Disclaimer: in no way, shape or form was I paid for this review by Go Native World. I received this ration pack to review without bias.
Regardless if you are going for a day hike or a multi-day hike, a tasty and delicious menu always makes it that little better.
While it might not be so useful for your usual day hike, this Go Native World 24-Hour Food Pack was incredibly handy during my most recent overnight trip to Mitchell River.
I was lucky enough to review the Vegetable Curry dinner pack during this adventure.
Who Are Go Native World?
They are a New Zealand based company run by ‘a group of people driven by a passion for active exploration.’
Selling mainly outdoor food and camping hardware gear, they pride themselves on creating products from ‘natural ingredients, reusable and sustainable materials’.
Included in my Go Native World 24-Hour Food pack was:
- Breakfast: Muesli with milk powder, coffee, creamer, sugar and a raspberry and apple fruit bar
- Lunch: Cream crackers, Greenseas Tuna sachet, beef jerky
- Dinner: Vegetable curry, instant rice, pepper, tea, sugar, salt, creamer
Full disclosure, and for the benefit of this review, I only had the breakfast and the dinner from Go Native pack.
I think what I really like about this full menu of food is how easy it is to cook.
For the muesli and rice, you simply add water, bring it to a boil and it’s ready to go.
Once the rice is reasonably cooked, simply add the vegetable curry mix to the rice heat and eat (very similar to On Track Meals).
I’m a huge fan of curries and this one didn’t disappoint. There’s really nothing like getting stuck into a hot meal after a decent day’s hiking.
I don’t mind oats as a breakfast option for my camping trips and Go Native World’s muesli breakfast meal was quite tasty and very filling.
The fruit bar could have been eaten at any point of the day but I decided to include it in my breakfast.
The best way I can describe the fruit bar is a less chewy, just as sweet version of a Rollup bar.
The food aside, all the products come in a large reusable ziplock bag which also includes a Sudoku and quiz inside.
The branding and packaging also outline what’s inside the bag so there’s no need to go sifting through it all to work out what you have.
All of that aside, I will say that the size of the bag may be an inconvenience for those who prefer thru-hiking rather than car camping.
With a bag that weighs 690g, 18cm long and 7cm thick, it would probably take up a fair bit of space in your bag if you were going on a hike that was more than three days.
I also think that when you buy a ration pack like this, you tend to buy things that you don’t really end up eating or drinking.
For instance, I didn’t eat the jerky nor did I use the tea and coffee products.
I am a coffee drinker but for some reason, I don’t feel like having a coffee while I’m out on the trail.
I’m not sure if this is even possible, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a custom-made food pack.
For example, you have your staple breakfast, lunch and dinner, but then you can choose what little extras you want to add.
I’d probably be keen on a hot chocolate sachet rather than a tea or coffee and would add that in as my hot drink.
You would still have to adhere to the full price of $39.95 but would add in what you want by way of snacks and drinks to fill the order.
Summing Up Go Native World’s Vegetable Curry Pack
Overall, the food I did have was particularly tasty and, at the end of the day, that’s what is most important to me when it comes to food in the outdoors.
I think these ration packs would be far better suited to those who are doing an overnight or two-day/ two-night trek or car camp trip.
