That's what these taste like. Really. Well, maybe not when you are sitting in your living room watching Naked and Afraid on your 60" 4K H.D. tv. But trust me- after you have gone 36 hours with nothing to eat, these things will be the best thing you've ever put in your mouth!
I once spent a very long 30 hours trapped in my truck, in a rest area in Montana during a blizzard. I had nothing to hold me over but a half eaten bag of Cheetohs and a 3/4ths full bottle of Jack Daniels. I would have given all the cash in my wallet for some of these things. I will never be without some sort of sustenance available in my vehicles again. I also make sure to always keep some water in my truck and cars. Just common sense.
Plus I don't drink anymore and I now hate Cheetohs! lol
These things are really pretty tasty. Kinda like cinnamon hard cookies. But they don't make you ridiculously thirsty. They are small, very well packaged and not too costly. Get a few packages. Put some in each vehicle. Maybe toss one in your pack. For the price and convenience? I think you'd be crazy not to. I definitely learned my lesson. lol
Very highly recommend
Thanks for reading

Taste actually isn't too bad, mostly bland with a slight hint of coconut. Texture is dry and crumbly. When it arrived it was a year old already so 4 year shelf life. Incase anyone is unaware it's vacuum sealed, once you open it it will spoil faster. Each bar is wrapped in plastic wrap.

It comes vacuumed sealed in a durable packaging that's easy to open without the use of scissors or a knife. With indicators on where to open, I like this compared to other products that are easy to open that have a pre-cut notch on the side (which if mishandled, one could accidentally tear it open. This happens rarely though.)
Also, the ration has 12 individually wrapped bars in it, this I very much like. For me means it's easier to keep clean, to divide and share with others.
(Note: some of the bars are not wrapped perfectly, I inspected and found 4 bars partially wrapped. This I believe is normal and cannot be helped, either way it is in a vacuumed sealed package until opened.

Taste is bland but it isn't bad and is bearable. The texture is 50-50 solid and brittle, so eat with care as to not drop and waste a substantial amount.

No indications telling to take with water but my opinion is to eat with small amounts of water due to its nature. With this said I believe these rations are not recommended on board small boats unless one has a water filtration system or an abundance of clean drinking water.

Pros:
-Vacuum sealed
-Durable packaging
-Easy-to-Open (no tools required)
-Compact and easy to store
-Indiviually wrapped bars
-Can be shared with others
-Legible Exp. Date and Manufacture Date

Cons:
-Bland taste
-Pair with water
-Not ideal on boats or out in the ocean where clean drinking water is limited/scarce.

I'll be purchasing these for our van/cars in an emergency food box for long field trips on the road paired with water.

They taste good. I hope I never have to use them though.

Disclaimer: I have never eaten these in a survival situation. If I do and this website survives the whole thing I'll come back and update. Because whether DATRX looks, tastes, and feels great going down is going to depend on whether you are eating your 1st or your 101st.

The experts and common sense tell me you should try out survival food before you ever get around to needing it, so you'll know at least a tiny facet of what it's like to eat and eat and eat the stuff you've so responsibly stowed. A little sample won't get you the context of foraging for moose and edible evergreens in arctic winter and coming across a discarded pack of unexpired DATREX. In that context they might taste as good as a steak -- and not a moose steak, either.

But I did try a few in the comfort of my own home. Honestly? Dry: no moisture there to be lugging around in your backpack or to accelerate the ingredients' decomposition while sealed in the very snug, heavyweight wrappers they're factory-packaged in. A little sweet, nothing like a dry cracker; they say it's got a little tropical flavor there, but I can't vouch for that. I want to say texture-wise, they're nothing like a granola bar -- there are very few sizable chunks of anything in them. Instead they're powdery, and hygroscopic (drying to the mouth). Supposedly you don't need water to choke one down but I have yet to demonstrate past a bite #5.

If your idea of a "survival bar" has a line of tappers and a bunch of rowdy locals to rub elbows with, you clicked on the wrong website. OTOH if you want a time-tested product that's been trusted for years, stow a bunch of these, check the expiration, and set your googly calendar (or your calendar towel, in case everything goes to heck and we're back to pre-IBM days) to re-order every few years. Rotate stock every couple of years: this isn't one of those things that lasts 25 years (though even fresh out of the pack some would say it tastes like it's been around that long).

I sincerely appreciate that a company has made the trade-off between taste, texture, and all those comforts against the practicalities of survival, even going to the trouble to print clear instructions about food survival and water consumption on every pack of their product. Unequivocally 5 stars for the product, price, light weight, packaging, and lucid encouragement in aggregate.