Field Stripping Rations

How I strip and prepare my rations for use in the field. I talk through the reasons why, and what I prioritise when prepping my rations, and how I organise them to load into my gear.
This advice is based on over 30 years of field soldiering both on exercises and operations.

[@alannilsen5818]

"Screech!" I haven't heard that in years! Brought back some memories! Good skills!

[@memomomomomo185]

Great video and exactly how I strip my rations. Bloody hate those "energy" drinks. One thing I do is always make sure I pack my next meal in my webbing. So after breakfast, lunch goes straight in the webbing.

[@petesheppard1709]

Back in the day of American C-rations in cans, we picked boxed meals at random from an upside-down case, then shoved the cans into socks for carry in our packs or pockets. If time and conditions permitted, bartering ration components was a favorite chow time activity.

[@user-eg3yv3xr7s]

I always found that the items I didn't want were good to trade for what the other guys had, so I made it a point to put them in a bag also.

[@timec2002]

Always hilarious watching recruits trying to ram the complete old school 24hr rat pack boxes into bergans before being told by the training team to break them down as per your method. The snacks seem a bit more practical than when I was serving. But nobody from those days can forget “Biscuits, Brown” and Cheese, “Possessed” 😂😂

[@PreparedPathfinder]

Roger, they still have Biscuits Brown in some of the ration packs, they refuse to die! 😂

[@timec2002]

@@PreparedPathfinder Good god, those things should have been banned by the Geneva Convention years ago..!! I’ve seen a couple of people lose fillings/crowns on them..!! Happy days with army gourmet cuisine..!!! 😂😂

[@Tak8835]

I used to have a pile of them on my bed before we went out.... "Don't throw them, I'll have them." I must have been odd but I used to find them good to snack on. I remember having packs of them in a bag years after I got out and they were still good to munch on! 😂

[@mikel6517]

Good lived on biscuits brown for my snacks, should be in all the menus😮 filling

[@nomadmarauder-dw9re]

And chocolate.​@@mikel6517

[@Soggz7785]

Hi Tom. Great vid. Love the rat packs for wild camping, quick lunch at work, etc. I don’t have the powdered drinks, either. Contain aspartame which isn’t the best for a person. Love the bin lid biscuit’s. Bungs you up, though. Saves digging a hole.😉 all the best😉👍🏾🇬🇧

[@vern6573]

The quality now days in the modern ration packs I think are a massive improvement 👌🏻 great vid mate 👍🏻

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@vern6573 cheers! 👍

[@collinsaunderson9225]

Well done 👏🏻 I been a paratrooper in South Africa and we spend lots of time in the bush doing exactly what you are teaching and l can say l have watched most of his videos he is exceptionally good. Thanks for your time 👍🏻

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@collinsaunderson9225 cheers mate 👍

[@theodorossarafis7370]

