What's in the box? Opening an old DIY ration kit

[majorhavoc]

One of my goals with these DIY ration kits was to create something not just for me, but that could be given to a friend, a neighbor, a random surivivor - basically anyone I might want to help who is less prepared than me.  Let's open up my oldest one, from October 2017.  None of the contents are designed for long term storage and I originally planned to retire (well, consume) and refresh these every two years or so.  That obviously didn't happen.  How bad could it be after 4.5 years?  What learnings can we glean from my early prepping mistakes?

I use Sterilite type containers for my ration kits. They offer some crush protection and help organize things.  And once the contents are consumed, the container can be repurposed: to organize other belongings, used for sanitation, to collect rainwater, etc.  I settled on 3 days (or 1 day for 3 people) because 72 hours is sort of a standard metric within the prepping community.  And three days of food also justifies the expense and bulk of the added cooking gear, toiletries and other supplies.

Yeah, this one's been in storage for a while, kind of dirty too.  And who was I kidding? The lid was never going to be air/moisture tight.  Maybe I should have sealed this thing?  We'll see ...



OK, I can already see that a bit of moisture got in here.



And here we are: three pouches each containing a breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  Plus various supplemental supplies to help sustain someone for three days, or three people for one day. 


Did something nibble on the written instructions?  Not looking good ...


Cooking gear.  Walmart used to sell those UST Esbit clone survival stoves for less than $5, including 8 fuel tablets - a true bargain. They discontinued them a few years back and were clearancing them for $3.  I bought the six that were left on the shelves. That cheap mess kit was a thrift shop find. Probably just $2-3. I put the fuel tablets and matches in that ziplock baggy, but moisture got in there anyway.  Too bad I didn't have my vacuum sealer back then ...


Hmm.  Some suspcious stains on a few of the fuel tablets.  And visible water droplets on the matchbook.


These can't possibly work, can they?  Why did I put only a single firestarting method in this entire kit? Abject prepping failure #1.


Amazing.  They actually still work. The first positive surprise so far.  But what about those water damaged fuel tablets?


First aid supplies.  Only a boo-boo kit, but it's something.  I must have added that single edge razor.


The toiletry kit. I thought the mini sewing kit was a clever addition, thank you very much.  But that disposable razor sure didn't fare well; the head snapped off the handle.  It sort of pops back on, but doesn't feel very secure.


Worse, the blades are visibly rusting. (sorry the subject is out of focus) In the interest of thorough testing, I actually tried to shave with this, using as much lather as I could work up with the hand soap. It sort of worked, for a few seconds. Then the head popped off again and I couldn't get it stay on after that. Abject prepping failure #2.


A closer look at that Ozark Trails SAK-style pocket knife.  Another Walmart clearance item. At a buck apiece, I bought the three that were left.  It's actually decent quality.  The main blade isn't completely dull and the scissors cut my finger nails in addition to paper.  I would have preferred a punch/awl instead of that corkscrew.  Although if a fellow survivor produced a bottle of wine to share, and no one else had a way to open it, I'd be a hero to the group.


Next installment, we'll take a closer look at the food situation and prepare breakfast.

[majorhavoc]

Here I've opened the first of the three food bags.  Oatmeal, craisins, Belvita breafast bars and peanut butter for breakfast.  Tuna and flour tortillas (visible in an earlier picture) for lunch, the Dinty Moore stew and instant rice (upper left) for dinner.  Plus various snacks and beverages.  I'm starting this post in the morning, so let's check out breakfast.


Uh-oh. Definitely some moisture seeped into this oatmeal packet.  Where did it come from?


And where was my head with the craisins?  Can you see how they've partially rotted away?  Maybe, maybe if I had vacuum sealed and used them within 24 months.  But to just throw the unsealed cardboard box in with the rest of the food?  Dumb, dumb, dumb. Abject prepping failure #3.


More evidence of water infiltration.  I thought hard candies were a good idea and these Werthers hard caramels are my favorite.  But their twisted foil wrappers are only moisture resistant. They're actually still edible and tasty, but they're very much soft caramels at this point. Ditto for the gum; soft but still tastes (and chews) fine.  The deccicant pack is dripping and it looks like it was water, not an animal that produced those holes in the written instructions. 


Yep, a bit of moisture definitely got into the oatmeal.  It doesn't look too bad however.


