The BEST Backpacking FOOD HACKS

[@GIRLplusDOGAdventures]

I started using 1.5mm Neoprene vs Reflectix for all things cozy/koozie. You can order a yard of it on Amazon. It has the same heat retention as the Reflectix, is less bulky, and can easily roll up or compress down so fits better in your pack. Plus the colors that are usually cheap are the ugliest, which makes the best camp talk.

[@mac1guy11]

"You mean foraging??" Then Andy's expression 😂😂

[@TheHungryHiker]

I feel you on the collapsible spoons and getting food all over your fingers. Ever since I bought a long handled spoon, I haven’t looked back!!

[@MindKontrolleProject]

Wild blueberries and raspberries? What fantasy trail are you on MacGyver?

[@Doc_Watson]

I have been using the Ozark Trail long handled spoon

[@JasonFerguson1283]

Dudes, this was a really valuable KZbin video!! Thank you!

[@GarouLady]

With glass so breakable, you might want to search for a tin canister that is liquid tight. I just bought a sesame seed oil tin container I'm upcycling into a soaking container. also a normal regular PB plastic container could be used to soak your meals in and would cut down on the ziplock bags and easier to clean out too.

[@ArmstrongSurvival]

I love my reflectix cozy! Still going strong after 6 years. I second just buying the long spoon. I bought the longer spoon too after getting chili mac and beef all over my knuckles. The small folding spoons just aren't worth it. A lot of times, if using prepackaged dehydrated meals, I'll repackage them with my vacuum sealer to save space and have less packaging on the trail.

[@ItsAdventureTime1]

I love how Kevin tries to do the using my phone under the table while in a meeting thing... Just pull the phone out. Otherwise we all really wonder what you are actually doing under that table.

[@rowanmulvey8632]

HA! Busted

[@DadsBackpackTrip]

I started dehydrating food last year after watching you two show off the ease and benefits. It really is worth it and it makes mealtime more enjoyable. Those store bought meals have a ton of sodium. Also, when Kevin looks down at his phone under the table I can’t help but think he looks like he is trying to cheat on a test...;)

[@commentsonthetube14]

What do you all eat for lunch? I usually do overnights and don't do trail lunch.

[@Kedger]

Great hacks and tips guys! I've become a 'micro-trash' collector when on trail. Seeing it is a personal pet peeve. So, I try to remove it before the next hiker suffers the same pain I've just experienced. Fair winds

[@mbarr1029]

I made a mountain house cuzzy, works as a sit pad, kneeling down pad, hammock foot insulation pad. Priceless piece of gear for me.

[@leeennddaa853]

(and honestly I think it was my favorite piece of gear I bought all last year)

[@ChrisBrown-gw5tg]

I took a shot everytime you said hack! I'm in trouble... Great video guys!

[@roscoegoesoutdoors9205]

I'm going to try the Foodsaver resealable bags for my dehydrated food. Not sure if the bags can handle boiling water yet.

[@mikitta47]

1. That Bic lighter is in Walmart for a little over $2, I think. I was thinking about getting one last time I was there. 2. Long handle spoon. I hate eating out of bags. I don't like it with the purchased dehy or freeze-dried meals, I don't like it with my own dehy meals. I got a GSI Infinity Mug and use a foldable spork. Works like a charm and I just don't eat a huge amount - seriously, 2 cups rehydrated volume MAX at a meal. I rehydrate my meal in the mug. A long handle spork would just be in the way. But everyone is different :) 3. Something I do because yes, I do package each meal in its own little baggie, all my meal prep trash and clean up for that meal goes in the baggie. The empty baggie goes in my food bag. Prior to leaving a campsite, after everything is packed up, I do a final trash sweep to make sure I don't leave anything behind. 4. Burning ... in Colorado ... I hope that was in the winter. I used to live in that region (Laramie, Wyoming for 25 years). You generally don't burn anything after all the snow melts and before the snow falls again. It's just too dry. 5. Have you guys tried any of the silicon baggies, by chance?

[@gregorymock]

Here's a bonus hack, instead of the long lighter just get a dry leaf, light the end of that and use it to light your alcohol stove.

[@petitehiker754]

These were some very good and valuable tips. I’ve been struggling a bit coming up with a good meal plan for backpacking. Not a fan of using lots of disposable plastics for example. Have also been considering getting a dehydrator and making my own meals as I refuse the instant noodles and tortillas with peanut butter for example :p Don’t see how that is nutritious. I think this video was the last bit of convincing I needed to get started with that.

[@brianfairweather7298]

Love the TRT sign on the wall! Great vid!

[@juketreks2192]

I use a GSI Fairshare Mug. I dump my Freeze dried meals in plastic bags to save weight and then dump the meal in my GSI mug (That has a cozy) and eat meal out of it (3 cup max) and store my stove gas lighter and sponge inside. It has a screw on cover too.

