Who Makes The Best Expedition Rations?

This is a review of nine brands of dehydrated foods and expedition rations.

I’ve been eating “dehy” meals for many years (not full time). And, to prepare for this review, I took samples of these brands on a trip to Iceland. This is the result…

(Updated February 2020)

Expedition Rations Comparison Table

This table contains a summary of the all the rations reviewed. Scroll down for details about each brand.

Brand	Taste (1-5)	Ingredients (1-5)	Calories/100g (avg)	Calories/pack (max)	Buy online	Check price on Amazon
Be Well / Extreme Adventure Food	2	3	440 kcal	1000 kcal	£5.85	Check price
Expedition Foods	3	3	485 kcal	1000 kcal	£6.20	Check price
Mountain House	4	4	495 kcal	1110 kcal	N/A	Check price
Real Turmat	5	5	470 kcal	600 kcal	£9.00	Check price
Trek n Eat	3	3	380 kcal	630 kcal	£7.50	Check price
Adventure Foods	3	3	420 kcal	600 kcal	£5.00	Check price
FirePot (OutdoorFood)	5	5	423 kcal	940 kcal	£6.30	Check price
Lyo Foods	5	5	487 kcal	940 kcal	£6.30	Check price
Tent Meals	4	5

“Ingredients” = subjective measure of how natural ingredients are (higher is more natural, lower less)

Best Expedition Rations 2020

I’ve eaten dozens, if not hundreds, of dehydrated meals over the years. I used them occasionally as a kid when I’d go away hiking with my friends. I took them on my mountaineering expeditions to Kyrgyzstan, Bolivia, Norway and Siberia. I bulk ordered, sampled and packed thousands whilst working for British Exploring. And I took a load of them to live off in Iceland when first writing this review.

I used to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of some ranges, their specific ingredients and which ones worked well in combination. You probably don’t need (or want) that level of knowledge but I thought it might be useful to share a little of what I know.

In preparation for this review I wrote to all of the “rat pack” manufacturers I could find for samples to take on a two week trip to Iceland with my wife, Laura in 2017. We tested them in the mountains and made some notes, then combined that with trawling the companies’ websites for nutritional information to put into the table above.

I hope it’s useful but please fire away with any questions in the comments section below if there’s something else you’d like to know.

(Review first published June 2016. Last updated February 2020).

What is a dehydrated ration?

Dehydrated rations are just small pouches of food that have had all or most of the water removed. To prepare them you pour in boiling water and wait for a few a minutes before they’re good to eat.

Definitions and terminology

Ration pack / day pack

Either a single meal or a whole day’s worth of food. The latter usually consists of a few different dehydrated meals with a lot of snacks and drink powders. This article just focuses on the dehydrated meals. The rest of the stuff – chocolate bars, packets of nuts and tea bags – you can just buy from the shops.

Rat pack

Short for ration pack.

Dehydrated rations / dry rations

Dried food that needs to be rehydrated with water (typically boiling) before eating.

Combat rations

Militaries often use rations in various forms so ‘military rations’ or ‘combat rations’ are just other terms for general ration packs.

Wet rations

Rations that don’t need rehydrating to eat. You can either heat them by boiling the bag in water or by emptying the contents into a pan. They’re not dissimilar to what you might find in, say, a tin of sausage and beans.

Self heating / flameless rations

Wet rations that you can heat without a stove. They come with chemical heating sachets a little like those ones you put in your gloves/socks in winter. Squash the packet and it releases heat for a few minutes.

Emergency food

No specific meaning but might be applied to dehydrated rations as they offer good caloric content for their size and weight so are an efficient choice to carry.

What to look for in a ration pack

I’ve included the following factors in my table

Taste

I’ve tried all of the different rations listed above and given my personal opinion on how good they taste. Two of them (BeWell and Expedition Foods) I’ve also canvassed the opinions of other people through my work at British Exploring and the rest were also tested by my wife, Laura.

Ingredients

Rations are designed to last for a really long time, contain lots of calories and cook really quickly and easily. Most natural food does not tick all of those boxes so sometimes things are added to the rations to help preserve them or pack in calories. These things aren’t always natural. This may or may not bother you but I’ve given a crude indication of how ‘natural’ I think the ingredients lists look.

Calories per gram

Rations are only useful if they contain a high number of calories for every gram you carry. That’s their key purpose. All other factors being equal, the more calories for a given weight, the better.