Great video as always Personally in long range i have breakfast and dinner (when you make a camp). between the two i make a mix with nuts, cashews, dried bananas and dried apricots. Definately not plums. During winter i also add raising. This keeps me on the edge and it is nutricious and easy to digest. for the latter it is better since you do not get tired and in case of an injury it is better to be on an empty stomach. for breakfast and dinner i do field strip of the MRE. In Greece we have very good and nutricious MRE but they are bulky and heavy due to the fact that they use cans. I have for dinner a can of food (usually beans with meat or grapeleaves with rise). sometimes from the supermarket i can get pasta where you only add water. I usually put a variety of cans and pasta so i can have a variety for the same reasons you mentioned not get bored. However having something new i find it that it also boosts your morale. i do not use the power tactical foods because i find them with a bad taste and sometimes it is hard to digest. i also avoid energy drinks. i find them to dehydrate me more and cause me a bad stomach. i just have with me some electrolyte pills that i only use in case of a need and in warm weather during the night. for the water bottle you mentioned lately we have the tendency to break our water portion in various containers so if one container breaks you will not loose all your water. So for example years ago the tube in my camelback broke and i lost all my water plus i couldn't replenish it and as murphy says it happened during summer with 38 degrees!!!! not pleasant. So we have our camelback and some 500 ml bottles. One of them (usually collapsable) we have it so we can use it for energy drinks or electrolytes. For breakfast i prefer biscuits and a oatmeal bar and some dried fruits and assorted with honey which gives you energy. Also sometimes i have with me from the super market rice pudding which is dehydrated. You just add water and shake it a bit. For winter is amazing and very nutricious. Now the brew kit (i know you brits love it you even had brewers in your centurion tanks back in the day). I do not drink coffee (yeap i am not normal i know). i prefer tea which doesn't smell in the field and it has a nice flavor. again i take different teas per day so i can have variety eventhough i prefer black tea. also the issue of drinking water is tiring so to have another flavor is ideal. For tabasco you mentioned yeap i do have it for the flavor and for a case of a cold (something i learned from an american cowboy guy). the US MREs are for me quite bad. tasteless and i always had issue with going to the toilet. the only things i used from the US MRE is the self heating bag, the crackers and the cookies :) By the way in the greek MRE with have also puritabs, two hexamine blocks matches and 4 cigarettes An SOP we use is the following: for everyday on the march we take 1 MRE/day. for days that we are in observation post we use 1/3 of an MRE. So for example if we have 2 days infiltration, 2 days exfiltration and 6 days OP, we will not take 10 MREs but 6 MREs, which means something like 4 less kilograms As for the toilet paper personally i prefer baby wips since i can use them for the toilet, to clean up myself (neck, groin, armpits and feet) and to remove the camouflage if needed. there are some nice swedish cutlery kits (sorry i do not remember the name) which are made from hard core plastic. they are very light,very robust and or very good quality. I trully agree that we need to organize our own MREs because it depends on what we like, the environment (eg cold weather we need more calories) and of health issues (eg allergies or intollerance in certain foods). sorry for the long message. i hope you and your viewers find it interesting and i thank you once more for the knowledge you share because in every video i learn something new.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@theodorossarafis7370 thanks for your comments, it’s always good to have other people’s perspectives from around the world.

[@alpinealpine2793]

A message with good and valuable information, thank you.

[@mikel6517]

Bring back bacon grill tins. The snacks in the new stuff doesn’t look far enough energy for a person throughout the daytime. I remember needing the biscuits brown and the AB with the cheese or meat paste ( both I hated but they were fuel and a bit of taste to the biscuits, just) as well as the chocolate which was always tasteless, just to keep me going till the night.

[@RedDevil5081]

We call the toilet paper from MRE's "Shit Tickets". I ate British rations when we were there in March 91'. Stayed at Malta Barracks and the Salisbury Plains. That fruit drink was definately an eye popper. 😂 Thanks for sharing Tom! 🥃🍻🪂🫡🇺🇸

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@RedDevil5081 Malta barracks in Aldershot?

[@RedDevil5081]

@@PreparedPathfinder Correct! Suppose to jump, but it got cancelled. 🥃🍻🪂🫡🇺🇸

[@RedDevil5081]

@@PreparedPathfinder Got familiarized with the "Rat Pit" also. 🤣

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@RedDevil5081 roger, we just missed each other then! I was in Montgomery Lines Aldershot in 1990, then Northern Ireland 91-93, then back to Aldershot.

[@RedDevil5081]

@@PreparedPathfinder The world is small, but its still a Drop Zone. Cheers! 🥃🍻🪂🫡🇺🇸

[@Echo_Mike]

Fantastic video mate

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@Echo_Mike cheers mate 👍

[@trafalgertradingcoyltd]

We used to keep 1 x sachet of sugar packed drink to share between the lads at the end of the water bottles to get extra salt and sugar in before night recces.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

Even doing the Fan Dance in the days of tinned rat packs, I was never hungry enough to eat a whole pack of lemon dextrose…

[@foobar9229]

I had the same dilemma about the drink powder. So I don't put it directly into the bottle but I put some powder into my cup and then I close the bag with duct tape for later use.

