Re-packaging Mountain House

[Iltasyuko]

Anyone try taking the contents of their Mountain House packages a repacking them using a vacuum sealer? I was thinking it may be a way to save space because the MH bags are not real compact. You could take a few of the empty MH bags to pour the meal and water in when ready to prepare. The only down side I can think if is having to wash the MH bag after use for preparing the next meal. Not sure, but it seems like a fair bit of space could be saved when packing meals for a ten plus day backpack hunt.

[bighornbob]

Try to buy the Pro-paks that come already vacuum packed.

BHB

[BromBones]

Works good, as does doubling them up in small ziploc bags. Have been doing that for the last couple years.

Washing out the MH bag after use is easy if you do it right away. Pour a cup of water in, seal it back up, give it a good shaking and dump it out.

[RiverOtter]

Poking a pin hole in the bags to release the air, is another trick a member here told me about. Just make sure to puncture near the zipper, so you don't end up with a mess once you add the water.

I was thinking of modifying that method and only breaking the seal on half of my meals, just in case I get lucky early............:smile:

[Iltasyuko]

Just vacuum sealed a breakfast wrap and it shrinks down much smallest than the OEM job.

That pin trick sounds like a really good idea too - thanks.

[sparkes3]

pin prick then a little wax or some other sealer over the hole maybe a little bit of tape

[RiverOtter]

What kind of vaccuum sealer you running Ilta?

I've tried to sac seal chip bags before and it didn't work very well. It seals just fine, but the vac part seems to require the special bags, at least on mine.

[RiverOtter]

pin prick then a little wax or some other sealer over the hole maybe a little bit of tape

Tape would likely be the most reliable, as long as you got most of the air out, as elevation would cause the bag to swell again.

[Iltasyuko]

I have a FoodSaver brand sealer. Just made my own bag off the roll like always and worked fine.

[buck nash]

What about cutting the bag near the top and then re-seal the bag using the vaccum sealer? Never tried it but I think that might work. Even if you couldn't get it to suck out the air, you could still squeeze out most of it then re seal. That way you don't have to wash anything.

The other thing I was thinking is that you should be able to use the vacuum seal bags to make the food in. The ones that I have say you can cook by boiling in the bag.

[RiverOtter]

I have a FoodSaver brand sealer. Just made my own bag off the roll like always and worked fine.

Hahahaha, ya mine works great with the "Build a Bag" bags as well. I thought you were vaccuum sealing the original packaging.

From a weight stand point, the FS bags are heavy. I'd be more apt to use Broms method and double up existing MH bags by adding a second dinner in a zip-loc sandwich bag....then rinsing the bag after the first meal is done. A guy'd have to stick with doubling up the same flavour of dinner, or it'd be "Guess that Mess" every other night.......:smile:

[RiverOtter]

What about cutting the bag near the top and then re-seal the bag using the vaccum sealer? Never tried it but I think that might work. Even if you couldn't get it to suck out the air, you could still squeeze out most of it then re seal. That way you don't have to wash anything.

The Factory seal is fairly close to the zipper, so that would cause a guy some grief. Vaccuum sealing smooth bags is not a possibility, IME.


The other thing I was thinking is that you should be able to use the vacuum seal bags to make the food in. The ones that I have say you can cook by boiling in the bag.

I'm not real hip on boiling, or adding anything boiling, to plastic bags of any sort, at least from a health stand point....

[Iltasyuko]

Yeah just adding water to the meal inside the vaccum seal bag should work and save having to wash - just need to make the bag big enough to add water too. The MH bags are more sturdy and easier to eat out of - the vaccum seal bags would be tuff to hold and not spill when eating.

As for the first idea, a vaccum sealer will suck the air out of a MH bag but it wont melt and seal a MH bag - they only melt/seal the special bags that you buy to use with the sealer.

[RiverOtter]

MH bags stand upright on their own, as well as zip seal.

Imagine having a hot dinner spill on the ground, after a long day of hiking.....No thanks.

[Iltasyuko]

I hear ya - I could picture bobbling a vaccum seal bag and before ya know it the MO FO is running down your pants and all over the place.

[RiverOtter]

Be tear drops as big as horse turds, falling from a tall camel.........................:-P

[decker9]

On our sheep hunt earlyer this month, I took most my MH meals in ziplock bags, and then one of each kind in the MH bag's so i had the instructions lol, and then just washed them out and reused them. Saved a ton of space! Never again will i pack full packs of MH!

[Iltasyuko]

I have finished repackaging all MH meals into individual vacuum sealed packages - with 2 MH meals per day on a 12 day hunt I have saved allot of space in my pack! Gonna do the same with my partner's meals too.