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Best Survival Rations

Last Updated: January 2, 2021

We can take what we have for granted, whether that be food, drink, cellphone, or even the people in our lives. It’s when faced with an emergency do we truly realize what’s important.

In a survival situation, survival rations are essential to kickstart or even elevate your performance. That’s why you must acquire the best survival situations to bring success to catastrophe.

With a rise in natural disasters and attacks on humanity, we know that disaster could hit at any given time almost anywhere in the world.

Whatever the situation, you should begin stocking up on the best survival rations to cover you and your people during times of unease.

Throughout this article, we will explore five survival ration products that we believe will provide exceptional support during your survival experience. We hope when you reach the end, you will have found your perfect match.

Let’s meet the contenders!

Our Reviews
1

Survival Tabs Emergency Food Rations

The Survival Tabs offer an alternative to freeze-dried food.

These survival tabs are survival energy tablets that are easy to consume and don’t require mixing with water or a 10-minute preparation time before consumption.

You get 96 tablets with this purchase, and they can be used as snack rations to accommodate spurts of hunger and take away interfering appetites.

Small and lightweight, these are fantastic portable rations to store in your bug-out-bag and take when on the move without any struggle.

The biggest surprise of this product is its 25-year shelf life, which has you and your family or group covered for when an emergency greets you unexpectedly.

Each tablet weighs 10 ounces, and the tablets have been described as hard to chew, so if children are using the rations, you should reconsider these survival tablets.

These, compared to other survival rations on the market, aren’t as substantial and filling, which is why you should consider pairing them up with other ration products.

Although they struggle to take away your appetite, these tablets are a must-try for any outdoor enthusiasts who may ever need an emergency food option.

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Pros

  • 96 tablets altogether
  • Gluten-free and Non-GMO
  • Portable and easy to store
  • Includes 4 flavors
  • Budget-friendly

Cons

  • Reports of bad taste
  • Hard to chew (not suitable for children)
2

Mountain House Essential Bucket

Mountain House Essential Bucket provides a meal assortment kit that’s the ideal setup for RV families and campers.

You don’t have to live in an RV, this essentials bucket provides you with the appropriate necessities for emergency situations.

The 30-year taste guarantee provides an excellent food quality preservation system. Therefore, feel free to grab any of the varieties of food pouches from the bucket and have peace of mind that you’ll experience immediate enjoyment. There are 32 total servings in the container. This provides an average of almost 14-days worth of food at three meals per day.

The container is on the bulky side, so therefore it might not be the best choice to bring the whole thing in your bug-out-bag. The downside to this essentials bucket is the lack of meat in the packets. Most of the packets are meat-flavored rice and pasta, which gives you the taste of meat without actually providing a substitute.

Is time not on your side? Fortunately, these pouches are ready-to-eat in ten minutes so you can quickly prepare, eat, and keep moving. The best part is that no pots or pans are needed, therefore no clean up is required afterward. You can cook and eat from the same package and simply dispose of it once you’re finished.

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Pros

  • Simple and easy to prepare
  • Fantastic durability
  • Great for families and large groups
  • Easy to stack in storage at home or in a vehicle

Cons

  • Bulky container is hard to carry
  • Doesn't contain meat or meat substitutes in food packets
3

Wise Company Emergency Food Supply

Let’s find out if, like the brand’s name indicates, it is a wise choice to acquire Wise Company’s Emergency Food Supply.

Included in this emergency food supply is 60 servings of a variety of ready-to-eat entrees, and are individually wrapped for both convenience and freshness.

The food is safely sealed in Metallyte pouches, and to avoid waste, each bag includes four servings. The entrees range from chicken noodle soup to a savory stroganoff, offering a variety of choices to entertain different taste buds.

This product is an excellent choice for a family or large group and can be stored at home or in a vehicle, and the individually wrapped pouches make it an ideal choice for storing in your backpack for when you’re on the move.

The food is easy to prepare in any situation. All you need to do is add water and wait approximately 12-15 minutes for the best results. We recommended using hot water to get the best taste results.

It falls on the more expensive side of the price spectrum. However, with its impressive 25-year shelf life, we believe this emergency food supply would be an excellent choice to entertain a potentially catastrophic situation.

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Pros

  • Variety pack (60 servings)
  • 25 Year shelf life
  • Just add water (12-15 minutes)
  • Individually wrapped pouches makes product portable
  • Suitable for families and large groups

Cons

  • Price might turn off those on a budget
4

DATREX Emergency Water Pouch

We know that humans can go only three days without water before shutting down, that’s why having a water source is the essential element to your survival story.

You should consider the Datrex emergency pouches that include purified water for immediate use. The sachets are lightweight and compact, and each sachet has a volume of 125ml.

For potential and distant emergencies, these pouches have a 5-year shelf life and guarantee a fresh and drinkable taste after five years.

To use, all you have to do is dispense from a pre-measured sachet. Its polymer-foil material makes for suitable use on land and sea where regular supplies of water are unavailable.

They are on the market sold as 12 pouches or 18 pouches, and available in a case of 64 or 128 bags. The variety of options entertains both lone rangers and large groups, taking on the unknown.

If you lack in water source and a water filtration system isn’t featured in your kit, you might want to acquire these pouches to bring ease to your overall survival circumstance.

