Dehydrating food for PCT – ziplock bags vs vacuum sealing

I dont have much experience in the exact conditions you describe, but it sounds like you have a good handle on the issues and a solid plan in place.  I’ll be very interested to hear how it goes… it’ll be a great opportunity to learn something :)

Further thoughts?  The food will be at relatively high elevations (9000′ and above)

Packed at sea level, they’re going to expand. This why Mtn House started making the “pro” packs.

I would SO get the vacuum sealer and not look back. In fact, I did. They have the advantage of also blocking odors so much better than ziploc bags.

@dgposton  — You said to correct you if you were wrong, so…

YES, you can use vacuum sealer bags for FBC.  I use a very similar set-up to JCH, and I’ve been FBC in those bags for 3 years of thru-hikes.  It works beautifully.

Packed at sea level, they’re going to expand.

Yep.

They have the advantage of also blocking odors so much better than ziploc bags.

Yep.

I would SO get the vacuum sealer and not look back

Yep!

I’ve been FBC in those bags for 3 years of thru-hikes. It works beautifully.

And Yep!  :)

Which vacuum sealer bags do you use for FBC?  Can you make your own size bags out of rolls?  I’m thinking of picking up this one on amazon:

Vac bags that JCH linked above.

I’ve been using them for some time and they are perfect for the job. You fill and seal them on the non-zip end of the bag, which you can also trim with scissors to make smaller if necessary. With these bags I normally trim off about 3 inches when filling with the typical 3-4oz serving of MH dehydrated food.

They are perfect on the trail because you tear open the top and unzip to put in water, re-zip to let the food rehydrate, and put it in cozy or a fleece jacket.

A good way to go about the repackaging procedure is to dump the entire contents of the #10 can into a large mixing bowl, and mix it up really well (dry, of course) with a large spoon to distribute the contents evenly. Use a plastic container (the large soup containers for Chinese take-out are perfect), put it on your scale and tare to zero. With the large spoon put about 2.5 to 4 oz of the MH food into the container, and make sure to use a scale… don’t “eyeball” it. Pour the contents into the vacuum bag and seal. Repeat this procedure and you’ll get anywhere from 5 to 7 servings (maybe 8) from a #10 can depending upon how large you like your servings.