Mainstay Emergency Food Rations - Case of 10 Packs

The purpose of these rations is to keep people alive despite limited potable water supplies. They've got plenty of vitamins and minerals, however, they are greatly lacking in sodium and other electrolytes. That's a benefit when potable water is extremely limited, but it's a curse if you'll be performing strenuous activities.Each bar contains only 23mg of sodium, which is 1% of the recommended daily allowance. That makes sense - any more salt is going to provoke thirst. But it also means that with any moderate or greater activity, you're going to be sweating out electrolytes, and these bars won't replace them. If you have any desire to fend for yourself in a survival situation (doing anything but sitting around waiting for help to arrive) I'd STRONGLY suggest adding a sports drink powder high in sodium and potassium. Same thing if you're planning on using them to replace/augment hiking rations.The texture is heavy but crumbly, and doesn't seem to absorb much water. (The first two ingredients on the list are Enriched Flour and Vegetable Shortening; the shortening would repel water or saliva) Meaning: it's not going to provoke thirst anywhere nearly as bad as most baked goods.The taste is similar to a lemon cookie. It's slightly cloying, but quite tolerable. Taste might not be a significant consideration for adults, but when you've got kids, you don't need the extra aggravation of one of them refusing to eat at meal time because they don't like the taste of their rations.The packaging is a sturdy foil. Tough, but can be opened without tools, and can be folded closed to protect an unused portion.All in all, I'm impressed. I wouldn't want to eat these things for a month straight, but they would be great to get by for a few days. They managed to cram 3 days worth of food into a package about 1/3 the size of an MRE.Mainstay also markets 1200 and 2400 calorie packages, which are more conveniently sized for personal emergency kits.Nutrition facts (summarized from the package I received):Serving Size: 1 barServings per container: 9Calories: 400Fat: 20g (36%)Sodium: 23mg (1%)Carbohydrates: 46g (15%)Protein: 3gVitamin A: 50%Vitamin C: 60%Calcium: 50%Iron: 10%Thiamin: 15%Riboflavin: 25%Niacin: 30%Vitamin D: 50%Vitamin E: 25%Vitamin B6: 90%Folic Acid: 35%Vitamin B12: 20%Phosphorus: 40%Magnesium: 30%Pantothenic Acid: 100%

This bar has the best nutrition of the available "survival cookies". The flavor is reasonable, and it has a short-bread like texture that is not unpleasant. It may not be thirst provoking, but you will want something to wash it down, it has a slightly oily after taste. This is survival food, not a gourmet meal, the flavor and texture will get old quickly, but the nutrition will keep you going in a survival situation. Shelf life is likely almost indefinate, although the 5-year rating is probably appropriate for best nutrition. This is a nearly perfect short-term survival ration. If there is a downside to this product, it would be the weight, 1.5lbs per 3600-calorie bar, but this is not meant to be a lightweight backpacking food. Used as it is meant to be, as a long shelf life, short term survival ration, it serves very well.

This is the second brand of emergency food ration I've sampled (the other being ER Bars). I have no idea why the Amazon review is listing this as a toy review (presumably a database glitch), but Mainstay Bars are a 4 star product.Starting with the packaging, the case of 10 packs came double boxed, presumably to avoid any potential shipping damage. Crushed bars are less of an issue as these are very durable, not to mention, dense. But severe damage could potentially rupture a pack, killing the shelf life. Always examine each pack individually before caching it or adding it to an emergency kit. The actual product box is extremely compact for a month's worth of rations, and is easily stored or cached virtually anywhere for emergency use.Each pack has indentations formed in the brick for easy portioning and is vacuum sealed in a durable, non-resealable foil/mylar wrapping. Packs are compact and small enough (24 oz weight) to be thrown into any bag of emergency supplies, be it car kit, marine kit, or even at the bottom of a backpacking pack to be used in emergencies if caught stranded out in the woods, desert, bush, etc. beyond what was planned.The taste of these rations is surprisingly pleasant, perhaps a bit too sweet for some tastes, while others may have issue with the lemon flavor. While not overpowering or artificial tasting, it is clearly lemon flavored. A more neutral flavor might be preferable if one had to subsist off these for more than a few days. For reference, the nearest comparison to a common food stuff would be lemon sugar cookies, albeit much denser.Compared to ER Bars, I would personally say the taste is better (more like a cookie and less like a biscuit) although a bit stronger (sweeter, stronger lemon flavor). Texture-wise, the Mainstay bars are not as hard (easily bitten) and much less crumbly and powdery. Overall, they are much easier to eat, perhaps even a bit too easy to consume if one were in a legitimate emergency situation where they will be subsisting off 3 squares a day. ER Bars generally have to be ground down slowly or pre-crumbled; Mainstay bars can easily be chewed up in a few bites.Nutrition-wise, they are enriched to provide the basic vitamin and mineral nutrients and are composed primarily of flour, vegetable shortening and granulated sugar. On a caloric basis, over half come from fat, followed by complex and simple carbohydrates with only 3 grams of protein per serving and 2 grams of fiber. Like ER Bars, Mainstay rations are extremely low in sodium/electrolytes, making electrolyte replacement a potential issue under high heat exposure environments. This likely contributes to the "non-thirst provoking" characteristic of the rations, which I will generally agree with; eating these do not cause dry mouth.Make no mistake; these are Emergency Rations, not nutrition bars or backpacking food. With any luck, one won't have to rely upon subsisting off these for any length of time (ideally, never), but given the compact packaging and very efficient nutrient to volume nature of these rations, paired with a 5 year shelf life (rations received were manufactured less than a month ago), these are an ideal addition to any car kit, marine kit, go-bag or emergency supply cache.

Note: For some reason in the standard review questions (ex. How much fun was this toy?) this item is listed as a toy. Amazon needs to change this.This is a great product that provides emergency rations. They taste good (lemon), don't make you thirsty and are easy to pack (5in x 5in by 1in thick), and weigh 1lb 8oz.. Each brick of 9 rations/bars per package (10 packages per box), yields 3600 calories. USCG approved for survival. 2 bars per day on the water, 3 bars per day on land. Though this is a bit on the thin side for calories it is more than enough to survive on. A case/box will yield 30 days per person on land.Edited: I changed this review to 5 stars since I misread a portion of the label.