[@Daily.ClipsUk]

Great video, you should do a video of you and some mates playing a airsoft event. Have you ever done air soft, its quite fun, I'm sure you would be good at it

[@Chubby_T0511]

The newer rations got, the more I seemed to throw away. I miss the burger and beans and hot pots. Im also one of those sadists that misses the biscuits brown and chicken paté.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@Chubby_T0511 l’m with you on all those points mate, l really miss Corned Beef Hash too!

[@Chubby_T0511]

@PreparedPathfinder absolutely. One of my oppos didn't speak to me for a few days over his disgust that I liked corn beef hash. Thinking back, it may well have been because I put hot sauce in his favourite pudding when I nipped off to get orders. Either way, I stand by my choices.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@Chubby_T0511 mega 😂

[@KiwiUK71]

I like the drinks you binned just because i don't drink tea or coffee and yes i agree that once you add the drink powder your water can't be used for other stuff but would you only have 1lt of water i don't think so. But thanks for showing the way you prep you rations made a lot of sense

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@KiwiUK71 absolutely not, l’d normally carry 3-4 litres of water, but they’re not always going to be full are they? Plus as l said, it taints your waterbottle.

[@mdog1615]

i bought a case of these ration packs last year. i broke them all down into their individual item categories and made a bag with all the drink powders in it , one with all the tea/coffee , one with all the snacks , one with all the main meal pouches etc etc. When i go hunting or camping i just make up a big ziplock freezer bag from all the different items i want for the time im going out. i supplement it with peak refuel or mountain house meals and a couple cans of stew or soup , can make a good 3-5 day food kit with that combo.

[@leemichel8199]

I try to strip mine,similar to your way ,i do add extras ,but i guess we all do .god bless you and your family, and happy camping 🏕 😀 😊 🙏. Lee

[@hampshireoutdoorsandsurviv9340]

a great practical video it will help a lot of folks mate

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@hampshireoutdoorsandsurviv9340 cheers mate 👍

[@stephenscragg8562]

Totally agree with you, the rations need stripping down, lots of items I dont like, never made a good brew out of the brew pack, but if its warm & wet it gets you by. I did chuckle when i saw your racing spoon as I still have mine , racing spoon SOP's 😂 stay safe Tom love the channel.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@stephenscragg8562 cheers mate! 👍

[@kevinroche3334]

I always understood the fruit drink powders were there to help mask the flavour of the water purification tablets - and should be added to the cup not the bottle.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@kevinroche3334 l doubt that’s the main reason behind them. TBH when in the field getting the chance to decant half your waterbottle into a cup and being able to drink it at your leisure isn’t something you get the opportunity to do very often.

[@mvis]

Sambal is Indonesian and, since we had once colonized those islands, it's pretty much in all Dutch kitchen cabinets. However, the sachet ones are a poor representation of true sambal. I'd ditch those too.

[@phillbrotheridge4014]

Haven't heard anyone say F'nar for years. Showing your age mate. Even as a civvi, I've always stripped my ration packs to save space and weight with stuff I already have in my gear.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@phillbrotheridge4014 l say it most days tbh 😂

[@robertwood1416]

Viz reference!

[@phillbrotheridge4014]

Yep. I used to read Viz

[@graehamquilliam7019]

I drink the friut powder with hot water. Nice on a cold day.

[@Swish82]

Very cool. I'd love to try those rations and compare them to the MRE here in the U.S.

[@prometheus_beard]

Nice mate. I think it's a good example of there being a lot more to most things than many realise too. What do you think of the civvy ones like wayfarer meals? Cheers.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

Cheers, yeah they're decent, pretty much the same as the army rations tbh.

[@prometheus_beard]

@@PreparedPathfinder Cool, cheers.

