Single or double portions of dehydrated meals enough?

[cat793]

Hi all,

What is the verdict? Is a single portion of the pre-prepared dehydrated meals enough? Or is a double portion more realistic? I am thinking of brands like Strive, Back Country. the Outdoor Gourmet.

[ofuros]

A single serve is big enough for me.....try a single first, if your still hungry go for double or make up your own serving size that sits between the two.

[Gadgetgeek]

I find a single to be enough most times, but I also have extra food to either take up the slack, or keep in reserve. Some people eat the same amount every day, and others fluctuate widely, so its a bit of a guessing game until you know how much you will want to eat. I'd start with the singles, but have some food as a spare.

[RonK]

Can anyone actually stomach a double portion of Back Country?

Last edited by RonK on Sat 09 Jul, 2016 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Kristin]

Some companies provide bigger portions. Recently we took a single strive and a double of something else (backcountry cuisine? )
The strive portion was definitely more filling ....or maybe because it tasted more like a home cooked meal?

[taipan821]

single serve of strive food or a double serve of backcountry cuisine while hiking

A single backcountry cuisine for everything else (plus chemical heater)

[Ant71]

Just bought some 2 serve back country for my wife and i for our first multi day hike i also bought a 2 serve desert for each nite as well so hopefully it will be enough for us

[cat793]

Very helpful replies. I think I will go for single portion Strive meals with some back up (rice/pasta). Thanks.

[north-north-west]

Single Strive is usually plenty. Single Backcountry needs a bit extra (like a packet of instant noodles, or some dehy mash).

Strive is far better value - cheaper and bigger serves. Generally tastes better, too.

[peregrinator]

Single serve of Strive also suits me. If you are in doubt, you could try adding a little bit of extra from:https://www.strivefood.com.au/meal-complements

[zhenjie]

I always 'feel' like a double serving of Backcountry and even Strive. But I know I can get away with a single serving of Strive or Backcountry + a snack of some sort.

With Strive Laksa I can add more water as it's still quite concentrated. Add another pack of instant noodles and that's a cheap second portion

[paul_gee]

A single serve + half a packet of Deb + a cup of soup beforehand does me just fine.

[JohnStrider]

Single Strive is usually plenty. Single Backcountry needs a bit extra (like a packet of instant noodles, or some dehy mash).

Strive is far better value - cheaper and bigger serves. Generally tastes better, too.

^^^ This.

I like the single serves, but every so often i lash out on a double serve. It'll all depend on how hungry you get. If I know I'm going on a big multi-day hike, I will often take double serve portions.

But yeah definitely go for Strive dehy meals. Can't say enough about their customer service. Absolute A1. Also, I highly recommend the Laksa.

[dagsands]

For 5 days my partner and I shared a double serve at each meal or each had a single serve - this was the case regardless of whether it was outdoor gourmet, backcountry or strive. Note that we ate these meals at lunchtimes too so that may have helped abate hunger - having two hot meals per day, along with a good breakfast and plenty of little healthy snacks.

[Stew63]

Can anyone actually stomach a double portion of Back Country?

Mate - these days we are just spoilt with the quality and range of freeze dried hiking foods in comparison to what we used to eat as 'lightweight' hiking food in the 70s/80s - remember Rice-a-Riso? At the time - after a solid days hiking a Rice-A-Riso meal was just ambrosia to eat - but to think of it these days is just BLAH! How could we eat that sh1t!

[Stew63]

I find a single serve Backcountry meal too small and a double too big - with wastage If they made a 1.5xSingle meal that would be perfect for me.

[Aztec]

Can anyone actually stomach a double portion of Back Country?

Mate - these days we are just spoilt with the quality and range of freeze dried hiking foods in comparison to what we used to eat as 'lightweight' hiking food in the 70s/80s - remember Rice-a-Riso? At the time - after a solid days hiking a Rice-A-Riso meal was just ambrosia to eat - but to think of it these days is just BLAH! How could we eat that sh1t!

I *still* love Rice-a-riso...

[entreat]

I've been reading some hiking recipe books, and the nutritional value for the recipes (carefully considered and planned by the authors who have done their due research) are way higher than that of Back Country or Outdoor Gourmet (and most Strive meals).

Is this a significant issue? Are we meant to pad out the freeze dried meals with other food?

[Neo]

At a glace the freeze dried meals don't appear to be particularly high in calories or nutrition. I don't think it would matter for a few days but if you were out for a week or longer it would be worth considering. I'm happy to burn up a bit of stored excess...

I'd go for single serves with a bit of real food to supplement such as jerky, nuts and flat bread or whatever you fancy.

I've tried a few double serves but struggle to finish them due to the 'packet seasoning' flavour.

Tastier and cheaper off-the-shelf options I've tried are snack size pastas and Ainsley's couscous accompanied with cashews and Jacks black label jerky.

[entreat]

Thanks!
My husband is being a real pain. He flat out refuses anything like couscous, which irritates me no end because it's so darn easy to prepare.

I'll try to have him read some more about it. And hope he grows up a bit.