Peak REFUEL – iReviewGear.com

When every ounce matters you need to most bang for your buck. Peak Refuel meals give you the nutrition you need and weight you do not. What sets them apart from the others you may ask? Well, that is simple. The actually taste like food!

Just the Facts:

HIGH PROTEIN

Our meals have nearly double the amount of protein per serving than most of the outdoor meals on the market.

100% REAL MEAT

Peak Refuel will never use TVP or any other filler in the meat we use. Our meals will always contain 100% USDA inspected meat.

LESS WATER TO REHYDRATE

Peak Refuel meals require less water to cook or rehydrate than most of the outdoor meals on the market. Less water to pack in or filter through a pump = happy hikers.

PREMIUM INGREDIENTS

All growers and suppliers for Peak Refuel ingredients must go through an extensive screening process before we choose to do business with them. We pride ourselves on quality and make sure everyone who plays a role in Peak Refuel can meet our high standards.

My Story:

After meeting some of the great folks at this past summer’s OR in Denver I went home to start my emails. As I shuffled through my cards I came upon the Peak Refuel card that I had picked up while wandering through the maze of booths. I knew I had a plan for them and so I banged out a quick email. 

I am a product test and review guy. That should come as no surprise as you are reading a review on a review site. So, it was time to set into motion the working of a review. First off, I needed to acquire some product. I was planning my October elk hunting trip in Idaho and I knew this was going to be the best part of the year for me to test the most important part of the endeavor, food.

My plan was to get out into the backcountry for 8 full days of hunting and I was going to need some great food to keep me going. On a typical trip I plan for 1 freeze dried meal for dinner and sometimes one for breakfast. Lunch is typically some trail mix and a bar of some sort. So, I looked over the peak menu and chose to get the appropriate amount of food for the trip based on what they had available.

My menu for the trip was as follows:

Dinners would be:

Beef Pasta Marinara X2

Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken Alfredo

Elk Ragu

Homestyle Chicken and Rice

Sweet Pork and Rice

Chicken Coconut Curry

Breakfast:

Biscuit and Gravy X2

Breakfast Skillet

Strawberry Granola

Mountain Berry Granola X2

If you are looking this list over and you are thinking that is a ton of food you are right! In the backcountry of Idaho, you almost never feel anything but hungry. This is grueling work and the hills take every bit of energy you can find and they chew it up and spit it out. The with an average of about 850 calories per dinner meal I was able to stay right around 2000 calories for the day and if my backpack and body would have allowed it I would gladly have doubled that intake.

***A quick not before we get going here. If you are looking for a ton of pictures of me stuffing my face you are going to be disappointed. If you are looking for honest assessment of some great meals and some information you might not have known about than you are in the right place!***

So, what do they taste like? To be honest, this is an impossible question to answer as taste is so subjective. What I can tell you is that from my standpoint, they taste like food, like normal delicious food. You don’t get the sodium bomb like some others give. You get a full-flavored meal that tastes like the name of the meal. They are all good, honestly they are very good! I’m sure you want to know what my favorite was? Hands down it was the chicken alfredo. With a slice of garlic bread, I bet I could fool just about anyone into thinking it was homemade. It is freaking delicious! I would love to promise that you are going to love them all too but I don’t know you or what you like. So, what I can tell you is that if you are looking for a freeze dried meal that is as close to a home cooked meal as you’re going to get than you are in the right place. Unless you are an alien I truly think you will love what you taste.

So, what makes Peak Refuel better? What makes them different? What is the hype? Those are all great questions, and my first answer is water. That’s it, just water. Peak meals use less water than other meals and that makes them better. In a backcountry situation where water can be hard to come by that is a huge deal. A quick inventory of the freeze-dried meals I have at home tells me that the Peak meals use less water than any of the Mountain House meals I have on hand. This also makes Peak Refuel honest as they advertise as such so it’s nice to see that is actually true. For me, honesty in advertising is extremely important. So, hot food with less water. That is not something to just forget about.

On the flip side they also have some fantastic cold meals. The Mountain Berry Granola and the Strawberry Granola are very good. just ad water and get after it!

Peak Refuel is different because they take a better approach to the main reason we eat in the first place. That of course being nutrition, or what we get out of the food we eat. Peak meals have less sodium, more protein, fresher more wholesome ingredients. (You might notice Peak advertises not using (TVP) or Textured Vegetable Protein. Yes its as gross as it sounds so tip of the hat to you Peak!) Also, they list the nutrition information like freaking humans. Like, who eats half a free dried meal? I would guess most of us that open them eat the whole thing so it’s nice to see the entire package nutrition information listed plain as day. I don’t want to have to do math while standing in the isle of the sporting good store.

Look at these two Chicken Teriyaki and Rice meals. Look at them as a whole package.

Peak Refuel: 1 1/3 Cups water needed  

Calories 580

Sodium 1390mg

Protein 40g

Carbs 78g

Fat 8g

Mountain House: 2 Cups water needed

Calories 550

Sodium 1650mg

Protein 25g

Carbs 100g

Fat 5g

I’m not a dietician but I can tell you that when you are exerting a ton of energy over a long period of time you want FPC’s (Fat, Protein, Carbs) to be high. Some folks even add Fat Bombs to their meals to increase energy. Just watch the show Alone and listen season after season as they talk about the same problem. What is it? Fat, blubber, chubby maker just some good old fashion fat. The other two are constantly the high point of every fad diet in the world. So, I like to try and stick to balance. If they are all important, I want them all in my meal, and it would appear that Peak Refuel is doing a better job of balancing them out all while minimizing the use of salt and the need for extra water. What a great idea!

When I returned from my trip in Idaho I was almost immediately out for another as my daughter had a late whitetail tag. So, off we went. I threw the last 2 meals I had into my truck just in case the days ran long and we needed a meal while glassing. Well, wouldn’t you know it that is exactly how it panned out and we ended up crushing those meals from the side of the road while glassing some far away whitetails. It was a great way to end my testing period and the best part of it was that my daughter found a freeze dried meal she actually liked! I’m telling you, that chicken alfredo is some good business! I also enjoy the Stroganoff.  

What can be done better?

I have no major issues with anything Peak is doing. I would like a few more menu options but I’m sure that day is coming.