[@PokeEyeSlapSlap]

Top Video Tom, I actually do the same. Keep Well & Healthy Brother. 👏👏👏👏

[@BlesamaSoul]

As ever sound advice and examples for those who need to develop their knowledge and skills. I was ticking off what i would bin and keep as you went along, the Sag was a bin for me it's awful and the gum (a few) was a keep as a few days of this stuff and it helps clean you teeth along the way in addition to brushing when you can. These days as the knees and back are not grade 1 like a 21yr old I have swapped a lot of the wet ration for freeze dried stuff, the usual suppliers can help and likewise the US winter ration is useful as the packs are small for main bits of the meals with loads of calories as required. As you said each to their own and what works for you. Might be useful follow up video to do something on long range/long duration food supplies and how you can mix up freeze dried and wet meals to complete a task/journey/mission? I did chuckle at the bin pile here, you can just imagine some bod posted to a desk in the MOD holding their head in their hands watching you bin all the powdered drinks and excess guff, previously they'd been clapping themselves on the back for popping this stuff into the brown bag and hoping the tutti fruiti would make up for losing the mixed fruit cake in a tin! Anyhow another great video and I've told her ladyship (she loved the D-Day para jump video) later this year in the colder weather Tom is going to come up and use the woods/moors nearby to wild camp and cook an airborne stew for her and the local ladies, she wanted to know would you need any of our beef or venison.........probably not (-:

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@BlesamaSoul that sounds good mate!

[@MICHAEL-wg2lh]

Good vid mate 👍

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@MICHAEL-wg2lh cheers 👍

[@biggles4444]

Dont forget the hat snacks and the ammo pouch monster.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

Can't say I'm familiar with either of those.

[@SkorpionFlux]

How rations have changed from spam, bully beef, peaches, to this. in more recent history I used American MRE's, not that great but stripped them down and did more or less what you did @PreparedPathfinder except I dumped all I wanted to keep in one bag and taped that up but trying to keep it water and bug proof. Nowadays when I go on a hike/camping I prepare meals then dehydrate them, wrap in baking paper then vacuum seal. (Baking Paper helps prevent anything sharp like rice breaking through the bag). I make my own rations because it's cheaper, lighter and healthier, yes I need water to rehydrate the meals but not a lot is needed for this. I don't bother with fruit drinks, I drink either water, hot tea, coffee. I carry a long handled titanium spork and a short handled one as a back up and for using with drinks.

[@B-uk8eo]

95% agree, I also use the clear bags for putting a spare of undies and socks in my bergan

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@B-uk8eo roger, l use a dry bag for that.

[@B_Squadron_Y_Patrol_Planchet]

@@PreparedPathfinder paras just don't go commando ;)

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@B_Squadron_Y_Patrol_Planchet nope, that’s just bad drills 🤷‍♂️

[@MrAndywills]

Old enough to have used tinned rations. Always carried tabasco sauce to give (or mask) flavours. Felt like Screech took the outer layer of tooth enamel off. Rations have improved.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@MrAndywills they certainly have! I used tinned rations too, it always makes me laugh when older guys reminisce about how great they were - they were gash!

[@mikel6517]

Yes except for bacon grill. Would eat that everyday

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@mikel6517 weird bloke 😂

[@mikel6517]

Totally😢

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@mikel6517 😂😂

[@robertwood1416]

I pretty much go along with you on this PP. I recently saw the ORP brown outer bag with a zip lock seal as opposed to the carrier bag type. I tend to keep an outer bag to put gash in (never know when you are going to next see the CQMS!).

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@robertwood1416 roger, l use one of the empty brew zip lock bags for my gash. We never got to see a CQMS in the PF, we had to carry it all! I haven’t seen those new bags, that’ll be a great improvement.

[@markdriver9170]

hate those sporks i find compressed against a food pouch they cay damage them

[@steveo1963]

Gone are the days of strange coloured Rolo's and Yorkie's :)

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@steveo1963 yeah they took out all of the chocolate after they exploded in the heat in Afghanistan and lraq.

[@MICHAEL-wg2lh]

Haha remember the limited edition Yorkies we all got in about,2006 that said " not for civvies" lol we got a load in Belize but by the time we opened them it was just a few sugar Chrystals left with the heat 😂, I preferred the Duncan's chocolate to be honest

[@Nofixedabode859]

Hi tom m8 a personal question if ya don’t mind, other than all your hill tabs what you do to keep in shape as you can see it’s not just hill work thx?

