Beef Chili with Beans Self-Heating Backpack Meal

I've been involved with emergency preparedness for decades + Army vet. I've tried every product under the sun, civilian and military. This fits a niche that is a complete meal unto itself. Good balance of protein, carbs & sodium that you need in a high stress situation. No refrig needed. If its stored in cool location you are likely to get more then 5 yr life. The real beauty is it is complete including the water mixture that activates the heater. Even with Army MRE's you need an outside water source. In addition, if you are careful, you could add in the cooking sack anything else you might want to heat if it is completely protected from exposure to the water mix. It gets really hot! And don't open it under your face; the steam will get you. A really nice touch is spoon, salt/pepper & napkin in included. In real emergencies, save napkin for fire-starter or bleeding (you really don't need to wipe your mouth..haha). Keep spoon in pocket for food that doesn't include utensils and conserve salt/pepper not used. Its only 220 calories, so this is more a pick-u-up snack then a serious meal. I would like to see the manufacturer make a 500 calorie packet and a 1000 cal packet (for 2). enjoy!

Flavor is a bit mild and sweet for me. Hot sauce makes it just fine. I keep a couple in the car. Had a power outage and found these handy. It gets plenty hot if you leave it in for longer than suggested. I also tilted the bag back and forth after 10 min and it got really hot again. I stuck some hot dogs in the bag with appropriate heat resistant. Cooked the chili and dogs both no problem. Even though the flavor needed a boost, it was a really good hearty meal in an emergency. You absolutely must have a couple.

Heater performed well (more like the highly energetic flameless ration heaters in many European rations than the typically underperforming heaters in US civilian or mil surplus MRE's...) The entree on the other hand had the typical "off" taste of the shelf-stable entree's in white oval trays from Hormel and certain weight-loss programs...

It’s cool that it includes the heating element. It tastes better than the MRE equivalent. It is one serving of one and is good when taking camping and you want a fast meal.

The chili tastes good and the self-heating function is easy to use.

These are great for camping or hiking. The heating instructions are easy to understand and follow.The flavor was ok. Not horrible, but not the best I've had. They seem a little pricey, but overall I'd say it was worth it.

The packaging is very nice. Very inviting. The ease of use for the self-heating pad and the time to cook was exactly as described. I live at sea level so the heater might require more time in mountain regions. The quality of the food and taste was very good. With some MRE's you get a weird taste in your mouth after the first few bites. Have another camping trip planned in two months and will be ordering more!!

Would diff recommend them for kids lunch