Mountain House vs. Coleman

[Quad]

I have been buying the Mountain House freeze dried food bags from my local Wal Mart. Well they stopped carrying them in favor of those smaller Coleman bags.

Now my question is this:

The "Best if used by" date on the Mountain House is 7 years from now, but the Coleman is only 2 years. Now I figured they are the same freeze dried kind of food, but their dates would suggest otherwise as I thought this kind of stuff was good for several years minimum if kept in a cool dry place. Can anyone enlighten me as to why there would be such a drastic difference in shelf life?

Thx...

 

[Westside]

I am pulling at air here sot his is just best guess but my first thought would be quality of packaging. Take a look at the packaging material and see if they are different The coleman bags might be plastic where as the mountain house is mylar or something similar.

 

[ViperJock]

I *think* Dick's still has Mountain House? --If you prefer it.

 

[Quad]

I am pulling at air here sot his is just best guess but my first thought would be quality of packaging. Take a look at the packaging material and see if they are different The coleman bags might be plastic where as the mountain house is mylar or something similar.

Well, I'm no expert at packaging material, but they seem to be the same type. And while I know they still have Mountain House at Dicks, the price is at least a couple bucks more than Wal Mart used to be.

I may just have to suck it up and buy from Dicks. The extra shelf life alone would be worth the extra $ I suppose.

 

[Westside]

OK so I did some google fu and this is what I found. Mountain house freeze dries all of the ingredients in their pouches. Where as coleman uses both freeze dried and dehydrated ingredients in the same pouch. I would place my bets that this is the reason for the shortened shelf life.

 

[FWShooter]

Head down to Earth Adventures in Fort Wayne on Wells Street. About the same price as Wally World and more variety.

I know 21st out in Bluffton carries them and very reasonably priced too.

Dicks and Gander are insanely overpriced on them.

 

[Quad]

OK so I did some google fu and this is what I found. Mountain house freeze dries all of the ingredients in their pouches. Where as coleman uses both freeze dried and dehydrated ingredients in the same pouch. I would place my bets that this is the reason for the shortened shelf life.

Rep for the Google fu Appreciate the response! Agree with the fact that that is probably why. Thx

Head down to Earth Adventures in Fort Wayne on Wells Street. About the same price as Wally World and more variety.

I know 21st out in Bluffton carries them and very reasonably priced too.

Dicks and Gander are insanely overpriced on them.

Didn't know that 21st carried them. Just another reason for me to get my hind end down there. Thx...

 

[FWShooter]

Rep for the Google fu Appreciate the response! Agree with the fact that that is probably why. Thx

Didn't know that 21st carried them. Just another reason for me to get my hind end down there. Thx...

PM Gamez235 and he should be able to tell you what he has in stock. Last time I was there a couple months ago they had a great selection and the 10# ones too.

 

[XtremeVel]

And if your impressed with their 7 yr self life in the pouches, check out their # 10 cans... The life on them is 25-30 years ! Last I checked though, the cans were hard to find...

 

[indiver]

Earth Adventurers is on Main st. in Fort Wayne and GI Joes is on Wells st.
Just so know one is confused.

 

[mdeshon]

Rusted Moon has the Mountain House Dinners for a dollar less than walmart and they have a better selection

 

[FWShooter]

Earth Adventurers is on Main st. in Fort Wayne and GI Joes is on Wells st.
Just so know one is confused.

Crap!

When I was typing that I was trying to find Brewer's Art Supply's hours.

 

[FWShooter]

And if your impressed with their 7 yr self life in the pouches, check out their # 10 cans... The life on them is 25-30 years ! Last I checked though, the cans were hard to find...

From what I have heard though once you open then the clock start ticking on them and they go bad quick.

 

[XtremeVel]

From what I have heard though once you open then the clock start ticking on them and they go bad quick.

You've heard right ! They vacuum all the oxygen out before sealing and flush with nitrogen... Once opened, it's more like regular food. They say within a week if left dried, much shorter if you hydrate it though. Keep in mind a #10 can isn't as big as you might think... Maybe the average entree is around 10 servings only... Even a small family would have no issue finishing the opened can within the time frame.

 

[Gamez235]

We are sold out of Mountain House, it was surprisingly a tough sell in the shop (we sold a bunch online though) and we ended up just taking it all home.

 

[Quad]

We are sold out of Mountain House, it was surprisingly a tough sell in the shop (we sold a bunch online though) and we ended up just taking it all home.

I guess I should've gotten down there sooner then...

 

[Iroquois]

If you're looking for Mountainhouse look up Emergency Essentials online. They have
a wide selection but I haven't compared prices with anybody else. They also have other survival goods like grain mills and water filters. Let us know if they are competitively
priced.