Thread: backcountry meals

So not light then?

@JRW87 thanks for that i just went out and grabbed a couple to try as they are way way cheaper than back country brand but they are heavier, grabbed a nz lamb casserole and nz beef and red wine both packs are 225grams and both the 350g when served does one person the back country ones serve two and are light i think so not sure how that works

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

So not light then?

190g is printed on the stew bag, potatoe flakes probally arent worth weighing.

Not super light and dehy is easier to prepare but for $5 Ill give them a crack.

Pretty tasty and as always that instant potato mash really warms you up.

The convenience of keeping my pot clean for heating the water to go in the bag with back country is for me a massive plus. No more washing plates or pots!!!!

I have tryed them a few times ,just threw some out the other day which were way past use by date by two years.
Really you can make up meals which are better in my eyes.
dried vege,s ,mash and lots of other things.
amazing what you can turn two min noodles into if you get creative with it.
The cost is ok for a quick trip but for a week no way.

after trying a few of those dehy packs i went back to good old tuna and noodles. way tastier and a meal for less than 2 bucks.

I like them for tops eating, light and easy to prepare.
I have to eat gluten free, and they carry a number of different meals I can eat. I prefer the rice dishes but to mix it up I have a cottage pie every once in a while.
Pudding is whiskey and coffee.

Kaweka's and others that are mash/gravy types tend to have wheat in them, so I can't eat those. But if driving to a hut I will take tinned potatoes and real food when weight or space isn't an issue.

If price is an issue, Backcountry usually do discount for clubs bulk purchasing. This brings them down to a reasonable cost. I suppose you could pre-cook your own meals, buy a dehydrator and bag them yourself but that's time and cost too. Plus the BC bags are pretty resilient, so much safer than splitting a ziplock bag (factor in that cost) on the tramp in and having less food.

Beef hot pot is goooood!! Morrocan lamb ok, sweet and sour whatever it was was rubbish

One bonus is you don,t need to waste time having a crap because they bung me up

I eat them in the hills, but to be honest if you were dished them up at home you'd say "what's this shit", before you were probably hit in the head by a flying object.

There's another make around that tasted a little better, but not that much better.

They are convenient when your cold and wet and want a quick meal and I'm not too worried about the cost if I've just flown in or walked a long way.

Just had a roast lamb and veg for smoko as was close to best before.
Was actually quite nice

Originally Posted by Zamkiwi

One bonus is you don,t need to waste time having a crap because they bung me up

Thats why I eat the curries. No probs in that dept!

I like backcountry. Can't be assed making my own. Yeah it's not a cheap meal, but you're paying for convenience and lack of weight.

The lamb and beef are ok. Cottage pie and mashed potato are good. The porridge is REALLY GOOD surprisingly. Better than I could make with a kitchen.

Stay away from the spag bol the salt levels were insane in the one we tried. There was one other that was really bad too but I can't remember.

I get the sizes where it says they serve two. Even my wife can finish one of those, so you won't be over-full. If you're a small eater you could get away with the single serves.

I had one suggestion for improvement that I passed on to them. The edges of the packs can be surprisingly sharp. When i'm packing them in with so much lightweight gear i'm worried about them ripping a tent or sleeping mat or jacket. I even went to the extent of folding the edges and taping them down one trip where they got packed in among stuff I really didn't want them cutting.

I picked up a heap yesterday quite cheap (real cheap $5 each) . Didn't know they made ones that serve 5!!