On the market at an affordable price, we think these pouches will be worth your investment and will have you covered for the driest and warmest of climates.

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Pros

  • Budget-friendly
  • 5 Year shelf life
  • Available in different pouch/case sizes
  • Polymer-foil for optimum durability

Cons

  • Pouches reported to be heavy
5

Tac-Bar Ready to Eat Survival Rations

We know that humans can go only three days without water before shutting down, that’s why having a water source is the essential element to your survival story.

You should consider the Datrex emergency pouches that include purified water for immediate use. The sachets are lightweight and compact, and each sachet has a volume of 125ml.

For potential and distant emergencies, these pouches have a 5-year shelf life and guarantee a fresh and drinkable taste after five years.

To use, all you have to do is dispense from a pre-measured sachet, and its polymer-foil material makes for suitable use on land and sea where regular supplies of water are unavailable.

They are on the market sold as 12 pouches or 18 pouches, and available in a case of 64 or 128 bags. The variety of options entertains both lone rangers and large groups, taking on the unknown.

If you lack in water source and a water filtration system isn’t featured in your kit, you might want to acquire these pouches to bring ease to your overall survival circumstance.

On the market at an affordable price, we think these pouches will be worth your investment and will have you covered for the driest and warmest of climates.

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Pros

  • 5 Year shelf life
  • Includes extra survival equipment
  • Includes survival tin that can be used for storage
  • Portable and compact

Cons

  • Sugar levels high (not suitable for diabetics)

What to Consider

Survival rations are essential as they are the critical component to keeping you alive when faced with a matter of life or death situation.

Humans can go for three days without water before shutting down and go over three weeks without food, and then death is inevitable. When both water and food is scarce, it is imperative to include food and drink rations in your survival kit to prepare you for desperate conditions.

When it comes to water, it is also essential to include a water filtration system in your kit so you can take advantage of water from your surroundings, safely and effectively, at any given time.

Food rations are vital, and you should consider the following factors.

Serving Size

Before embarking on your adventure, you should understand how many people will potentially need the food rations stored with you.

Even if you plan to do it alone, you should plan by having more than the bare minimum amount of food to prepare you for times of scarcity.

If you have a large family or group of people, then you’ll need to stock up on large amounts of food, so nobody experiences starvation or dehydration.

The larger the group will mean an increase in expense, so before selecting survival rations, you should consider your budget and find products that best match up to your financial estimate.

Shelf Life

Before embarking on your adventure, you should understand how many people will potentially need the food rations stored with you.

Even if you plan to do it alone, you should plan by having more than the bare minimum amount of food to prepare you for times of scarcity.

If you have a large family or group of people, then you’ll need to stock up on large amounts of food, so nobody experiences starvation or dehydration.

The larger the group will mean an increase in expense, so before selecting survival rations, you should consider your budget and find products that best match up to your financial estimate.

Packaging

The packaging used is important for a better shelf life, and light and moisture can affect its lifespan.

That’s why most survival foods come in forms of aluminum cans, thermal-resistant and anti-light-permeable packages, and containers that are both airtight and food-safe.

Portability

When stocking up on survival rations, you must bear the size and weight of the products in mind before making any purchases.

It would help if you considered having rations stored at home, in your car, and in backpacks for when you’re on foot competing with the unknown of the outdoors.

The rations you gather shouldn’t weigh you down, hinder your performance or affect your chances of survival.

Make sure the rations have the right ingredients to keep you alive and energized, rather than foods injected with additives that can trigger unnecessary thirst or hunger.

Preparation

Most survival rations will have a short preparation time of 10-12 minutes, and will usually be ready to eat by adding hot water. Coldwater also works, but hot water tends to add flavor to the foods, which is something to note.

However, there are plenty of rations out there that won’t require preparation and are in a bar-format, which are ideal when on the move.

Ingredients

The ingredients used will vary based on the brand you choose to do business with, but all brands will keep the number of preservatives or chemicals as low as possible.

As most brands generally focus on the nutrition included in the ingredients before anything else.

Taste

You are in survival mode; therefore, the taste isn’t the most crucial factor in the rations you choose to stock up.

However, if the rations should last you for a considerable time, then you might want to invest in foods that have an appealing taste to provide your tastebuds with comfort and a feeling of home.

The taste of survival food is known for having an unappealing taste of no taste altogether. That said, the market has improved, and there are products out there that cater to different tastes and preferences.

Recap

As you can tell by the range of products featured in this article, there are a wide variety of survival rations on the market, and it takes a lot of consideration to choose what food is worth your attention.

However, after checking out these five products, I have decided that the Mountain House Essential Bucket is the best survival ration.

This essential bucket, produced from an established survival food company, provides survivalists with a substantial amount of rations to feed a family or large group.

The remarkable 30-year shelf life has turned our heads, and we can see how it can quickly become a go-to for outdoor enthusiasts and those preparing for potential future disasters.

That said, all five of the rations featured on our list are excellent choices and would be worth acquiring in an emergency.

Thanks for reading, and we hope you have found the best survival rations to kick-start and take your survival chances as high as possible.

Please leave any feedback in the comments below, and if you have any suggestions for future topics or reviews, please enlighten us. We’d love to hear from you!

From all of us at Survival Front, Happy Prepping!

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