Mountain House vs Backpacker's Pantry

[Kingsnake]

So, I have read quite a bit on here from folks who use Mountain House freeze-dried meals when backcountry hunting.  I noticed that Bass Pro also sells a brand called "Backpacker's Pantry."  I am assuming this may be the store brand, but I'm not sure.

Can anyone tell me how the two brands stack up against one another?

Thanks!

Kingsnake

[bearsfeet]

Never had the backpackers brand... I have eaten a lot of mountain house meals though! The mountain house meals are great.

[Zmonster]

Mountain house if you eat to live, backpacker pantry if you live to eat.

My fav's of the BP brand are southwest chicken, sweet and sour chicken and granola banana and milk for bfast. The taste of these surpass anything I've had from mountain house.

Mountain house meal are not bad, but no comparison to backpackers pantry.

[bearsfeet]

Maybe ill have to try one of those this year... Ussually by the time I sit down to eat la full meal late in the day or after dark I'm pretty sure dirt would be fine   . More of a replenish calories thing then dinning experience for me.  The rice and chkn mountain house is what I always eat for dinner and its fine but some of the others are bad

[Matty]

A monster put it well. I don't do the breakfast things tho. Seem a bit overpriced for what they are. And oatmeal and or a protein bar usually suffice. REI and Sportsmans Warehouse carry them both. You can't go wrong either way.

[Daz]

Both are good (depending on the entrees), but crazy sodium levels moved them from a 'staple' for me to a 'quick grab/go' thing.

A dehydrator and some creativity will provide excellent meals with lower sodium (and other questionable stuff) content and will be cheaper in the long run.

[Brock]

I tried them both this past month.....I tried a granola and blueberry with milk breakfast from Mountain House...and a jambalaya from Backpackers (it was a no meat version).  The breakfast was great...just add cold water, stir and let sit.

The vegetarian version was okay but even after adding boiling water, stirring, sealing bag and letting it sit...it still seemed not completely cooked...and of course being vegetarian did not have the flavor I was expecting.  Going to try their lasagna next to see if it is better...

[njloco]

I'm with Daz, I try and stay away from the high salt and chemical meals, it's going to be a real challenge this season if I get to go elk hunting, I have been looking at making and dehydrating my own meals and hope to test them out this camping season.

[chanumpa]

I was going to suggest that njloco.Not that hard to do with a food dehydrator and a foodsaver.

[Preston Lay]

I have had both on wilderness hunts when they were all we had for days. Without a doubt MH wins out hands down for me. BP is too spicy with way too much seasoning, on most of their meals. I have found MH to be more than just edible but very tasty! Been on a couple hunts where cooking around so many brown bears was just dangerous and never felt I was missing out with MH.

[Kingsnake]

Thanks, all!  I have already purchased a couple of Mountain House meals, so I will pick up a few Backpacker's Pantry and do a taste test.  I'l also check the sodium levels on both.

I do have a dehydrator, so some home experimentation may be in order!

Thanks, again, Gang!

Kingsnake

[fnshtr]

I'm with Preston on this one. I had both and the MH was BY FAR the better of the two. A friend gave me the BP after having a few of the meals. I ended up throwing it away... AWFUL.

I noticed someone else above,liked it. MH for me!

[Gdpolk]

I prefer backpacker's pantry but I really prefer the Enertia Trail Foods to both of those options in general.

[Huh]

Of those that I have tried I prefer MH.  That said there are other options such as  http://www.packitgourmet.com/.

Also, if you want a DIY solution check out the rather extensive freezer bag cooking resources online.  Just search "freezer bag cooking".

[PowDuck]

Definitely try them out before heading to the back country. The MH chicken breast and mashed potatoes downright suck. The MH beef stroganoff is wonderful! I only tried one BP last year. Mainly due to the lack of availability around here. It was a Jamaican jerk chicken and was pretty good BUT was quite spicy, as stated earlier.

 I really liked the MH lasagna, beef stroganoff, spaghetti, beef stew. I liked the bacon and eggs at first but a week of them for breakfast was tough on the swallow muscles.

Since last year I have found more BP available at places close by. I do plan to try more of them. The granola one sounds good. I'm certainly looking for something a bit more palatable for breakfast.

The sodium levels really don't bother me. My name is Bruce and I'm a saltaholic. I do understand that some people's diet dictates though.

Buy several and try them at home first. That's my advice.

[bowkill32]

If you were out for a week and all you had to eat was one of these meals, you would eat it and probably the bag too...

[ermont]

They are convenient but the salt content is certainly a consideration.Too much salt is never a good thing.

[Lost Arra]

Another couple of options (although the DIY dehydrator method is a good one):

 http://trailfoods.com/index.html

 http://hawkvittles.com/

[wingnut]

I've eaten MH foods for since they came on the market.  My opinion is they are fuel that doesn't taste real bad.

This year Jason and I are dehydrating our own recipes for our moose hunt with John in Alaska.

Will be using a lot of fresh vegis out of the garden and making high calorie, low sodium meals that actually taste good too.  LOL

Mike

[Scott Teaschner]

I like them both. The breakfasts are filling in the MH. They say it feeds 2 but I eat the whole thing. I can not live off oatmeal even with a good breakfast I am hungry by 8 am and have to refuel. I think I have the metabolism of a shrew!