Would you buy "old" preps if they were cheap?

**R L Suehr** · January 29th, 2023, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by Emptymag

Why not. Why waste money on something that's unlikely to be needed anyway.

Oh yeah... guns...

Wait. I may need to rethink this!

Doesn't hurt to keep some shelf stable food around ever. It's a pretty small investment in case of an actual emergency. I know you were being sarcastic, just thought I'd say it for others in the future. It's pretty much the minimum you can do to keep prepared in case of anything.

**JaySmith** · January 29th, 2023, 03:52 PM

Not unless I knew how/where it was stored. That 25 years is under optimal storage conditions, let it get hot and it's life will be considerably shortened. You probably don't know where it was the first 10 year's of it's life.

**DRB** · January 29th, 2023, 04:20 PM

I would. I am not a picky eater though, so there's that.

**father-of-five** · January 29th, 2023, 04:57 PM

Yes, as long as the previous storage was reasonably done.

I have a bunch of ration bars that I will probably have to start snacking on in 2024!

**gnbrotz** · January 29th, 2023, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by JaySmith

Not unless I knew how/where it was stored. That 25 years is under optimal storage conditions, let it get hot and it's life will be considerably shortened. You probably don't know where it was the first 10 year's of it's life.

Very good points, and while I don't know for sure, based on the photos posted online, and visiting the home it was stored in, it appears it was done "right".

It was kept in a basement, and the husband (now deceased) had things labeled with purchase dates and well-organized on shelving units. I feel fairly certain the family didn't go to the work necessary to "falsify" the methodic organization of what the photos showed, and I saw for myself when I got there just to give a good impression.

**JAKIII** · January 29th, 2023, 06:07 PM

Prepping is for sheep. But if I did prep, I'd have no problem buying 'aged' stuff that was canned or in packets, (i.e., MREs).

Didn't the old c-rations have a shelf life of like 50 years?

**JaySmith** · January 29th, 2023, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by JAKIII

Prepping is for sheep. But if I did prep, I'd have no problem buying 'aged' stuff that was canned or in packets, (i.e., MREs).

Didn't the old c-rations have a shelf life of like 50 years?

MRE's have a 3-5 year shelf life, much shorter than long term storage food. I thought it was longer than that, but apparently that's not the case.

**Emptymag** · January 29th, 2023, 07:33 PM

Y'all can eat your powdered and dehydrated food.
I'm gonna eat like a king when there's no food on the shelves!

I have enough long term, freeze dried stuff for a few weeks, but I'm not investing heavily in that type when I can just buy regular foods and rotate/use/replace them.
Nothing wrong with the long term products, it's just not realistic if you're on a tight budget.
Discounted stuff is a different story - 100% of the long term stuff I have was purchased on clearance.

**jthrelf** · January 29th, 2023, 08:05 PM

Originally Posted by gnbrotz

This isn't "expired". It's 10 years into an advertised 25-year shelf life. My assumption is it will be good for longer than that, but even if it isn't, 50% of the shelf life for 35% of the price is still a savings.

That was my thinking.

One thing to be aware of, I thought MH recently changed their process to allow them to get the 25-30 yr shelf life, not sure if it's been that long forever.