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@Nofixedabode859 l go to the gym 4 days a week mate.

[@MIFWIC666]

I was chuffed once when the csgt told us he'd got a load of kosher and halal packs on date. The kosher one had a lemon sponge dessert. But one thing I did was go through the discarded crap box and get a rolled oats, hot chocolate and a couple of sugars. You could do them together hot or cold and get some calories in. Also artic packs, oats, apple flakes. The other top tip off this ex ninja killer death squad guy we had in the TA was, boil your breakfast, do your main and desert at the same time, put the main and desert in your sleeping bag . So later that night it's still warmish if it's dark when you get in the harbour. I passed this gem onto the regular guys I did an attachment to. They all said it was an ok hack . The platoon commander did say, it was a wank idea if you'd got peaches and syrup. On the cuttlery, we were banned from plastic, we had to have metal so everyone had a clip together kfs.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

Ha ha, that's Websters! 😂

[@MIFWIC666]

@@PreparedPathfinder but the cooking main/evening cut both ways you could cook the evening and breakfast together, then leave breakfast warm in your gonk bag, till you got back in the early hours. But as I said, Mr Jones of the Sandhurst debating team, expressed his dislike of warm peaches in syrup. I also felt the none pc csgt making comments about kosher menu and my nose was a bit rough, but funny, and it was different times 😂

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@MIFWIC666 roger, bit naughty! 😂

[@sgtmajorparker4181]

your a good teacher. you make menial personal admin. interesting. all obvious but none the less extremely important. i just wish garibaldi's and bacon roll in tin was still a thing...(yes i hear you on the tin weight)

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@sgtmajorparker4181 cheers 👍

[@ptouchpaul]

Great video thanks, have you tried the French army rations, gotta be the best - only my opinion 😀

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@ptouchpaul l did, but around 30 years ago, l didn’t rate them tbh. They’ve probably changed now though.

[@ptouchpaul]

@@PreparedPathfinder I never tried them that long ago but Oh Man, its like 5 * dining now - fantastic pack of grub, would love to hear your opinion on one of the current ones please

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@ptouchpaul send me one and I'll do a review! The ones I tried were when I was on exercise with 2 REP, they had little bottles of wine in!

[@RedDevil5081]

I've eaten French, British, Belgian and Italian. French ones weren't bad. The British ones were probably my favorite. Italian ones came with a little bottle of Cordial and small packet of Grappa.

[@neilcastell6951]

those drink powders are mostly sugar, personally i preferred the old hard boiled sweets (even the green ones) ... the wet wipes have bromide in them, (years ago it was in the tea, but i guess lots of the youngster dont like tea these days) Are flameless heaters not included anymore ?

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@neilcastell6951 not in the standard 24 hour packs.

[@user-xt9kl1vm3z]

Bromide in wet wipes?

[@gazlyno]

Always keep the hand sanitizers if and when you need to take a dump in the field. This wasn't a issue with the old 80s rat pack ie biscuit browns AB (arse blockers) lol

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@gazlyno yeah they’re useful for that, l don’t bother myself though.

[@robertdowns8182]

I generally put my daily ration in individual bags(ziplock) with then becomes trash bags. As far as a brew kit I generally only have a hot drink in the morning. But this is because I choose to be in the woods. My military time was on submarines so generally the food was as good as you could get depending on the op. A long one wasn't great nothing fresh frozen and canned, still probably better than an infantryman, but we still bitched LOL

[@PreparedPathfinder]

It's your right to bitch hey? Ha ha!

[@robertdowns8182]

@@PreparedPathfinder That and talking trash LOL

[@journeyman7189]

Great stripping video Tom. Field stripping that is. No peanut butter? Say it isn't so. Nate

[@PreparedPathfinder]

@@journeyman7189 there is in some menus, not all of them.

[@user-eg3yv3xr7s]

I never liked chewing gum, but I always had some to trade away for a smoke here and there.

[@PreparedPathfinder]

That tends to happen before you go out of the wire really, in my experience.