Coleman branded Enertia Trail Foods: Dec ent!

“I was at Great Miami Outfitters yesterday and Enertia was there offering samples of their new foods. Apparently, they have some kind of relationship with Coleman now and are selling what appears to be a handful of new recipes under the Coleman (by Enertia Trail Foods) banner. I tried the Cilatro Lime Rice & Pintos and Cheesy Tomato Pasta. I have to say both were pretty darned good, so I grabbed a pack of each plus a "Southwest Chili" pack off the shelves while I was browsing.

These pouches are larger than the normal Enertia packs and are billed as two serving meals. For example, the Cilantro Lime Rice & Beans has a net wt. of 6 oz., requires 14 oz. of boiling water and ostensibly makes two 310 calorie servings. I suspect these are being sold in competition to the familiar Mt. House 2 serving pouches. These are not vacuum packed like some other Trail Foods products, but in comparison to your average 2 portion Mt. House pack, the Coleman/Enertia pouches are still a good deal less bulky.

I'm not affiliated with Enertia or Coleman in any way. The meals were good enough however, that folks shouldn't be scared away by the Coleman name. This lineup can be found on both Trail Foods and Coleman's website's.
last edited: 8/16/09 12:21:09 PM”

“troll”

“Thanks for the update.”

“I talked to the Enertia guy at Trail Days this year and he told me about the merge.He also gave a great deal on 6 meals and a trail mix pack for 20 bucks! They are the company that I will support from now on.I will however still eat Mountain house eggs and Backpacker Pantry's Beef Stroganoff!”

“I'll remain civil...

No, I'm not a troll, I just don't post much. I had a chance to try the new entrees and thought I'd drop a quick review. What I tried was pretty good and cheaper than Mt. House. Since folks tend to crap on the Coleman name (rightly so sometimes), I thought I'd post my experience.

Feel free to buy whatever you want.

Phreon”

“you will have to overlook sterno,he is a redundant,pompous as$ and a pervert”

“Are their meals still nearly all carbs? They were really card heavy and a little short of protein a few years ago. Pretty tasty though.”

“No, I'm not a troll, I just don't post much. - phreon

A google search of the site shows no other posts by a "phreon".

coleman troll”

“Well that's enough to make me go out and buy some.”

“He/she member since 2007.

I tried their spaghetti at Savage Gulf and didn't like it. Still love MH chili mac best. I do want more single serving MH.”

“Tango, the spag is easily the worst meal they make. I used to love enertia but have eaten it so often I am now like "meh". I prefer the homemade meals now. Glad enertia has found a successful channel. They make a fine product that has served many well in the field.

They are carb heavy, which is perfect for an endurance activity like backpacking. I could stand MORE carbs in them and MORE complex carbs specifically.”

“I like the switchback spaghetti.”

“Yeah, I joined 2 years ago with the sole and express intent of trolling for a food item that didn't exist at the time.

I'm eating the Southwest Chili as I type. Again, pretty good. I should have let it rehydrate longer, but the flavor is decent. Has a little zing, but I'd prefer a bit more. Just a little bland. A pack of hot-sauce would fix it right up I'm sure. After a long day of hiking or paddling, I'm sore I'd scarf this down though.

Phreon”

“I heard they were under new ownership after the old TTer/owner John died. Still in Ohio. I ate about 12 Enertia meals on the trail in Alaska...they are good but really need to get some meals with meat in them.”

“Wow Phreon, you're in Dayton?”

“troll”

“Don't pay attention to the haters Phreon. Half these people don't even backpack.”

“The other half doesn't wear pants.”

“I'm in Cincy. My friend bought his last boat at G.M.O. They were having a sale this weekend and I've been wanting to check 'em out, so we took the trip up there. I like 'em; reasonable selection, laid back sales folks. Too far to drive for every day items though.

I'm pretty new to backpacking myself, but as a canoeist, this site is still great for learning what gear works and doesn't. Getting in a backpacking frame of mind makes the boat a whole lot easier to pack. It's nice to have the option of bringing a small cooler of beer though...

Phreon
last edited: 8/16/09 7:46:43 PM”

“troll”

“Plunk!

Ignoring you sincerely,

Phreon”

“He's there a lot phreon.

Yogi, I tried some organic dehydrated prepackaged meals, I don't remember the name. It was a female name I think. That stuff was THE worst food I have ever eaten. I thank God that I packed extra food that trip.”

“they improved the sauce powder of the spagetti since you've tried it tango. Give it another whirl.
We put a pound of dehydrated ground beef in most of our enertia meals, gives it protein, fat, and bulks it up to a 2 person meal. Some we put a pouch of chicken or tuna in.”

“If you like beef jerky seek out "Mingua Brothers". I "discovered" it at the gas station we bought our passes at down by R.R. Gorge. The stuff is like crack, I can't stop eating it. It's hard to find here in Cincy, but it's all over KY and they have a website. Made in Paris, KY. It BLOWS AWAY junk you get in the grocery store.

Oh wait, Stovie might think I'm trolling beef jerky too. Oh, that's right...bit-bucket!

PLUNK

Phreon”

“I'll give 'em a whirl on the upcoming backpack. Still like dehyrating my own but for the one or two nighters, I am always up on trying premade. Sure makes taking care of dinner easy.”

“troll”

“I wore pants when I backpacked out to throw away my empty SternO can.”

“stovestomper, it's not even funny. Go away, you don't hike anymore, noone misses you, you don't contribute.”

“I thought they just sold kayaks in there. I live north of Dayton but I drive around Dayton for work and pass this place all the time. I'll have to stop in there and do some shopping.

Where's your favorite paddling grounds?”

“You sound like dork, OPIE.
She was real big at deciding who can post and who can't post.

I might hike again, even with you. That's my goal.


