Millennium Bars, brought to us by SOS Food Labs comes in at the top spot with a huge variety of flavor options and just chock full of calories. 2,460 calories making up less than 21 ounces of deliciously flavored bars is not bad when it comes to caloric density on the go.
Specs
- Package: 6 individually wrapped bars
- Calories: 2,460 (each bar is 410 calories)
- Variety: 6 flavors out of 9 options
- Shelf Life: 5 years
- Weight: 20.4 ounces (each bar is 3.4 ounces)
When compared to all of the other options, these things are delicious. Since our first review of these a few years back, we’ve transitioned most of our own kits to have these in them and even eat them occasionally as a meal replacement. The main drawback when compared with survival food bars is that it is a true energy bar- prioritizing calories over nutrition. You’ll need to plan on using them to power through a short period with their lack of protein and other nutrients.
The flavors manufactured include apricot, blueberry, cherry, coconut, lemon, orange, raspberry, tropical fruit, and vanilla. If you get larger assortments, you’ll likely get the entire variety of flavors. I’ve tried all of the flavors and like the lemon the best. Ironically, it’s the one that tastes most similar to the shortcake flavor of typical ration bars.
These bars are great for stashing in bug out bags, get home bags, and any mobile survival kit. They withstand extreme temperatures and are US Coast Guard-approved, in case you find yourself on a boat. The shelf life is a minimum of 5 years (usually far exceeds this with room temperature storage). They are non-thirst-provoking.
Grab a pack of Millennium Bars for your kits and you won’t regret it.
Budget Ration Bars
SOS Emergency Food Rations
Cheap, Calorie Dense, and Effective
The reliably cheap survival food in that signature blocky package is not just for boats.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
Our budget pick, the SOS Emergency Food Rations, are the cheap, block-shaped ration bars you recognize. There are a few brands that make ‘boat rations’, but the S.O.S. is the best bang for the buck and doesn’t taste bad to boot. It is 3,690 calories packed into 1.6 pounds of dense ration bar, and (of course) it’s US Coast Guard approved.
Specs
- Package: 9 bars in one foil pouch
- Calories: 3,690
- Variety: 1 flavor: lemon shortbread
- Shelf Life: 5 years
- Weight: 17.5 ounces
One of the main advantages of these bars is that they are ‘non-thirst provoking’, meaning they aren’t dry and won’t make you exceptionally thirsty. This makes them an excellent choice as a stand-alone food source when supplies – and especially water – are limited. They are high in sugar and low in nutrients though, so they are meant to be a very short-term solution to keep you alive.
For all these reasons, the SOS Emergency Food Rations make a great choice for car kits and conditionally for bug out bags and get home bags.
Upgrade Survival Tabs
Survival Tabs
Convenient, Portable, and Huge Shelf Life
The best portable, long-lasting, emergency food solution for any situation.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
The Survival Tabs are just so darn convenient that we couldn’t leave them out of this list. It’s true- they don’t pack quite the calories per dollar that our other picks do, but they are way easier to eat on the move. This four-pack contains 960 calories at a total of half a pound- so you aren’t giving up much for a much more convenient tab. The versatility makes them excel when you are trying to get stuff done in an emergency but need to keep your calories up.
Specs
- Package: 24 tabs in resealable mylar pouch
- Calories: 480
- Variety: 4 flavor options
- Shelf Life: 25 years
- Weight: 3.5 ounces
Each tab is 20 calories, so it makes the math easy. The tabs are easy to pop on the move and share quickly- no splitting apart messy blocks or arguing over rations. The different flavors give us some tasty variety, which is always nice. These go great in bug out bags, get home bags, and anywhere you want to stash some mobile food rations.
If you are looking for the most portable survival calorie solution, grab a pack of Survival Tabs for your go bag.
Protein Survival Bar
PowerPuck
Convenient, Portable, and Tasty
The best portable, long-lasting, emergency food solution for any situation.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
Typically, survival foods and emergency rations rely on carbs for fast energy and to be temperature-stable. Powerfit Foods bucks this trend with its zero-carb PowerPuck which is packed full of whey protein and tastes surprisingly good. There is a range of bases and flavors that you can mix and match, so there is a solid variety to try out.
Specs
- Package: 1 ‘puck’ in a resealable mylar pouch
- Calories: 1,000
- Variety: 24 flavor/base combinations
- Shelf Life: 2 years
- Weight: 4.5 ounces
One downside is the high shipping fees from the vendor. If you happen to live near Englewood, CO you can do a local pickup but the rest of us have to shell out at least $7 per order. Ordering several or a variety each time makes much more sense.
The rest of the Powerfit foods require refrigeration, so the pucks are the only contenders for survival kits and bug out bags. Even still, the Pocket PowerPucks can melt so stick with the classic large puck that is compressed like a ration bar.
The caloric density is off the charts, with 1,000 calories in just 4.5 ounces. This makes it the most efficient calorie source we’ve considered in all of our testing, and that includes the package weight.
If you want to skip the carbs in favor of protein, stash a PowerPuck in your bug out bag.
Comparison Table
| Food Bar | Pick | Price* | Type | Calories | Shelf Life |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millennium Bars | Best Overall | $19 | Energy bar | 2.460 | 5 years |
| SOS Food Rations | Starter | $13 | Ration bar | 3,690 | 5 years |
| Survival Tabs | Survival Tab | $10 | Survival tab | 480 | 25 years |
| PowerPuck | Protein | $8 | Protein bar | 1,000 | 2 years |
| UST Ration Bar | $10 | Ration bar | 2,400 | 5 years | |
| Pocket PowerPucks | $12 | Protein tab | 1,000 | 2 years | |
| Datrex Emergency Ration | $14 | Ration bar | 2,400 | 5 years | |
| Clif Bars | $15 | Energy bar | 3,900 | 6 months | |
| First Strike Energy Bars | $18 | Energy bar | 1,500 | 5 years | |
| Mayday Food Bar | $19 | Ration bar | 2,400 | 5 years | |
| Clif Builders Bars | $20 | Protein bar | 3,480 | 6 months | |
| Grizzly Gear Food Rations | $20 | Ration bar | 3,600 | 5 years | |
| 4Patriots Food Bar | $20 | Ration bar | 3,600 | 5 years | |
| Datrex 3600 Food Bar | $21 | Ration bar | 3,600 | 5 years | |
| Mainstay Food Rations | $22 | Ration bar | 3,600 | 5 years | |
| Probars | $24 | Protein bar | 3,240 | 1 year | |
| Survival Mode Ration Bars | $25 | Energy bar | 2,460 | 5 years |
*Price at time of latest update
The Food Bars We Compared
Our research narrowed the field down to the several survival food, hiking, and ration bar brands that we tested: Datrex, SOS Food Labs, Millennium, Survival Tabs, Mayday, Grizzly Gear, First Strike, and more.
There are a lot of brands that make ration bars, and they all have their pros and cons. There is a little bit of a debate on what makes a ‘bar’, but we decided to stick to the idea of portable solid food that does not require any preparation or cooking to eat.
Sports energy, protein, and candy bars struggled due to their inability to handle temperature changes. Opening a package in an emergency to find your food bar a melted mess is not ideal for energy on the go. All of our picks can handle higher temperatures without melting and low temperatures without becoming rock-hard.
If you already have sports, protein, or even candy bars- they can be fine in a pinch or if you are on a strict budget.