Bottom line up front: This type of food is a great choice for an emergency food supply, especially for sheltering in place or evacuating by vehicle. The #10 cans have a 25-year shelf life, so you can buy them and not worry about rotating your stock for a couple of decades. The biggest downside is that once opened, they need to be used up right away.
SHELF LIFE - The #10 cans have a 25-year shelf life (unopened). The biggest downside to #10 cans versus individual pouches is that the 25-year shelf life turns into a 1-week shelf life once they've been opened. Since each can has enough for 10 servings, you'll be eating the same thing for several meals unless you're cooking for a group.
TASTE - In my experience, Mountain House food is really tasty. Let me caveat this review by saying that although I've eaten other Mountain House freeze-dried food, I haven't had occasion to open the ones in the #10 cans (see my review of the "Mountain House 72-Hour Emergency Meal Kit"). That having been said, the Mountain House food I have tried has been very, very good tasting -- not just good compared to other survival foods, but good period. I have no reason to expect that these would be any different.
WEIGHT/CONVENIENCE - As steel cans, they're reasonably durable and reasonably lightweight (not backpacking light, but you don't have to be a weightlifter to move a large box of them). They do take up a bit of volume, but since the overwhelming majority of long-term emergency scenarios involve sheltering in place or evacuating by vehicle, I wouldn't let that be a deal breaker (personnally, I have a stock of individual pouches just in case I have to leave on foot, but most of my food is in these cans).
CALORIES - The problem with most freeze-dried emergency food is that a so-called "serving" has too few calories to meet an adult's energy requirements (2500 a day for men; 2000 a day for women -- more with heavy exertion), so you end up consuming more than you planned. These are no different. So even though a typical can ostensibly contains 10 1-cup servings, you really need to eat two servings per meal to get enough calories to survive -- perhaps more. Plan your purchase accordingly.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 9.5 x 8 x 2.3 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.16 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 10 x 8 x 4 inches |
| Item Weight | 5.44 ounces |
| Brand Name | Mountain House |
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Model Name | 53108 |
| Color | MULTI |
| Material | other |
| Suggested Users | unisex-adult |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Manufacturer | MOUNTAIN HOUSE |
| Part Number | 53108 |
| Style | Classic! 1-pouch |
| Included Components | Spaghetti with Meat Sauce |
| Size | Pouch |
| Sport Type | Camping & Hiking |
