"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson
Hawk and I had "Hawk Vittles" for 8 of our twelve dinners and most of our breakfasts on our South Dakota trip and they were very tasty indeed. The abundance of legumes in the various recipes ensured that everything went smoothly I especially like the Packers Potatoes Plus and the Hashbrowns, oh, yeah AND the Grits, Eggs and Cheese, excellent fuel for a hard day's hike, and as others have mentioned, the portions are generous. We frequently had trouble finishing the whole meal between the two of us. I lost two pounds, but Hawk gained five The Southwestern Chili and the Cowboy Pasta are great at the end of a hard day and I've been fond of Hawk's own sausages and peppers in the past. We bought a small cooler and supplemented with salad and fresh fruit.
The only downside to a steady diet of dehydrated food is one starts to pine for some texture and visual pleasure as everything has to be chopped small for dehydrating. That's a small quibble and of little concern on an extended trip in the wilderness. I recommend Hawk Vittles without reservation and would second the other comments that they are vastly superior to any of the commercial trail foods.
I've had the opportunity to do some field testing as well as try a few things at home.
It still works out best if you put the vittles into a 1 litre pot. cover with the reccommended amount of water (specified on the label), bring to a boil and then let it set for a couple of minutes.
Putting boiling water in the bag and then letting it set takes a while before the "crunch" is gone and everything is fully rehydrated.
based on the testing, I am now dicing ingredients even finer, improving on the rehydration time.
"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson
Putting boiling water in the bag and then letting it set takes a while before the "crunch" is gone and everything is fully rehydrated.
Yup, 20 minutes in the bag, with a few exceptions, is the general minimum rehydration time to get rid of unwanted hard spots. The big advantages are zero danger of burning, minimal fuel used, and practically zero clean up with the rehydrate-inna-bag method. There's always something else to be done during the 20 minutes. Either method works.
I just returned from a week with a training crew of 24 people (split into much smaller independent trek groups) in Low's and Lila/Bog with food I had dehydrated. They all loved the meals.
"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
In summer too. I made a small bag from scrap fleece for my mini-Trangia stove and pot that serves well. After 20 minutes the food is still too hot to eat without blowing to cool it. For larger groups you need to get someone to volunteer their fleece jacket before you tell them about bear stories and smells in clothing (sealed in a bag there should not be too much smell transferred, compared to a sloppy eater).
"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
I made a cozy specifically for the plastic bags from a windshied sun shade i found at a tag sale, you know, one of the silver bubble type ones, it works fine, just takes awhile to rehydrate everything.
As wlderns said, if less to carry and no clean up trumps time, then the plastic-bag cozy is the way to go. It would work excellent with the jet boil.
Hawk
"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson
Nearly two dozen at this site: http://www.antigravitygear.com/products.php?cat=13 . All types, all sizes. The guy who makes the stuff is an exceptional human being, too, so it's a good place to do business. He does a lot for the hiking community. I bought one of the cozies that fits my pot.
Last edited by redhawk; 08-21-2007, 08:10 AM.
Reason: Added website url
"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson
My hikeing buddies Dan the Man & One of the Guys, plus our lean-to-mate, were delighted with everything. Preparation (simple), Quality (top notch), Quantity (very generious), Price (competitive).
Five stars,
I'll gladly purchase more when weight & quality grub are in conflict.
Little Rickie & Friends.
Let there be peace on earth and good will toward all.
Update: I tried Hawk's Sausage and Elbows. It takes a little longer to cook as it requires a soak, but so far this is hands down the best of the Vittles I have tried.
-Macaroni was perfectly hydrated, not mushy at all.
-The sauce was well seasoned and had a little spice to it, it stuck well to the macaroni and sausage.
-The sausage was firm and tasty (big chunks too, I was worried they might not completely rehydrate. No more worries!
Almost as good as the taste was the texture of this dish. It was well worth the extra time it takes to prepare.
I see now he allows you to order the dish in a variety of "spiciness", I don;t know what level I had but it was perfect for me. Once again Hawk, nice job.
"There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service
More work to do, got to put in pages explaining shipping charges and see if i can get a forum incorporated into it.
The shopping cart is working, but for some reason it doesn't return to the page with the "continue shopping". however since it open a separate window, you only have to switch back to the products page.
The cart does figure the shipping and it uses paypal for handling of credit cards. I'm sure that I'll have some issues so bear with me. I'll work on what i know about right now and in the meantime, any critique or suggestions are welcome.
Hopefully I'll have the hawk vittles logo graphic which is being designed by a professional before too long. it will replace the lake effect graphic currently on the home page.
I intend to add a downloadable order form for those who prefer using the mail. Thats next on my list.
"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson
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