Ordered 2 cases of Mainstay Emergency Food Rations - Case of 10 Packs from Big Fly Sports via Amazon.com. For some reason, the shipment was split. One case was sent via UPS, the other via FedEx. The UPS package arrived, vacuum packed rations packed well with no loss of vacuum seal (it's essential for these rations to be properly packaged for long term storage.)

The FedEx package arrived with the rations packed loosely (allowing them to rub against each other during shipment). Three of the packages had lost their seal, resulting in a product that can't be used for it's intended purpose.

I wanted to open one package to taste anyway, and and have tried to contact Big Fly Sports for replacement of the other two. To date, I've left several voice mail messages and still haven't heard back from them. Can't say I'd order from Big Fly Sports again.

Other than this slight problem, I'll add the good rations to survival kits and use the bad packages for friends to sample. Survival rations are an essential item for many, especially here in Alaska. I've no problems with the Mainstay product itself, as long as it's properly preserved & sealed.

UPDATE: I received voice mail from Big Fly Sports yesterday. Email sent with hopes of a "fix"...to be updated.

FINAL UPDATE: Big Fly Sports passed me back to Amazon.com customer service. Amazon.com customer deserves a big THANK YOU as they took care of me and resolved the problem immediately, despite the lack of action by Big Fly Sports.

These were suggested to me by a fellow co-worker and are really good. I have put a pack of them in my emergency car bag and my wife's emergency car bag. I bought a case and opened it up to try one and really liked them. You may ask yourself why I would buy a case of something that I hadn't even tried"¦.well because even the worst tasting protein bar tastes really good when you haven't eaten in a few days. I read the reviews about these and decided to put them in my family's emergency bags. The cookies are a little wet feeling, but not damp. They crumble pretty easily when bitten into and taste like a sugar cookie (not like grandmas). They don't make you thirsty which is a big deal when stranded. Water is heavy and not having to drink when you eat can help save a little water. They have a 5 year shelf life and the ones I received were true to fashion on the date. I don't think you should throw them out after 5 years, but the quality of the nutritional value may be degraded though. I plan to wait till they have expired a year and try one. Overall a good investment.

This is a good product I think. We've tried them. They have a mild sweet taste to them. And are very much like a short bread cookie. My hubby was not crazy about them but I actually liked them. They have the shape and color of a small piece of cornbread but have the texture of a cookie, very crumbly. They will definitely curb your hungries if you don't have time to stop and eat a meal. They would be real good for an emergency situation as well. They are intended as a meal replacement and you can take them with you camping. They say they are non thirst provoking, I'm not so sure about that but you be the judge of that. I bought these because I heard alot of good about them. Although they are not super delicious, they are somewhat tasty and very edible and I would not hesitate to buy them again.

I was nervous about ordering this because of the bad reviews on poor packaging. I took a chance and lowered my expectation with regards to what I'd tolerate or not. I ordered this around the first of April and received a well packaged, tightly vacuum sealed product! And the shocker was that it's a fresh batch just manufactured on 3/31/22! So happy about that! The package expiration is 03/28 while the outside box it comes in says use by 3/31/27. So either way you slice it, I've got the whole 5-6 yrs on this order and I'm much pleased with that. So sometimes taking a gamble pays off. So glad it didn't bite me. I recommend. It worked out for me. You can never have too many emergency food bars. Stock up because food shortages are here!

This is the second brand of emergency food ration I've sampled (the other being ER Bars). I have no idea why the Amazon review is listing this as a toy review (presumably a database glitch), but Mainstay Bars are a 4 star product.

Starting with the packaging, the case of 10 packs came double boxed, presumably to avoid any potential shipping damage. Crushed bars are less of an issue as these are very durable, not to mention, dense. But severe damage could potentially rupture a pack, killing the shelf life. Always examine each pack individually before caching it or adding it to an emergency kit. The actual product box is extremely compact for a month's worth of rations, and is easily stored or cached virtually anywhere for emergency use.

Each pack has indentations formed in the brick for easy portioning and is vacuum sealed in a durable, non-resealable foil/mylar wrapping. Packs are compact and small enough (24 oz weight) to be thrown into any bag of emergency supplies, be it car kit, marine kit, or even at the bottom of a backpacking pack to be used in emergencies if caught stranded out in the woods, desert, bush, etc. beyond what was planned.

The taste of these rations is surprisingly pleasant, perhaps a bit too sweet for some tastes, while others may have issue with the lemon flavor. While not overpowering or artificial tasting, it is clearly lemon flavored. A more neutral flavor might be preferable if one had to subsist off these for more than a few days. For reference, the nearest comparison to a common food stuff would be lemon sugar cookies, albeit much denser.

Compared to ER Bars, I would personally say the taste is better (more like a cookie and less like a biscuit) although a bit stronger (sweeter, stronger lemon flavor). Texture-wise, the Mainstay bars are not as hard (easily bitten) and much less crumbly and powdery. Overall, they are much easier to eat, perhaps even a bit too easy to consume if one were in a legitimate emergency situation where they will be subsisting off 3 squares a day. ER Bars generally have to be ground down slowly or pre-crumbled; Mainstay bars can easily be chewed up in a few bites.

Nutrition-wise, they are enriched to provide the basic vitamin and mineral nutrients and are composed primarily of flour, vegetable shortening and granulated sugar. On a caloric basis, over half come from fat, followed by complex and simple carbohydrates with only 3 grams of protein per serving and 2 grams of fiber. Like ER Bars, Mainstay rations are extremely low in sodium/electrolytes, making electrolyte replacement a potential issue under high heat exposure environments. This likely contributes to the "non-thirst provoking" characteristic of the rations, which I will generally agree with; eating these do not cause dry mouth.

Make no mistake; these are Emergency Rations, not nutrition bars or backpacking food. With any luck, one won't have to rely upon subsisting off these for any length of time (ideally, never), but given the compact packaging and very efficient nutrient to volume nature of these rations, paired with a 5 year shelf life (rations received were manufactured less than a month ago), these are an ideal addition to any car kit, marine kit, go-bag or emergency supply cache.