Mountain House Weekender Adventure Meal Kit

The Mountain House Weekender Adventure Meal Kit packs two full days of freeze-dried, just-add-water meals into one stackable box: six foil pouches, twelve total servings, and four meal varieties that go from boiling water to dinner in under ten minutes. It's built to ride in a backpack, a truck cab, or a pantry shelf and sit there for however long it takes.

From Military Rations to Backcountry Staple

Mountain House traces back to Oregon Freeze Dry, which opened its first freeze-drying plant in Albany, Oregon in 1964. Two years later the company began supplying freeze-dried rations to the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and by 1967 it held a multimillion-dollar military contract. The same freeze-drying process fed NASA's astronauts during the Apollo era. In 1969, Oregon Freeze Dry partnered with REI to launch Mountain House as a civilian brand, betting that backpackers who had already discovered freeze-dried military rations would buy the same technology off a store shelf. The bet paid off, and Mountain House has been the reference point for backcountry food ever since.

What's in the Box

Each Weekender kit holds six pouches covering four meals: Granola with Milk & Blueberries and a Breakfast Skillet for mornings, plus two pouches each of Rice & Chicken and Beef Stroganoff with Noodles for the rest of the day. Every pouch doubles as the cooking and eating vessel, so preparation is boiling water, a stir, a fold-over seal, and a wait of roughly nine to ten minutes, with almost nothing to scrub afterward. The full kit calls for about eight cups of water total. Calories run 250 to 280 per serving depending on the meal, with 7 to 14 grams of protein per serving. None of the four meals contain artificial flavors or colors, and two of the four are GFCO-certified gluten-free. The box weighs 2.75 pounds and is backed by Mountain House's 30-Year Taste Guarantee, the company's shelf-life claim for properly stored freeze-dried food.

In the Field

The Weekender shows up in more places than a stocked pantry. Backpackers and thru-hikers use it as a sampler kit, running through all four meals before committing to a resupply strategy for a longer trail. Hunters and multi-day anglers pack it because it needs no cooler and no perishables, just a stove and water. It has also become a fixture in vehicle emergency kits and bug-out bags, since a properly stored pouch holds its quality for decades rather than months, which is more than can be said for a case of canned goods baking in a hot truck bed. Per serving, it costs well below what most fast-casual lunch spots charge, and considerably less than buying a comparable single freeze-dried pouch on its own from an outdoor retailer.

Quick Specs

• Six pouches, twelve total servings, roughly two days of meals for one person
• Four varieties: Granola with Milk & Blueberries, Breakfast Skillet, Rice & Chicken, Beef Stroganoff with Noodles
• Just-add-boiling-water preparation, ready in about 9 to 10 minutes, eat straight from the pouch
• 250 to 280 calories and 7 to 14 grams of protein per serving
• No artificial flavors or colors; two of the four meals are GFCO-certified gluten-free
• 30-Year Taste Guarantee from Mountain House; recyclable packaging
• Net weight 2.75 lbs; box measures approximately 9.9" x 8.9" x 8.9"