Hiking food taste test - 4 friends eat 18 meals and we score them on taste. Best backpacking meals.

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Score Food
5.0 Coconut Ginger Chicken (On Track Meals) https://ontrackmeals.com/qyuwa6
4.5 Beef Bourguignon (Outdoor Gourmet) https://bit.ly/beefbog
4.4 Chocolate Cake Pudding (Real Meals) https://bit.ly/3vOSVvg
4.0 Indian Chicken Pilaf (Campers Pantry) https://collabs.shop/ejqpfq
3.9 Beetroot and carrot salad (Real Meals) https://bit.ly/49AcFQX
3.4 Whiskey Ice Cream (Campers Pantry) https://collabs.shop/txua6d
3.3 Indian Curry (Radix) https://collabs.shop/bzuytk
3.1 Moroccan Pumpkin soup (Feed the Hike) https://bit.ly/3xC4Ay4
3.1 Beef Bolognese (On Track Meals) https://ontrackmeals.com/5fggyf
3.1 Mexican chicken (Back Country Cuisine) https://bit.ly/mexchick
3.0 Mexican Chilli (Radix) https://collabs.shop/bzuytk
2.6 Creamy zucchini and Spinach Risotto (Feed the Hike) https://bit.ly/3xwdOvD
2.6 Chicken Cacciatore(Campers Pantry) https://collabs.shop/4sjzpw
2.6 Beef Casserole (Go native) https://collabs.shop/wav0xh
2.4 Pasta Bolognese Ragu (Strive) https://collabs.shop/cefsdg
1.9 Dal Makhani (Real Meals) https://bit.ly/3Q2DQx3
0.9 Spaghetti Bolognaise (Back Country Cuisine) https://bit.ly/3xAdT1k



I’ll be doing individual videos on some of the foods i love including
Real meals
Radix
On track meals
Campers pantry
Feed the hike


Food is an extremely personal choice so I have decided to do a review on every hiking meal I could get my hands on here in Australia and New Zealand.

I’m realising more and more that a delicious meal can enhance my enjoyment of wild places. I love backpacking with delicious and nutritious food.

Things to consider when buying food
Price - the price of these products can really add up, especially if you are eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner over several days. That's why I tend to prefer to pack my own breakfast (eg muesli) and lunch and focus on hiking meals for dinner only.
Nutrition - Some products on the market are pushing the boundaries for nutrition and many have this at the forefront when making their food. Nutrition is especially important on longer trails to ensure you are able to maintain the rigours of multi day hiking.
Will they fill you up/ provide enough energy - if you can find out how many calories or grams the food will make when rehydrated. This will give you an indication of how filling it will be and will help you ensure you are packing enough food to fuel you.
Weight - this is one of the huge benefits of dehydrated and freeze dried meals. They tend to be much lighter than other options. But you also need to look at the calories or grams of food as not all brands ‘serve 1’ are created equal.
Availability of water at camp -if there is no water in camp and you have to carry it in there is no weight saving to be made from dehydrated or freeze dried meals and MREs may be a good option.
Taste - I feel the joy of hiking and your nature connection can be amplified with delicious food and I am enjoying making this a priority.
How quick/hard are they to prepare? Do they take a long time to prepare, do they leave a messy bowl that is hard to clean? On long hard hikes I love just throwing hot water in a prepackaged meal, waiting 5 minutes before eating and then having no cook pots or bowls to clean up. On more leisurely hikes I enjoy the process of cooking a beautiful meal.
Can you recycle or reuse the packaging or are you left with a mountain of rubbish at the end of a hike.
Diversity of food choices - if you find a brand you love its great if they have lots of options so that you are not stuck eating the same 3 meals over a 10 day hike. Many brands are also branching out to snacks, breakfasts and lunches.


Of the three main options available all have their pros and cons
Three main options (more on these below)
Ready to Eat Meals (MRE)
Dehydrated
Freeze Dry




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