MP Ration Pack weight?

[Joseph Benedetto Jr]

The Ration Pack in the previous 3 editions of the Gamebook weighs 17 kg, while in the new 4th edition the same item (with the exact same items listed in it!) now weighs 35kg.

Do you suppose this is right? Did the weight double as a result of some unspoken "correction" to the listing shown in the previous editions of the Gamebook? The current 77 lb weight of the Ration Pack as it now stands seems excessive to me, considering it used to be half that weight....

[Gelrir]

17 kg for 30 person-days comes to 0.57 kg per day per person. Not gonna worry about the weight of a folding aluminum pot and some fuel tablets for the moment.
35 kg for 30 person-days (I presume that's still how many days the 4th Edition gives) is 1.17 kg per day per person.

• Freeze-dried LRP rations of the 1960s-1980s era weigh an average of 0.35 kg each, and are each 1100 to 1500 food calories; you were expected to eat two a day (thus 0.7 kg per day).
• Modern (after the 1990s anyway) dehydrated LRP rations are each a complete day's meal, but weigh about 0.5 kg each.

http://asmrb.pbworks.com/w/page/5275...ear#RationPack

• If you go to MREs, which aren't dehydrated, each meal weighs .51 to .74 kg, and you should eat two a day: about 1 to 1.5 kg per day. An average of 1.17 could be easily correct.

It sounds like they weighed a few MREs and are using that value for the 4th Edition (without changing the text to, ahem, hydrate the food); or, it could be modern LRP rations, plus that canned fruit juice ... or, something else.

[Joseph Benedetto Jr]

"This is simply a backpack of dehydrated food, canned juices, and vitamins..."

If you work with two MREs per day, and it is "60 PERSON-DAYS" worth of food, that means this backpack contains 120 MREs, right?

Man, that must be *some* big backpack--!

[mmartin798]

It actually sounds like the are using MCW/LRP. The backpack would have to be in the 4.25 cu ft range to hold the 60 person day rations.


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I found a PDF of study from the development of MCW, then know as RCW, and LRP, then known as RLW that is dated 1988. The RCW for 60 man days works out to 51.8Kg and 72.8l of volume. The RLW can in just a little heavier at 54.5Kg, but the same 72.8l. RLW are issued at a rate of 2 per day providing 4000 cal of energy. If you reduce it to one per day giving 2000 cal per day, you get close to the game numbers with 27.3Kg and 36.4l. When these rations got updated and called MCW/LRP, we might get into the range the rules show for weight if there was a modest increase. The molle large rucksack has a volume of 4000 cu in or 65.5l. So backpack is not that large either. MREs are just huge and heavy compared to the dehydrated MCW/LRP pouches. Also since the ration pack in the rules states the rations are dehydrated, they cannot be MREs.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by mmartin798

It actually sounds like the are using MCW/LRP. The backpack would have to be in the 4.25 cu ft range to hold the 60 person day rations.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I found a PDF of study from the development of MCW, then know as RCW, and LRP, then known as RLW that is dated 1988. The RCW for 60 man days works out to 51.8Kg and 72.8l of volume. The RLW can in just a little heavier at 54.5Kg, but the same 72.8l. RLW are issued at a rate of 2 per day providing 4000 cal of energy. If you reduce it to one per day giving 2000 cal per day, you get close to the game numbers with 27.3Kg and 36.4l. When these rations got updated and called MCW/LRP, we might get into the range the rules show for weight if there was a modest increase. The molle large rucksack has a volume of 4000 cu in or 65.5l. So backpack is not that large either. MREs are just huge and heavy compared to the dehydrated MCW/LRP pouches. Also since the ration pack in the rules states the rations are dehydrated, they cannot be MREs.

LRRP/Cold Weather are dehydrated hiking entrée in an MRE form. I would replace canned juices with "Capri Sun" style pouches by now.

[Joseph Benedetto Jr]

Originally Posted by mmartin798

--cut--
If you reduce it to one per day giving 2000 cal per day, you get close to the game numbers with 27.3Kg and 36.4l.

Yes, but page 109 of the 4th edition gamebook states "The ration pack described in the equipment section assumes that 1 person day of food is equal to 3600 kilocalories because it was designed for soldiers in the battlefield."

*Sigh* I have to wonder where the numbers came from.

[Project_Sardonicus]

Interesting foods a big issue the average MRE weighs I believe 600 grammes averaged out and provides a third of a days calories. Assuming the average active person needs 2 litres of water a day that also weighs 2 kilos.

Each team member needs 3.8 kilos a day, lets say 6 people in a team that's 22.8 kilos a day or 684 kilos for a month.

That's a lot of weight and bulk!

And unlike most militaries there's not going to be a base chow hall if you're in the recon for quite some time.

Using local water and food, in a polluted, post-apocalyptic famine-ridden environment isn't much of an option. You can't exactly say "we come in peace hand over your food."

And using MREs for to long is one of the biggest drains on morale for a unit.

I wonder if the project would go for a mixture of luxury MREs rather like the French or Italian models and spend some serious money on that, make them, themselves. But still expect the team to get by on high energy bars or other First strike style hitech foods?

Or would it be one of the cases of send them out as best prepared as possible and hope for the best.

[mmartin798]

If we stay in North America, getting water that can be easily filtered in the quantities needed would not be that difficult or arduous. This makes the dehydrated food the only real thing to store and move. Using 4000 cal per day LRP, we get for 180 Man-Days a mass of 163.5 kg and 218.4 liters volume. The volume can fit into 4 backpacks, so it is not insubstantial, but not as bad as you seem to indicate.

[Gelrir]

For our campaign, most MP vehicles have two water tanks; for the V150 armored cars, this replaces the original fuel tank(s). One is for "dirty" water, and there's a filter connecting that to the "clean" water tank.

Every so often, the crew has to remove and clean the ceramic filters; and they aren't effective against chemical or viral contaminants. Test your water supplies before adding water to the "dirty" tank!

--
Michael B.