Calories per pack

Most dehydrated meals contain between 400 and 800 calories each. Some ranges are organised by weight (e.g. all packs weigh 120g but have varying caloric content) whilst others are organised by calories (e.g. all packs contain 800 calories but vary in their size/weight).

Price

Rations are not cheap. You pay for the convenience. Meals rarely range beyond £5 or £10 each which, individually, is not a big difference, but if four people want enough for a month then it quickly adds up.

Range

Breakfasts and desserts: the meals I’ve referred to are savoury main meals. Most manufacturers also make breakfasts and desserts. These tend to be cheaper and more calorific but they’re also much easier to replicate yourself without spending money so aren’t as interesting. You can make your own breakfast from a base of Instant Ready Brek and milk powder in a sandwich bag then add dried fruit, nuts or chocolate powder for variety.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and other free from: all manufacturers have vegetarian options and some now offer a variety of ‘free from’ meals. These are noted in the table above and detailed by manufacturer below.

Be Well / Extreme Adventure Food

   BeWell didn’t respond to my request for samples but I’ve eaten dozens and dozens of their products whilst working for British Exploring. We used to place orders in the thousands to feed hundreds of teenagers over months of expedition. At the time, I knew their range intimately.

It does seem, however, that the range has completely changed and is run alongside the brand Extreme Adventure Food. Their ingredients list used to be pretty poor with every meal’s key constituent being ‘vegetable fat filled milk powder’ and, memorably, the first two ingredients of Thai Chicken rice being ‘pasta’ and ‘beef’. But that appears to have changed. The ingredients lists look fine now so I’ve scored them accordingly.

As for the taste, I’ll eat anything in the field and didn’t mind the meals at all but most other people complained about them. Since I’ve not been able to try to the new range, I’ve kept them at a low score.

• Menu: Chicken Tikka, Pesto Pasta, Moroccan Chicken
• Sample ingredients: textured soya protein, vegetable oil, maltodextrin
• Types of pack: fixed by calorie content (800/1000kcal ranges) or by weight (125g/180g)
• Other offerings: wet rations, day packs, flameless heaters, bars/gels/drink sachets
• Cost: £6.29 (Check price on Amazon)

Expedition Foods

Expedition Foods responded to my request immediately and offered to send some samples but they never turned up and I didn’t chase. I have, however, tried their food before and studied their range.

Some years ago, I visited their office whilst working for British Exploring. At the time, it was a wonderful little hut out in the woods although the address now is in Hull. They had a great set up, testing and packing meals on site, and the owner had an encyclopaedic knowledge of his range, the expeditions they’d supported and the various offerings on the market.

I thought their meals were similar to BeWell’s except tastier, more varied in flavours and with a better range (notably the option to buy packs based on weight or based on calorie content since different expeditions will want to plan by different metrics). All round, I thought these guys had a good offering back then and they seem to be producing similar stuff now.

• Menu: Fish Potato & Parsley Sauce, Green Chicken Curry, Beef Stroganoff
• Sample ingredients: noodles/pasta/potato, vegetable oil, herbs
• Types of pack: fixed by calorie content (450, 800 and 1000kcal ranges)
• Other offerings: wet rations, day packs, bars/gels/drink sachets
• Notes: offers Gluten and dairy free range
• Cost: £6.20 (Check price on Amazon)

Fuizion

Fuizion first contacted me a few years back when they were trying to promote their new freeze dried rations and I later came across them when working for the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition. They also sent me samples for this review.

Fuizion’s rations stand out in this review as being quite different from all of the rest. From their packaging, to the ingredients and their menu, they are quite distinct. Their meals often have coconut milk, ginger and a whole host of herbs and spices. As a result, I’ve given them full marks for taste.

Their website has a post from March this year referencing cash flow problems and a lack of stock. I hope they resolve them because their food’s excellent.

Update: the Fuizion website is no longer online. Sadly, it looks like they are no longer trading.

• Menu: Kung Po Chicken, Sweet & Sour Pork, Kedgeree, Lamb Tagine
• Sample ingredients: coconut milk, ginger, lots of herbs and spices
• Types of pack: fixed by weight (110g)
• Cost: £6.75

Mountain House

I think Mountain House may have been the first brand of ration I ever tried back in the 90s. It was a Beef Stroganoff. I didn’t add enough water and it ended up tasting awful so I didn’t have high hopes when these guys sent me some packs to try. But their meals are actually really good.

Unfortunately, this range was discontinued in 2017.

