Owner: N/A
Used since: 2012
Tested by: Thomas
Review by: Thomas
Primary Use: Multi-Day Adventures where weight savings are critical
Review:
My friends and me only started to try these dehydrated meals a few years ago when we were looking for a way to conserve weight on our multi-day hikes. Water and food contributes to the highest percentage of weight in the backpack. While there is not much you can do about the weight of water/drinks, dehydrated food is an awesome way to save weight on the food items. Backcountry Cuisine became the leader in the market with its popularity soaring fast over the past few years. There are other brands available, however most shops just stock Back Country Cuisine. The food is actually much better than it looks like and can really be simply cooked by adding boiling water. I found there is no need for extra seasoning either compared to cheaper instant noodle meals you get from the super market shelfs. So although its expensive, for many of us these meals are the best for multi-day hiking trips where weight is a key concerns.
Pros:
- Great flavours, hardly any need for extra seasoning
- No extra pot or plate required - water can just be added, eat straight out from the pack
- Packs away clean due to zip lock system on the bag
Cons:
- Expensive - 2-person meal pack costs around 15AUD. If you are hungry after a full day out (which would be the case for most of us), you will find that you easily eat a 2-person meal alone. So going on a 5-day trip with one BCC meal every night will cost you 75$!
- Limited flavours available. Vegetarians will find it hard to find much choice in the available meals, although BCC does make improvements with new flavours coming out.
Comment:
Especially useful is the zip lock bag design because after you finish your meal you can just zip it up and don't make your bag dirty and smelly with the empty food containers.
Manufacturer Website:
http://backcountrycuisine.co.nz/bcc/