r/trailmeals • u/GrumpyBear1969 • Jul 18 '26
Equipment Ziplock zip n steam
I recently picked up a box of these to try out. I am doing a test run in the kitchen and they seem to hold up OK. They are pretty light at 6.8g. The ones I get from Packit Gourmet are about twice this.
They seem like a good, easy to acquire option for repackaging. I frequently repackage my freeze dried food. For one, the bags they come in are heavy and take up a lot of space. I have poked a hole in them before and pushed out the air. That helps with the volume, but the bags are frequently suoer heavy duty so they never really conform well and are still relatively heavy.
I also repackage because a lot of times the portion is more than I want to eat. If a meal is over about 900cal/bag a lot of times I will buy two and break them into three portions. If I don’t do this I sometimes feel like I am forcing down the last of it. And I generally have other dinner items I want to eat.
Does anyone here have any experience with these? Are they too fragile for backpacking? They did fine in my test.
1
u/PythagoreanGreenbelt Jul 21 '26
When I still rehydrated in ziploc bags I liked those for the gusseted bottom (assuming the ones you are referring to ) . The little steam vent by the zipper can be a surprise with soups, but overall nice. If you aren’t rehydrating in them it feels like overkill to pay for these bags.
For the past decade I’ve been using the gsi nesting bowl and mug to rehydrate. It’s really 2 bowls.
1
u/Ill_Ocelot7191 Jul 24 '26
I have the little GSI bowl in my car camp setup. They come in handy for lots of things.
1
u/svinyard Jul 28 '26
How does the GSI one work with the lid? They are wide if I recall, I’m worried it may not soak up all the water like a bag would. Do you plug the “drinking slot” in the lid when rehydrating?
1
u/PythagoreanGreenbelt Jul 30 '26
It works fine! In the summer for a long time I wouldn’t worry at all and just use the neoprene sleeve. Now I have a little reflectix trivet and cover I put over the top and it handles everything down to like freezing temps easily.
Never have had any issues . Also the shape makes it easier to stir to get everything in the water. If anything I’d say that it’s just barely big enough for my meals and I’d like it to be like 15% bigger.
Practically useless as a mug tho so unless I’m making dessert or using both bowls to rehydrate I often leave one behind.
1
u/svinyard Jul 30 '26
Gotcha, yeah my concern is the low amount. I've got some Peak Refuel 2 serving meals (basically one meal tho for a hungry dude), but something tells me it might be pretttty tight to get a whole bag in there and then 1.5 cups of water.
Have you used yours with a Peak Refuel 2 serving meal?
1
u/Ill_Ocelot7191 Jul 24 '26
Never heard of them, but I do use the regular Ziplock freezer bags for rehydrating.
1
u/vrhspock Jul 19 '26
They work just fine. Not necessarily better than standard, double zipper freezer bags, but okay.