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  1. #1

    Default Emergency ration heaters - what is your experience

    Being a bit of a "prepper" (which was a dis and is now thought to be semi cool again), I think that it is always a good time to review survival kit and Urban BugOut bag contents.

    For food/bev heating fuel, I have always just had some of those Hexamine tabs like the ones found in SANDF rat packs (a pack of 8 usually retails for around R25). They are also a great way to start fires quickly and have a long shelf life (this weekend, I lit some from rat packs from the 90s....they worked perfectly).

    The Quartermaster has packs of 50 for R80: https://www.thequartermaster.co.za/fuel-tablets which is a bargain, IMO.

    Has anyone here had experience with the flameless ration heaters, like the ones sold by Cerberus Tac?

    https://cerberustac.co.za/shop/food/...on-heater.html

    What was your experience? How do they compare to using fuel tabs, and what is their shelf life like?

    [Plugs for TheQuarterMaster and Cerberus are intentional....They are great businesses, run by good peeps and they are part of the GS community]

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Emergency ration heaters - what is your experience

    I have the MRE ready to eat heaters. From Tacqm.

    Don’t see any expiry dates. Also have not had one fail on me yet.

    I have used one as a heating bottel on a cold night.



    I also have the fuel tabs. Its a sealed pack and they are showing some discolouration. I have not tested them. Stored for 5 years now.


  3. #3
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    Default Re: Emergency ration heaters - what is your experience

    Just some random FYI and cool experiments


  4. #4

    Default Re: Emergency ration heaters - what is your experience

    Thanks Grobbie

    Those are exactly the two products that I am referring to....Using the MRE heater as a water bottle on a cold night is also a great idea, and another big up for the MRE heaters. Another thing that I like about the MRE heaters is that you could (in a push) activate it and start heating, then return the whole package to your pack (possibly inside another bag) and keep moving......assuming that you are needing to be somewhere else and have not set up the dining table replete with linen, silverware and crystal...along with ambient mood lighting, etc.

    Thanks P2W - that is a pretty cool.....but I would not use my Louisiana Holy Water....Avery Island's best (aka Tabasco)....on experiments like that

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Emergency ration heaters - what is your experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Grobbie View Post
    I have the MRE ready to eat heaters. From Tacqm.

    Don’t see any expiry dates. Also have not had one fail on me yet.

    I have used one as a heating bottel on a cold night.



    I also have the fuel tabs. Its a sealed pack and they are showing some discolouration. I have not tested them. Stored for 5 years now.

    I had some donkeys year old fuel tablets like that and even though the packaging went more cream then white, it still burnt very well.
    I own an Esbit mini cooker that comes with about 10 small fuel tablets and it works wonderfully for heating up food or boiling water

  6. #6

    Default Re: Emergency ration heaters - what is your experience

    Quote Originally Posted by BBT View Post
    I had some donkeys year old fuel tablets like that and even though the packaging went more cream then white, it still burnt very well.
    I own an Esbit mini cooker that comes with about 10 small fuel tablets and it works wonderfully for heating up food or boiling water
    I have had similar experiences....the packaging on some of mine had gone brittle and started to come apart, but the tabs still burnt well. I also used these fuel tabs in my Esbit. The way the Esbit folds open is really clever. When I had finished the little tabs that came with the Esbit, I used the stove to store a lighter and matches. Need to get another Esbit...mine was expropriated somewhere along the line.

    With the important things like fuel/heating/fire (same for lights, blades, water, water carrying, shelter) we would plan in some level of redundancy - so my plan is to include some of both, as while there is overlap - they both have features that may be useful.

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