Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Name of hiking food website

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Name of hiking food website

    About 7-8 years ago when I was doing lots of backpacking I was ordering dehydrated meals online and buying 10 days worth of meals at a time. I was using a website that carried all brands of food and lots of other accessories. They had an impressive selection.

    Based upon the site you could tell it was a small/smallish business and not big like REI. They were probably online only.

    I can't for the life of me me remember what the name of it was. It was a .com site and the name maybe consisted of works like:
    Backpackers pantry
    Backpackers kitchen
    But not at all restricted to those.

    Does anyone have any idea what it is or what it might have been?

  • #2
    Nevermind, I think I found it. It still exists. www.ldpcampingfoods.com

    Looks like they had a bigger selection of brangs back then though: https://web.archive.org/web/20120912...mpingfoods.com

    I mostly use Mountain House, so I don't know if those other brands even exist any more.

    Comment


    • #3
      If you're looking for other freeze dried brand options, Packit Gourmet is a smaller company and I've liked all their stuff that I've tried so far
      CL50 #506
      ADK 11/46

      I Should Go Hiking...

      Comment


      • #4
        And of course there's always Hawk Vittles: http://hawkvittles.com/ .
        Good stuff, and I like that most of the meals are available in one-person servings (unlike most of the large commercial brands). My only gripe with him is that the pouches aren't self-sealing.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by cuterocky View Post
          If you're looking for other freeze dried brand options, Packit Gourmet is a smaller company and I've liked all their stuff that I've tried so far
          Thanks, some of those are interesting options.

          Comment


          • #6
            I had been struggling to find the perfect meals for my trips. I have used Mountain House forever because it's readily available and has gotten better over the years - or my taste buds are dying. I tried different brands but then I had to make a spreadsheet to keep track so I gave that up. Even had some "K"? rations in the 70's. You put the can of food in some boiling water till it heats up, and they gave you a pack with 4 cigs in it to smoke while waiting.

            I decided to stick with MH, but on a retail basis they always stock the same 4 entree's around here. So I order direct from them and get some different meals and enjoy the 1 servings when solo. These, a Jet Boil and a long handled spoon take care of everything.

            Comment


            • #7
              Viking,
              Do have an oven where you live?
              If so, why not just dry your own favorite meals? I save left over Szechuan Chicken takeout, leftover fajitas from home, homemade chicken tiki masala, a special blend of grits, eggs, ham and cheese for breakfast...the list goes on and on. Only limited by my palate (I have an eclectic set of taste buds).

              Just toss your meals on a cookie sheet, and dry them at 170F for a few hours and you're good to go.
              No more excessive sodium, no more limited menus! Oh, and no more $11 dinners.

              Why not give it a try? If you like the results, then invest in a dehydrator.

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi stripperguy,

                On another website I go on there was a thread about this which caught my attention. I promptly showed it to my wife - at which point she told me "have fun". But what you are describing sounds pretty straightforward.

                I know it varies by food type, but when you dehydrate items like you describe above, how long do they last?

                Viking

                Comment


                • #9
                  I've been dehydrating my own food for about 5 years now and in spite of the work/time/effort the results are so much better that I will never buy (salty/expensive/homogeneous/low in protein) commercial stuff again. I would buy Hawk's Vittles though because he uses the same cookbook as I do! In fact I learned of the book from him.

                  There is a lot of handling. First you cook it, then you spread it out on the dryer trays (I have a home dehydration unit but have done it in the oven, which in my case required more watching). About half-way through you usually need to turn the contents of each tray. Then when dried you need to bag it. Finally you need to wash the dehydrator trays and/or racks. Nevertheless, the results make it all worth while. Especially out in the field where all you have to do is add boiling water and let it sit for 5 minutes. We put the pot in a cozy my wife made from from an old sleeping pad.

                  The cookbook: Backpack Gourmet by Linda Frederick Yaffe
                  The best, the most successful adventurer, is the one having the most fun.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I have some dried meals that are nearly two years old but I keep them in the freezer until ready to put them in my pack. Any of the home dried meals can easily last for many weeks in the field.
                    I have had home dried bananas on the kitchen counter for as long as a month after drying.
                    As Neil says, I’ll never go back to commercially dehydrated meals...
                    Now if I could just figure out how to fry my own ice cream sandwiches!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      In the winter/spring of 2009 I spent a couple of months home dehydrating as much as 200 pounds of food, as the amount then required by race rules for my voyageur team prior to the Yukon River 1000 mile race. Kept it in doubled zip lock bags in my home freezer until departure. Then it went on an uncooled one week road trip north. All of it went for another week in an uncooled Yeti while racing on the river. All paddlers Ate well, Used only 25% of the food carried. All that remained survived a third week during the road trip return to NY. Returned to freezer. All that remained was still good later for my local summer camping trips.
                      "Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt Whitman

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Wldrns View Post
                        In the winter/spring of 2009 I spent a couple of months home dehydrating as much as 200 pounds of food, as the amount then required by race rules for my voyageur team prior to the Yukon River 1000 mile race. Kept it in doubled zip lock bags in my home freezer until departure. Then it went on an uncooled one week road trip north. All of it went for another week in an uncooled Yeti while racing on the river. All paddlers Ate well, Used only 25% of the food carried. All that remained survived a third week during the road trip return to NY. Returned to freezer. All that remained was still good later for my local summer camping trips.
                        Wow
                        Never Argue With An Idiot. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level And Beat You With Experience.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Schultzz View Post
                          Wow
                          yeah, that's what we said for 7 paddlers in my voyageur, 20 Kg requirement for each paddler total (including main dehydrated meals plus each paddler's personal daytime snacks). Could not include the weight of water to make dehydrated edible. Had to show our food cache to officials before the race start, not allowed to carry 50lb bags of potatoes and later throw overboard. Their idea was fast boats might take a week (we finished in 6 days), slower may take 2 weeks, and a third week for emergency, which in the limit might have been correct. Thankfully that ridiculous requirement was dropped the next year after so many complaints in the first year of the 1000 mile race. The next time I prepared only 10 days of food, just in case. Still just 6 days used.
                          "Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt Whitman

                          Comment

                          Working...
                          X