CUP OF COFFEE!!!

The final product,, one cup of really good coffee. I had a bug fly into he, he became a protein snack. I can not wait to do this with a #10 can and look foward to buidling a rocket stove as well...

5.11 Flex-Tac Stryke Pants

I bought a pair of 5.11 pants this week, the Flex-Tac Stryke Pants.... Holy Crap they are very very comfortable to wear. I could see wearing these for a long time with out any issues. Hiked in them this weekend, they breathed, stayed cool. and allowed me lots of flex. The material is a rip stop nylon and has some flex to it. The material is also very soft. I have a new favorite pair of pants! IF your looking for a good pair of Tac style pants, I highly recommend these!!!  ( pic will be coming soon!)

Blackhawk update!

I hiked my Blackhawk Spec Ops Med Pack again this weekend, It was comfy! My only gripe was it held more heat on my back than I like, but then again it was hot as hell and humid this weekend. I ran it with about 40 lbs of weight. Once I got it snug, it was very comfortable, and stayed where I wanted it once I got it adjusted. I hiked on a bruised heel which really sucks and I payed for later, but it was a good hike and the pack stayed put with out slipping down. So once again I like this pack, if they could make it run a little cooler on the back, that would be awesome... Thanks Blackhawk!

Rainy Day Foods: Shelf Stable Items

OK, today I got rained out at work and thought it was a good time to test out some samples of shelf stable (20 year plus) food items by Rainy Day Foods. It was the sample kit, it comes with multiple different samples of some of their products to try out. SO here is what I cooked up today.
The tomato sauce/paste taste just like the real deal, sweet, not overly acidic, I mixed it to a paste and found it pretty damned good. Add some spices it would make a decent pizza or spaghetti sauce. You could also most likely use it to flavor soups or stews.

The apple drink was very good, found it to be a little sweet, but it was damned near apple juice in taste. It almost didnt make the picture because I was thirsty.
The banana slices I also enjoyed, they weren't oily like many of the other banana slices/chips are.

The cheese sauce wasnt bad, JUST DO NOT LET IT GET COLD!

The TVP Taco flavored meat substitute wasnt half bad, it has an odd texture but other than that ok...flavor was decent, and it had some heat to it which I  like. I am not a fan of TVP (textured vegi protein) but I wont say no if this is served.

The dried fruits and veggies were all pretty good. They require alittle extra cooking to get soft, but you could use them in countless soups and stews. All in all not bad products at all. The idea is to be creative and have enough extras on hand to make the best of what you have. A well stocked pantry and spice rack would really kick these up a notch!!!  As I get to try more of these I will post them.
 Oh, tried the dehydrated margarine, it was strange, has all the taste but the texture is weird and you do need to add some oil to it to help out...not for spreading on bread but will work in recipes that call for butter if needed...

LBV vs UTG MOLLE vest

I own my original issue LBV (load bearing vest) and I also own a UTG MOLLE vest. I have played with both quit a lot, the UTG vest I use to use for airsoft, but after a really hot summer I switched to my LBV. The UTG, I like but I have found it is very hot to wear and it seems to hold the heat as well. The MOLLE set up allows you to configure it to the way you like and allow many configurations for each mission you might undertake. It also came with a drop leg pouch and a drop leg holster, I like both the dump pouch and the holster. The only complaint I have about the holster is it presses on the mag release of my beretta 92, which could cause the mag to release accidentally during usage. The dump pouch is pretty stiff and I haven't had an issue with it yet. I currently use it to hold smoke grenades for airsoft and my kill rag.
My LBV is a great piece of equipment. I have managed to hang on to it from issue day and still have the pack that comes with it. I have set it up for airsoft by adding a fanny pack, my 3 liter hydration pack, my first aid kit and my 1 quart issue canteen. I prefer my LBV for hot weather, it is cooler, it allows more air to move through and around it. The LBV has built in mag pouches, it will hold 6 mags and 2 hand grenades. I mounted my hydration pack to it using GrimLoc D rings and Taclinks. It fits very well this way, just snug enough. My fanny pack came with its own straps and my canteen uses the good old Alice clip.
To hold ammo mags for the UTG vest I ordered a 9 mag MOLLE pouch from Tactical Tailor, It is extremely well made and if I needed I could easily move it to my LBV if I wanted to. I can also use the holster and drop leg pouch on the LBV which is a nice option. The 9 mag pouch will also hold 6 AK mags, 6 G-36 mags, 6 G-3 mags or 4 SKS mags (damn those duck bills).
The UTG vest comes with a drag handle, I haven't tried to drag anyone yet, it is suppose to hold up but thats another test for another day. My LBV doesnt have one, (pre drag handle days) I am sure with some creative sewing or vision I could attach a handle somehow to it. I also believe some one is gonna have a hell of a time dragging my fat ass. Just roll me over and use my fat ass for a bullet stop or bio weapon ( my ass isnt covered under the Geneva Convention).
I know for a fact that my LBV will hold up to real world abuse. The UTG I am not sure about yet but it has held up to airsoft abuse ( not quit real world but close). So the verdict is still out on it. Next toy I think I am going to get a decent plate carrier and play with it.
So for now my points go to the LBV, the UTG vest is pretty good but I really would like some real world abuse on it and some more time to play with it, just not in the Texas heat!
You can find some of the things I talked about at
www.cheaperthandirt.com
www.tacticaltailor.com
and any good military surplus outlet.