This is a very simple review indeed. The question is, if you had to eat this type of "Survival Ration," would it be an unpleasant experience for you and your family? The second part of that question is, how about young children who are picky eaters?
This ration is almost too good to be true. The Mainstay Survival Rations actually taste good, they taste great, actually. I think they taste like a slightly weakened Archway Lemon Frosted Cookie, my Wife does not think they even taste that "lemony" but she considers the individual portions to be large, shortbread cookies, after reading the ingredients information on the package and tasting them.
In an emergency, anyone can suffer from more than a little anxiety, especially children. Having something tasty to eat instead of lightly-flavored cardboard should pick up even the most dour person's spirits for at least a few minutes, right?
True to the company's claims, they do not make you thirsty, another thing that amazed me.
These rations are well worth the price. They are an incredible value.
The manufacturer sells these packs of Mainstay 3600 bars, each package has 9 individual bars in it and each bar is 400 calories. A case is ten (10) of these packs. They sell them for just under $50.00 per case. It doesn't take a mathematical genius to arrive at "$5.00 per pack."
Excellent price! You can really afford to put in a lot of these into your emergency food supply!
A word of caution now. At the risk of being considered a "liberal" or a "communist" or "anti-capitalist" or "anti - free market," I have to warn you that there are companies out there selling a case of ten of these packages for almost $150.00 Yes, you are reading that correctly.
I'm sorry if I offend some of my readers by saying this, but these people are scum. They take advantage of people, it's incredible.
The packaging is quite tough and should protect the rations for a long, long time. Also, when you open the rations, you can use the package for other survival tasks like carrying water or wild edibles like wild onions, garlic, black berries or mulberries.
Here is the generic description/information you can find out about Mainstay Rations online, on various websites that sell them.
Mainstay 3600
5 year Shelf Life
Non-Thirst Provoking
Withstands Temperatures of -40° F to 300°F (-40°C to 149°C)
Ready to Eat: Each package contains 9 pre-measured 400 calorie meals.
Individualized Portions eliminate the messy breaking-up that occurs with other bars
Allows for on-land emergency consumption in a high-stress active situation.
Contains no cholesterol or tropical oils.
Meets the US Coast Guard standards (160.046/23/0). It's new modern packaging even meets the stringent guidelines set by the Department of Defense (SOLAS 74/83).
Enriched with vitamins and minerals exceeding the RDA requirements.
Pleasant lemon flavor which appeals to everyone.
Mainstay™ is Kosher and it meets the dictates for Halal.
