Mainstay rations.... where do you get them and are they worth the price?

I don't know how much they cost, either...

I got thier Ark III 3day pack from Brigade quartermasters. Its one 3 day ration pack plus "3 days of water" and a thermal blanket. Guess they were thinking three days up north cause thats about a days worth of water down here.
For high energy usage application, I would suggest 3 of them as they are a sustainment level ration, not a combat ration.

www.actiongear.com

They actually aren't all that bad.

Kinda tastes like a really dry sugar cookie. As such, you need a really tall glass of milk to properly wash one down.

The seem to expand in your stomach when you eat one and have some water, so they are filling to some extent, believe it or not.

I had some in my emergency supplies, and broke open a package and ate nothing but for a week. I was left a little hungry and I did drop 3 pounds, but I was no worse for the wear.

i use 1 a day on FTX's

Thats what I was going to recommend, one foil pack of the bars per day under high intensity situations.

The Mainstay abrs aren't bad.

But, IMO, if you're going to either carry, or have enough water available to wash them down, you're better off reconstituting a Mountain House packet,

Mountain House plus, if you have enough warning beforehand about your deployment, some hardtack (which actually isn't hard at all if you make it up the day before you deploy). Mountain House meals alone are low on calories, even if you eat the full 2 servings in the bag yourself. It really needs to be augmented with things like energy bars, hard candies, salted roasted nuts, etc.

Main stay rations - two situations -
strictly in the filed AND sedentary.

Strictly in the field:

I assume no fresh fruits or vegetables, no cooking. If someone wants to assume otherwise, the options are increased.

1. beef jerky
2. hardtack (yes it is available commercially)
3. canned fruit cocktail.

If sedentary, I add canned beef stew.

Yes, I have "the year's supply", the MREs and so forth.

As I get older, certain things stand out: 1. I don't want to have to cook during survival, 2. I don't want to have to clean up;. 3. I don't want to attract attention, 4. I appreciate that the reason that the US and other militaries cut out mess kits was because in the field the equipment is not kept clean.

You have to get a grip on the reality that you will be facing when you decide upon rations.

If you are Mormon, rural, lots of kids, lots of water and firewood, then your reality is different from a resident of Los Angeles. What do you think would happen after shtf in Los Angeles and you decide that you want to build a fire and cook bread?

If you radically change your diet in an emergency, your stomach flora has to catch up. I read about an Army Captain who went about 60 days after D day eating C rations in Europe. The medics couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. It turned out that everyone else in the army had some food on the side - fresh loaf of bread, some chickens, a stew, whatever. This guy ate only military rations.

I have MREs. I don't plan to crack them and eat them exclusively when shtf. I will cycle them in gradually.