It actually reconsituted just fine and is reasonably palatable.  But against my better judgment I added the spoilt craisins.  Big mistake; I should have cut my losses.  I ended up eating around them because they were nauseating.  I forgot to take a picture to show that I was able to successfully light the stove and boil water, in spite of the moisture damaged fuel tablets.  Yes, that's a fork.  When I packed the kit I threw in a sealed package of disposable utensils.  But I didn't notice it didn't include a spoon.  I wonder if I made the same mistake with the food packs for days 2 and 3? Abject prepping failure #4.


Trader Joe's instant coffee. All in one; so you'd better like your coffee creamed and sweet. I should have packed unadulterated instant coffee and included sugar and creamer for people to use as they prefer.  In the end however, the coffee was the best part of breakfast.



Day 1 breakfast and the stove I prepared it with.  I was planning on eating the Belvita breakfast biscuits and peanut butter too, but those hideous craisins spoiled my appetite.  I'll save them for lunch.  By the way, I added that kindling to the stove to eke out a bit more cook time.  The fuel tablet itself only produced useful heat for about 10 minutes.  Enough to boil 3/4 cup of water for the oatmeal, and another 3/4 cup for the hot beverage. Hmm. That might be a problem come dinner time ...


Not pictured: abject prepping failure #5: I spilled half of the first pot of water lifting it off the stove.  My later kits include a bandana. Which, when dampened, makes a servicable hot mitt to steady the pot. 

Next installment: lunch.

[Crosscut]

Great thread MH!  We prefer Folgers Singles over instant, much better tasting and almost as fast.

For the image hosting, might try postimages.org.  No watermarks, free, and permanent even without an account.

[majorhavoc]

Here's what's on the menu for lunch.  Tuna, tortillas, those Belvita crackers and peanut butter I saved from breakfast, fruit gummies, a snack bar and some powdered drink mix.  I'll just fess up to prepping fail #6: those single use packets of mayo and sweet relish were missing from the kit. I add them to jazz up the tuna packet but somehow neglected to do that in this early kit. Yes, I'm technically cheating by not making do with what I have.  But after this morning's disaster of a breakfast, I'm seriously starving. 


First, the tuna, fruit gummies, peanut butter and powdered drink mix were fine.  Yes, the water came from outside this ration kit.  MREs and other field rations generally assume you have a source of potable water.

The Belvita crackers were crumbling and noticably stale.  But still palatable. I consider them to primarily be a PB delivery system anyway. That Soul Sprout Caco Nib Crunch granola bar was not stale per se, but it was nonetheless absolute garbage.  [Rant mode activated] The packaging says two delusional moms got together to come up with a healthier alternative to the sugary junk that passes for kids snack bars. All the healthy nutrition in the world isn't going to do your kids a bit of good if it's so hideously awful that no normal child would eat it.  I know the difference between past its prime bad and just plain bad. This pre-packaged loaf of child abuse is the latter. Never again. [/Rant Mode off]. 

Shockingly, the flour tortillas tasted completely fresh. As in zero diminishment in taste or texture.
The best by date on the package says 12NOV2018 but honestly had I not known that I would have thought they were bought yesterday. I can't explain it.


A few other items in the kit we haven't talked about yet.  The playing cards, facial tissue and wet nap are there for morale and hygiene. But I am forced to call the primary lighting option in this kit abject prepping fail #7. 


Handcrank flashlights never seem to work that well for me. I'm surprised I got this good a shot of it activated.  I took it into a darkened bathroom to test it.  If you're cranking constantly it just barely produces a usable amount of illumination.  But that fades to a feeble glow the moment you stop cranking. My later kits include inexpensive battery powered lights and in some cases a headlamp.


The glow stick and the electric candles I bought at a dollar store worked just fine. Neither put out what I'd call true illumination but they can effectively mark a spot you need to return to in the dark. 


Next installment we'll see what's for dinner.

[majorhavoc]

Great thread MH!  We prefer Folgers Singles over instant, much better tasting and almost as fast.

For the image hosting, might try postimages.org.  No watermarks, free, and permanent even without an account.

Thank you Crosscut!  I was hoping someone could suggest a better alternative to Photobucket. I've gone back and replaced everything with photos uploaded to postimages.org.  Your input is very much appreciated! 

I considered the Folger's singles but have always been worried the coffee won't truly brew if the water isn't absolutely boiling.  Those UST survival stoves I use in these kits just barely bring water to a boil and then only if it isn't too cold outside.  Maybe that concern is misplaced and I should reconsider, but my thinking has been that instant coffee will desolve just fine in hot but not boiling water and at least produce a drinkable cup.