[@mikitta47]

I wish the Infinity mug had a screw-on lid, too. The Fair Share is just too big for me.

[@juketreks2192]

@@mikitta47 The infinity mug doesn’t hold a Mountain house meal in it and it also doesn’t nest a Toaks 750 inside it like the Fairshare does.

[@mikitta47]

@@juketreks2192 Strange as it might seem, I can't eat a whole mountainhouse when Im backpacking. My appetite goes way down. The Infinity nests nicely inside a 550 ml Ti pot and easily holdz the 100 to 110 grams of food that I will be rehydrating plus the water I'm doing it with. I tried going with the bigger meals and ended up having to pack out and throw 1/3 of them away.

[@juketreks2192]

@@mikitta47 Good for you. It’s awesome to have som many choices now. When I started doing this in the 70’s there were very few choices. I’m a big fellow so I eat a MH meal and still have room for more. When I rode a bicycle across country we would eat 12000 calories a day and I lost a lot of weight. Hard part was slowing that intake down when I was done. Happy trails.

[@walkerways8695]

If your alcohol stove is a supercat stove you can light it by sending the flame through one of the holes in the side.

[@thomasjessen]

Do you also go on hiking trips?

[@overweighthikerwannabe901]

I don't see a link to the lighters. Good video though.

[@2princessmama]

That lighter looks great for a safety meeting.

[@rowanmulvey8632]

It's all about the safety factor! Gotta have those safety meetings😎

[@mjlcc55]

I went out today and bought one of those Bic EZ Reach lighters. Mine was a $3 piece of crap. I loved the idea, but it just won't light. At first it took 5-10 clicks, not it won't start at all. I hope they can get them figured out, I love the idea.

[@jonsanford2515]

A warning about pre-cooking meals at home and reheating... If you’re not storing it cold, bacteria will start to grow on it. Then, when you’re warming up a meal, you probably aren’t getting it hot enough to kill all the bacteria, like you do when cooking it. Especially anything with meat. A Boy Scout camp in my area had a massive food poisoning issue from preparing group food this way a few summers ago. The camp kitchen cooked the food, then delivered it to where the scouts were camping. They just had to warm it when they were ready to eat. I believe pre cooked bacon was the culprit.

[@davidson_oldbull_sectionhiker]

You guys are hackin crazy which I love. Have a great weekend.

[@GarouLady]

I have a long handled teaspoon from nestle quik that i got 30 yrs ago LOL. Works a treat totally.

[@shawnr6117]

I literally just bought a dehydrator last week. That style of lighter has been out for at least 2-3 years, you can get them at a dollar store

[@overindulgent]

You guys are the hacks! lol Thanks for the videos and podcasts. They really brighten my days when I can't get outdoors.

[@DragonRoams]

Great job pointing out responsible burning of your trash.

[@tomnoyb8301]

Titanium-spoon goes in the tent-stake bag.

[@justjonoutdoors]

Those lighters are the absolute bomb! I bought a 6-pack the minute I saw them. Makes lighting the stoves (both alcohol and isobutane) SO much easier. No singed hairs my whole last trip!

[@marionbreach6553]

Great tips! Thanks!

[@glendabaghian1145]

Cut down an Amazon padded plastic packaging envelope as a cozy for freezer bag meals. Free, no build time or trip to the hardware store, weighs nothing, durable placemat on the trail, and lays flat in your food bag. After the meal, clean the freezer bag for reuse by swishing water in the sealed bag and drinking. 1 hack & 1 tip -- ha.

[@kyliemcelrath4560]

Thanks for being conscious of your plastic usage! Happy Earth Day!

[@johnh5648]

Those liters are generally called "candle" liters. really cheep on line

[@tommybewick]

You guys got me dehydrating my food, works great! Thanks 👍

[@marie-claudetaschereau9355]

"you're gonna get food all over your hands"... i just cut the bag to get to the bottom.

[@jbstuff]

You guys are great. Good info. I'm gonna skip the foraging though.

[@jeffccr3620]

Should have labeled this video Hacks from Hacks! I kid i kid

[@tacklebill4835]

Great! Very entertaining and informative. Thanks. Im making a koozy now.

[@PisgahGravelProject]

My favorite food tactic is "first night feast" We can all agree that backpacking food sucks. It does. The end. I have been packing a steak and potato for the first night. Wrap the potato in foil. Drop in coals for an hour, turning every 20min. Cook steak on coals or in foil. Get butter packets from KFC for the potato and pre-season the steak at home. Idgaf how "heavy" it is. The first day you're jacked up on adrenaline, that little bit of extra weight doesn't mean jack squat when you're sitting eating a steak and baked potato and your buddies are eating some crappy knorr side or tuna mac. Sure inevitably I'll have to eat crappy food too, but I'll postpone it if I can. Same can be said for a Subway sandwich. Pack it in, treat it for dinner on night 1. Also have done fast food cheeseburgers. Wrap them in foil, throw them on the coals for a minute on each side. Eat good on the first night. There is absolutely no reason or excuse not to. Same goes for thru hiking. Eat good on the first night after town. It does amazing things for morale!

