Blogger eats 5-year old survival ration and survives!

I have had a 2400 calorie block of Datrex survival rations since back in 2006, which I found during some cleaning/organizing this afternoon. These things will probably last forever, but they DO have a posted "expiration date"; this particular bar's was next month, so it was time to say goodbye.

5 years, baby.

I cracked it open and was greeted by the coconut-y smell of Datrex bars. Datrex are my preferred survival ration. In my opinion, they taste the best (dry short cake + hint of coconut = not bad) and they are individually wrapped in 200 calorie portions, which just makes them much easier to handle, eat and carry after you crack open the main package.

Each of the bars are individually wrapped in plastic.

These 5-year old bars looked like brand new Datrex bars, without any noticeable degradation in appearance. I ate half of one...dry and heavy as to be expected, with a bit less flavor than I remember from the fresher bars I've sampled. Otherwise, not bad. Definitely better than starving, and definitely better than you'd guess. This was about 3 hours ago, and I've experienced no negative side effects yet. If I go MIA though, you'll know why.

You can get Datrex bars on Amazon . They're compact, low in sodium (important if you're low on water), and have a 5-year shelf life. If I remember correctly, that shelf-life ISN'T shortened by high temperature, so they're a much better choice to keep in a vehicle during the summer months than MREs. Definitely not as appealing to eat, but for an emergency ration, they're a pretty good option.