I saw these at Sportsman's and picked up a few to test.  Their website claims they were designed to use less water (2/3 cup for this one) and are ready in 10 min.  I followed the directions and gave it a stir at the 5 min mark. It looked like the picture on the front.  The noodles were done and all but a few pieces of the chicken were done. Was not too hot to eat after the 10 min.  Good consistency.  Not the most basil filled pesto but it wasn't too bad.  Best by date is 10/2024 so Im guessing they are going with a 5 yr shelf life on these.

Compared to Mtn House most of their meals have at least 20g protein per serving which is twice what Mtn House has with exception of the Fajita Bowl and Chicken and Mashed Potato entrees.  The total calories are 800-900 which is also more than the Mtn House which are usually 600-700.  I have to generally wait for at least 15 min when eating Mtn House for it to cool enough to eat when made with boiling water.

Some math. Cost is $12.99 ea, which is 30% higher than the two high protein Mtn House entrees mentioned above which are usually $9.99 ea and 44% higher than the regular meals at $8.99.  It comes out to $0.71/cal for this entree. I also picked up the beef stroganoff which is $0.62/cal and 41 G protein per pouch compared with the Mtn House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles which is $0.72/cal with 27.5g of protein per pouch. So while they seem much higher at first glance you're getting more calories and more protein.

I will review some of the other meals and may do a head to head vs the comparable Mtn House entree in the next couple weeks.

https://peakrefuel.com

Thanks for review

Awesome, I had looked at these but they are pretty expensive compared to what I normally buy, mountain house or backpackers pantry.

Had the beef stroganoff for breakfast. Lots of big chunks of beef, no huge mushroom pieces like the picture on the bag though. Prepared per directions on bag.

Holy hell this was good. Taste wise blows MH away. Sauce is creamy and thick with a good tangy sour cream flavor and meat in every bite. Some of the beef pieces were noticeably al dente so it may benefit from sitting for another 1-2 min.

Definitely feeling full/satisfied from this which isn’t surprising given the fat content.

thanks for the info!
I'm gonna have to check these out.
More options never hurt.

Thanks for the reviews. This looks like a great alternative to MH, and the high protein numbers is a plus!

Next up Beef Pasta Marinara with a head to head vs Mountain House Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. Apologies for the different pic sizes.

First up the PEAK. BIG numbers here: 990 calories and 49 G protein! Prepared per instructions. Tasted pretty damn good, tons of meat in every bite. Chunks of tomatoes. Pasta cooked through. Sauce thick and flavorful. Meat was a bit al dente (as was the Mtn House), my hypothesis on that is the beef is more fatty than chicken and it may take longer or more water to reconstitute the fat fully. Had this for lunch and it kept full me until dinner.

Now the Mountain House. Prepared per instructions. Sauce was pretty thin and more like straight tomato sauce. Meat was a bit al dente here too. Noodles were tender. Reminded me overall of Spaghetti-O's, which isn't terrible.

Some differences: Big ones that jump out are calories/protein and cost. 990 vs 575, 49 vs 30, 11.95 vs 8.29. The PEAK meals are more expensive but you're getting better calories and more of them so at full retail its actually cheaper on a per calorie (1.2c/cal vs 1.4c/cal) basis but Mountain House has since went on sale at Sportsman's for $6-7 per meal which tilts the costs towards Mtn House (1.0c/cal). Keep in mind these numbers are for pouches, the ability to buy #10 cans of Mtn House will bring the cost even more in their favor.

Taste wise really no comparison here PEAK wins out. They have some really tasty meals, the difference in ingredients is apparent with parm and mozz cheeses for PEAK vs cheddar for the Mtn House. One place where Mtn House is unique is they cook and freeze dry the entire meal, pasta included. This leads to a much softer texture of the noodle/rice. PEAK, along with Backpackers Pantry and most others use instant noodles/rice that is cooked when prepared by the end user. One other thing that is impressive is when the time is up they are ready to eat, both in consistency and temp. With Mtn House I have to wait 15+ min to eat it so I don't burn my mouth. Maybe the reason is PEAK uses less water, or maybe the packaging is different.

So are the PEAK meals worth it? I don't think they are if you're stockpiling large quantities for the long term.  I do think they're a big step up over Mtn House if you are buying them to actually eat. More protein, more calories, better taste, better texture. For hunting, backpacking, or other high caloric expenditure activities (winter sports) I think these are a win. As always more competition is a good thing for us. Now that I've tried them I'd love to see PEAK in #10 cans.








Next up Mountain House. Most of us have seen these before just posting it up to have a side by side vs the PEAK.

Amazon has PEAK #10 cans....   #10 cans

Thanks for posting the side by side comparisons.

For a quick meal that doesn't require taking time to boil water I'm pretty fond of the Peak Strawberry Granola.

23 grams of protein and 530 calories per pouch and it tastes really good imo. About 8 bucks on Amazon.

Thanks for the link I will pick a few up on payday.

I figured you were nice enough to post a review of their products, so it was the least I could do.  

Thanks OP.  I ordered a few to try.

Thanks OP, just ordered some to try out.

For anyone else buying, the coupon code BAMBAM15 just worked for me and saved 15% at the Peak website. Also, free shipping over $49