The same manufacturer has produced a new range, however, called Summit to Eat.

Stats for historical purposes: taste 4/5, ingredients 4/5, max calories per 100g = 550kcal, max calories per pack 1,110 kcal (!).

Real Turmat

  If I could only choose one ration pack manufacturer then it would be Real Turmat.

Whether resulting from the language barrier (Real are based in Norway) or just a generous offer from a manufacturer confident in their product, Real responded to my request for a sample by sending me a huge box filled with 20 man-day ration packs. We had enough to feed us throughout our expedition to Iceland and still have some left now.

Thankfully, Real’s rations are excellent. Their ingredients lists are admirably short and rarely contain anything you wouldn’t use at home (except, perhaps, Lingon Berries and Reindeer Meat). And they all taste great too.

• Menu: Reindeer Stew, Cod Curry, Chicken with Lentils & Lime
• Sample ingredients: beef, potato, salt, pepper
• Types of pack: fixed by weight (100-150g)
• Other offerings: soup, day packs
• Cost: £9.00 (check price on Amazon)

Trek n Eat

I’d not come across Trek n Eat before starting this review. They are made by Katadyn a brand which is distributed in the UK by Lyon Equipment who have supported me on many trips in the past. They sent some samples for me to try in Iceland.

Their meals were decent and their ingredients lists were fine too. They come in as one of the cheapest too so definitely a good choice if budget is a consideration.

• Menu: Borscht, Irish Stew, Chana Masala
• Sample ingredients: pasta, chick peas, soy beans, maltodextrin
• Types of pack: fixed by weight (150-180g)
• Other offerings: drink sachets
• Notes: range includes Vegan offering
• Cost: £7.50 (check price on Amazon)

Adventure Foods

Adventure Foods were a new brand to me with a decent offering.

There’s a tendency for the meals of different manufacturers to all taste pretty similar but I got the impression that Adventure Foods had deliberately tried to make some foods that tasted different. I wasn’t blown away by the meals I tried but they were at least distinct. So, if you’re not a fan of the others above then these might be worth a try.

Their range is organised by a fixed calorie content (600 per meal) and includes some interesting extras such as the Farmer’s Omelette for breakfast and an optional side of dehydrated vegetables (which I could imagine being very welcome after a long stint of dehydrated food).

• Menu: Cashew Nasi, Satay Rice, Mince Beef Hotpot
• Sample ingredients: pineapple, whey powder, preservative E220
• Types of pack: fixed by calories (600kcal)
• Meals: breakfasts, mains, desserts
• Dietary: vegetarian options
• Other offerings: soups, bars, vegetables
• Cost: £5.00 (check price on Amazon)

FirePot (OutdoorFood)

This is a new brand of dehydrated rations for 2017. I tested their range while bikepacking in Northumberland National Park.

They are excellent and the only brand that I think can match Real Turmat. Their ingredients are as pure as you could hope for. They have a range of interesting flavours, all of which taste great.

Be aware that they take a long time to rehydrate though. Some of the beans in the chili con carne were still crunchy after 10 minutes wrapped up in a fleece, by which time it was starting to get a bit cold.

Other than that, FirePot gets full marks from me.

• Menu: Orzo pasta bolognese, posh pork and beans, dal and rich with spinach
• Sample ingredients: rice, beef, dried porcini mushrooms, salt, pepper
• Types of pack: fixed by weight (135g or 200g)
• Meals: breakfasts, mains
• Dietary: vegetarian, vegan, gluten free
• Other offerings: none
• Cost: £6.30 (check price on Amazon)

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Lyo Food

LyoFood, or LYO Expedition, are a German manufacturer of freeze dried meals and ingredients.

I tested their rations in 2016/17 and really rated them. They cook well, taste good and have no funny ingredients. Definitely recommended.

• Menu sample: Farfalle with gorgonzola and spinach, goulash shoup, and barley-lentil risotto with avocado mousse
• Sample ingredients: chicken breast fillet, organic beans, pickled cucumber and Greek yoghurt
• Types of pack: small (80-100g) and large (110-152g)
• Meals: breakfasts, mains, desserts
• Dietary: vegetarian
• Other offerings: soups, drinks and single ingredients (e.g. blueberry/coconut water powder)
• Cost: £6.99 (check price on Amazon)

Any questions?

Add a comment below. If I’ve missed any brands then let me know and, if I can get a sample then I’ll add them to the list.