This deal takes a bit of explaining, but it's well worth the read.
The Epicenter in Eugene has acquired a small contract overrun of Mountain House special freeze-dried food pouches and are selling them at a significant discount (44-64%) per serving over regular pouches. Epicenter calls these "silver pouches" because, well, they are silver-colored mylar.
These are from a contract M-H had with the Boy Scouts. These pouches are a bit different from the regular M-H pouches in a few ways.
1. Three of the four types are larger.
2. They have a 1-year "stated shelf life" (but see below)
3. Instructions call for using a cookpot instead of just adding water to the pouch (but see below)
There are four varieties:
Chicken-fried rice. . . . (4 1-cup servings vs 2.5 in pro-pouch)
Beef Stroganoff . . . . (3.5 1-cup servings vs 2.5 in pro-pouch)
Spaghetti with meat sauce. . . (3.5 1-cup servings vs 2.5 in pro-pouch)
Biscuits & Gravy. . . . (2 1-cup servings in both)
Search results for: 'silver pouch'
The full scoop: I bought a few of these last week and tried them. The results were just like regular M-H freezedried. No surprises there.
As to the one-year (stated) shelf life: This was a contract requirement from the Boy Scouts and should be taken in context. The mylar bag for the silver pouches is 3.5 mil thickness as opposed to the regular pouches 6.5mil thickness. They are fully air tight, but are slightly light permeable. My estimate is that if you keep them in a dark place, they should last as long as a regular M-H pouch if the pouch is not prematurely punctured.
As to requiring a cookpot: The silver pouches are not "flat" on the bottom as are the regular pouches. However, you can indeed just add 3 cups boiling water to the silver pouches, but you have to prop up the bag on something. I know because I tried it and it worked fine.
The discount: Takes a bit of cyphering. Most of the silver pouches are significantly larger than regular pouches. But they sell for less than the regular pouches. So the price savings are two-fold. I ran the numbers and calculated the discount per serving compared to MSRP of Pro-Pouches.
Chicken-fried rice . . . . . . . . . .53%
Beef Stroganoff . . . . . . . . . . .64%
Spaghetti with meat sauce . . . 64%
Biscuits & Gravy . . . . . . . . . . 44%
I've tried all four. The Chicken-fried rice is my fave - I bought a case of them. Tasty, filling and sticks to your ribs.
The Stroganoff, the Spaghetti and the Biscuits & Gravy are very tasty. Excellent, in fact. But I've already got them in my storage plan in quantity.
The Epicenter are local boys and they walk the walk, not just talk the talk, on prepping. They're good people. I've been doing business with them for about five years now with no disappointments. Check out their Youtube channel too.
As with all things, I'd recommend you try these before you buy a bunch. Individual tastes differ. You may not like the same stuff I do.
If you have a Winco nearby, check their seasonals isle for Mountain House regular pouches. Or Walmart. Both stores carry the regular pouches and you can buy and try a particular variety without springing for a case.
This deal is a limited. When Epicenter runs out of these there will be no re-stock.
The Epicenter in Eugene has acquired a small contract overrun of Mountain House special freeze-dried food pouches and are selling them at a significant discount (44-64%) per serving over regular pouches. Epicenter calls these "silver pouches" because, well, they are silver-colored mylar.
These are from a contract M-H had with the Boy Scouts. These pouches are a bit different from the regular M-H pouches in a few ways.
1. Three of the four types are larger.
2. They have a 1-year "stated shelf life" (but see below)
3. Instructions call for using a cookpot instead of just adding water to the pouch (but see below)
There are four varieties:
Chicken-fried rice. . . . (4 1-cup servings vs 2.5 in pro-pouch)
Beef Stroganoff . . . . (3.5 1-cup servings vs 2.5 in pro-pouch)
Spaghetti with meat sauce. . . (3.5 1-cup servings vs 2.5 in pro-pouch)
Biscuits & Gravy. . . . (2 1-cup servings in both)
Search results for: 'silver pouch'
The full scoop: I bought a few of these last week and tried them. The results were just like regular M-H freezedried. No surprises there.
As to the one-year (stated) shelf life: This was a contract requirement from the Boy Scouts and should be taken in context. The mylar bag for the silver pouches is 3.5 mil thickness as opposed to the regular pouches 6.5mil thickness. They are fully air tight, but are slightly light permeable. My estimate is that if you keep them in a dark place, they should last as long as a regular M-H pouch if the pouch is not prematurely punctured.
As to requiring a cookpot: The silver pouches are not "flat" on the bottom as are the regular pouches. However, you can indeed just add 3 cups boiling water to the silver pouches, but you have to prop up the bag on something. I know because I tried it and it worked fine.
The discount: Takes a bit of cyphering. Most of the silver pouches are significantly larger than regular pouches. But they sell for less than the regular pouches. So the price savings are two-fold. I ran the numbers and calculated the discount per serving compared to MSRP of Pro-Pouches.
Chicken-fried rice . . . . . . . . . .53%
Beef Stroganoff . . . . . . . . . . .64%
Spaghetti with meat sauce . . . 64%
Biscuits & Gravy . . . . . . . . . . 44%
I've tried all four. The Chicken-fried rice is my fave - I bought a case of them. Tasty, filling and sticks to your ribs.
The Stroganoff, the Spaghetti and the Biscuits & Gravy are very tasty. Excellent, in fact. But I've already got them in my storage plan in quantity.
The Epicenter are local boys and they walk the walk, not just talk the talk, on prepping. They're good people. I've been doing business with them for about five years now with no disappointments. Check out their Youtube channel too.
As with all things, I'd recommend you try these before you buy a bunch. Individual tastes differ. You may not like the same stuff I do.
If you have a Winco nearby, check their seasonals isle for Mountain House regular pouches. Or Walmart. Both stores carry the regular pouches and you can buy and try a particular variety without springing for a case.
This deal is a limited. When Epicenter runs out of these there will be no re-stock.