[@rockytopwrangler2069]

... BUTT FIRST !! ... .. don't need long handled sporks ,, after food stirred heated ,, seal strip ,turn package quarter turn ,, cut open across lenghtwise ,, standard size utincels work fine .. Newer packaged MountaIn house is sealed to the short depth ... ... save spending on reflectix material,, go to housing projects ,check dumpsters for the reflective material s used for AC duct wrapping,, sometimes ring half rolls that are 6 ft lengths,, also make thermal ground barrier for under air mattress ,, especially effective in winter.... make cozy warmers ,,extra sit pads , etc . ... all for free .. ... if using Ziploc bag for boiling foods, be sure to get freezer strength ,, standard bags can melt ... food in boil-in-bag used to be popular in the 60's-70's ,, may still be in grocery stores... usually was good meats etc. .....

[@woodchip2782]

Packing hacks would be great!

[@_Roasted_Marshmallow]

Back with the hacks!

[@rockytopwrangler2069]

... pack it in ..... pack it out ...it's lighter afterwards anyway .....BE RESPONSIBLE !! ..

[@alankee1065]

This is exactly what I was thinking.

[@walterc872]

Backpack hack attack!

[@southcoastoutdoorsuk6301]

Nice hacks guys way useful 👍

[@shadowsandwind]

So idk if everybody knows this or not cuz I’m pretty new to backpacking, also (disclaimer) idk if it’s unhealthy or not, but moving a mountain house meal over to a ziplock freezer bag saves a ton on volume. Plus i mean if you have a coozy anyway or are just a complete savage it’s not any worse IMO. After watching this I might try moving like a bunch of one meal to a gallon bag or something and then just reuse a quart freezer bag. Also the trash volume is reduced like a ton. Schill bros chill bros. S’all love.

[@mikitta47]

Instead of buying a bunch of MH "backpacking" food in the envelopes, get the big Emergency Prepper food in the #10 cans. It's the same stuff, just cheaper per serving and you can bag it at home to suit how much you like to eat and how many people you are feeding.

[@shadowsandwind]

@@mikitta47 ah yes, my bad. I didn’t mean to imply that the smaller bags were ideal or anything, I did watch the video and caught the whole number 10 can tip. I already had a few of the bags around though and idk what the cans cost but I just wanted to share a little bit with others who might be near a trip and sans-cans. The gallon bag down to quart bag thing is just taken from the advice they give in the video, and yes the cans or better still self-dehydrated shizzles would be the bizzles. I’m so bad at communication especially during manic episodes jaja ty for your thoughts bud.

[@briandevlin269]

I just never see the Mountain #10 can as an economical option. Hardly a discount at all.

[@madcat1007]

What is that guy doing looking at his phone, while doing a video. Incredible!!!

[@jasondunbar3667]

Maybe they are looking at the "script" to know what to talk about next. 🤷‍♂️

[@musingwithreba9667]

I have a lighter like that I bought at the dollar store.

[@Jaysus145]

What hat is that? The backwards one...

[@hermeticallysealed]

everything is edible once

[@duenge]

...and they have a collapsible spork in their gear recommendations....

[@fernwogteveril6935]

You must be really bored if you are arguing hacks vs. tips

[@briteshikes5099]

Mcflurry Spoon is a good alternative to a long handle TI spoon. Plus you get to eat icecream beforehand!

[@rageoid]

Cancel fauxstache immediately ! Credibility battered. Back to clean and 100% !

[@erict5878]

Another one..Pack all your Mountainhouse meals in zips. except one ( your first meal) then use THAT bag to dump your hot water in for the rest of your meals.

[@mustang774]

I could not finish watching this video as you guys were too wrapped up in your phones. Really......you can’t leave your phones for a few minutes to make a video? .......Take care, Bluefin.

[@ssam143]

A couple of hacks giving tips

[@clausvilliam]

I've got a good hack for you... Don't call your tips hacks..! 😜

[@mikedidomenico1]

WTF no bourbon on this video

[@jacobpoucher]

Those lighters are not new.

[@jereldonovan834]

Ok I'm going to be 'that guy' here...tips are not hacks. Using reflectix for a cozie = hack Buying big cans of bulk food = tip. Big fan and look forward to all your videos, hate to nit pic.

[@jacobpoucher]

I always throughly burn trash you won't be finding any of mine in firepits. micro trash is a pet peeve of mine also!

[@erict5878]

The trash from Swiss miss bags...oh NO.. just dump in all in one zip and spoon it out a serving at a time. Those swiss miss packets do not burn!