P.S. phreon is a troll.”

“the "spaghetti" was like eating library paste. i called to tell them it was awful and they said they were shocked because it was one of their spiciest meals. they also suggested i got an old batch. to their credit they offered to replace the meal, which they did, and the new meal they sent was likewise like eating library paste. i still don't understand how they identify this as one of their "spiciest" meals, but there were plenty of other things on their menu i loved so i just don't order that one anymore.

on the other hand, if you cook and dehydrate pasta and your favorite sauce the result rehydrated in the field is amazing. i'll dehydrate a whole jar of sauce and rehydrate it with a smaller portion of water and the flavor is amazing. i am amazed at how well cooked pasta that has been dehydrated re-hydrates. it's almost as good as if you cooked it on the stove from the raw product except you don't use anywhere near the amount of gas to do it.

mingua brothers jerky is ok. but it has a strong soy sauce flavor that ruins it for me. i just don't care for jerky made with soy sauce and liquid smoke. it's also very, very salty, more so than anything i would make at home.”

“I might hike again, even with you. That's my goal.

that is a GREAT goal!”

“I might hike again, even with you. That's my goal.

that is a GREAT goal!”
Yogisan
12:14:06 PM
8/17/09
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you are talking about a guy that whacks off to a cooking show host.he has a better chance of getting aids from a nun,than being a backpacker again.”

“Poor little Nigal.”

“i love enertia, but are these "new" ones meatless as well?”

“the best beef jerky i've ever had is "Worlds Kitchen" the flavor has been consistent from bag to bag. the price is low low, i paid just over $9.00 for a lb of it the last time i bought some. you can get it at walmart or you can buy it online.”

“yeah, that's the guy i am talking about. i hope he gets back to doing everything he was able to do before. not sure why that would be a problem for anyone.”

“what? did i miss something?”

“I've stuck with Backpacker's Pantry since I discovered it a couple years back. The Chana Masala and Red Beans and Rice are really good and the Pad Thai isn't too bad either. The problem I've had with it is the INSANE amount of sodium in their meals (along with the lack of much real substance), and the fact that, on a long trip, many of the meals start tasting about the same. I'll have to give this Enertia stuff a try.

Phreon, can you give me some basic info on the nutrition facts for an average Enertia meal?”

“the only thing similar between Pad Thai and what Backpacker's Pantry calls Pad Thai are the letters on the label. also, their "lasagna" was my second least favorite of their options, once again only sharing the lettering on the label with the food it claimed to represent. those two meals are always going on closeout at rei, so i am betting they aren't their better meals.”

“The MH "lasagna" tastes good but is a pain in the butt to clean up after. It's like orange cement.”

“most of the mh meals are pretty good. my favorite is the chicken breasts and potatoes. sounds really bland and simple, but it's damn tasty and the chicken really rehydrates well. i just mix it all up in the bag... don't do the chicken and the potatoes separate like they say.... that is i do the chicken first then just dump the potatoes in and mix it all up. yum!”

“Here's the info on one of the Enertia Meals that I have:High Country Casserole
Serves 1
Net wt.3.6 oz.
Calories 370
Fat Cal 25
Total Fat 3 Grams
Sodium 1510 mg
Total Carbs 81g
Protein 6g
Sugars 1g


Ingrediants: Dehydrated Potatoes,Pork Gravy,Corn and a bunch of spices and citrates and phosphates.”

“Nigal,

Great Miami Outfitters has two buildings next door to eachother. One houses the boats and the other is a more or less traditional outfitter. Their place feels kind of like a mini-REI. The added bonus is they share a patio with a wine shop and there's a decent bar across the street.

I've been paddling a local section of the Great Miami lately. The water rarely is odor free and it can be dangerous to the inexperienced, but it's a good whitewater training ground, at least within 40 miles of Cincy, that is. Other than that, just local rivers and lakes. The Little Miami is a great run as well. Much more picturesque. All in all, I'm about ready to branch out and try harder whitewater; it's just most of the rivers are bone dry right now. A friend and I did a 19 mile overnight trip down the Green through MACA a couple years ago; that was a great float as well.

As a followup about the Bean 'n Corn Southwest Chili, though I enjoyed the flavor, doubt I'll ever eat it again. The biological after effects have been truly ruthless. I've never been much affected by the musical fruit before, but this past night I have been the source of "A Mighty Wind" The thought of eating it and then spending a night in a bivvy or solo tent sounds gruesome at best. Even camping under the stars seems like a dicey prospect; who knows what scavengers the "air of death" will attract. I'm contemplating how long it will take my co-workers to mutiny and banish me to the mechanical space today.

Phreon”

“ah, the plight of backpacking food conoisseurs worldwide... you find me a backpacking meal that doesn't turn a person into a set of bagpipes filled with rotting hamburger meat and I'll become a true loyalist”

“Yogi, you're killin me... library paste? come on, I fell in love with their spaghetti years ago, and I still consider it a staple. And you know, I have very discriminating taste. I will even hike with Nigal. ( wait, that might mean I don't have discriminating taste)... whatever, don't be crummin on my Enertia dinners...”

“I agree with Yogi, Enertia spags was inedible, totally yucko! I am a MH girl, I like most of their stuff.”

“Ha! Hiking with me isn't discriminating Golfhiker...it's a shameless display of poor taste and bad decision making. LOL!”

“So far, I have enjoyed the Enertia meals. Both Enertia and MH spaghetti meals have the cheese that sticks to your utensil. What a pain to eat off the spoon or fork.

I also wish MH made more single serving meals, I can't put away the two serving meals anymore, comes with age I guess. Time to hit the freezer bag cooking cookbook.”

“hikerduane, I agree with more single serving meals. But right now I just repackage to ziploc baggies. And that cheese is heinous to get off your spork!”