5 ms·

There's a niche that Soylent has been really helpful in, that pretty much everyone seems to have ignored so far (including Soylent-the-company, who I sent an em

There's a niche that Soylent has been really helpful in, that pretty much everyone seems to have ignored so far (including Soylent-the-company, who I sent an email to regarding this and received back a form letter response that hadn't had all of its fields filled in). Backpacking, hiking, search and rescue, hunting, anything outdoors. I carry an unopened package of Soylent powder in my SAR pack and I've been glad I have it several times. Take a Nalgene, fill it up to about 300 ml with powder, add water, shake vigorously, and now you have enough fuel to ease fatigue for several hours. It's lightweight and convenient and easy. Cleanup is simple. Now when I'm peak-bagging my default is just to carry some Soylent with me. The only time I carry my mess kit anymore is if I'm going out with the intention of a morning, afternoon, or evening meal ritual being a planned part of the trip. Like, "let's hike out to Phoenix Lake and have a nice hot dinner at sunset." Otherwise, Soylent. I've been gradually becoming a disciple of the ultralight over the last couple of years and food weight is challenging to whittle down. The alternatives, freeze-dried anything, are mostly disgusting and still require carrying a stove, fuel, and require cleanup. Soylent has reduced my pack weight and size by quite a bit, and (for the most part) I'm getting better nutrition overall because I can just chug it in small doses throughout the day. It also means I'm less likely to develop a fatigue-related injury. It's gotten some attention from other folks on my SAR team and my longtime hiking partner has started giving it a try too. It doesn't seem to be something that's really caught on in the outdoor industry yet. I really wish Soylent would sell small, lightweight packages of the powder that were pre-sized to mix with about .8 liters of water and then get it into places like REI, but I guess that's not something they're very interested in.

enraged_camel 10y ago
I tried the powder when backpacking like you described when I went on a camping trip last year. The problem is that you need to rinse the Nalgene bottle thoroughly after consuming the Soylent (which means you have to carry excess water, or find a water source relatively quickly). Otherwise it stinks like hell. I found Soylent 2.0 and Coffiest work a lot better, since their bottles are disposable. Just put it in your trash bag and you're good.
skookum 10y ago
How do you deal with the Nalgene getting funky once you're >1 days into a trip, or does the Soylent rinse out cleanly enough for it to not be a concern? I used to use Accelerade for a significant proportion of my calories when backpacking - mainly because I have trouble getting down enough solid food when I'm on the go - but switched to Accel gels because the drink mix would leave the bottle pretty nasty after the first day. > The alternatives, freeze-dried anything, are mostly disgusting and still require carrying a stove, fuel, and require cleanup I've found Mountain House to be decently close to tasting like real food and requires no cleanup other than wiping the spoon. A Snow Peak LiteMax with a 750ml titanium pot weigh next to nothing, but there is still the fuel canister. I find the MoHo tasty enough that I'll eat it at home or work on occasion if I really don't want to spend any time on a meal.
- thaumaturgy 10y ago
  I haven't had trouble with rinsing out the Nalgene so far. I'm pretty fastidious with my gear, so everything gets cleaned thoroughly shortly after I get home, which helps. Otherwise, while I'm out, if there's a water source nearby I just rinse with that (not dumping the leftovers into the water obviously), if there isn't, I'll pour about half a cup of my supply into the Nalgene and rinse, shake, and scrub thoroughly with my hands. The older powder was a bit tougher to clean (but not difficult), the newer one is easier. Mountain House probably got better since I last tried their stuff, but it still requires stopping, cooking, cleanup. I've got an MSR Windburner and I love it for what it is, but if I just want to put down a lot of miles for a quick trip the Soylent is king. I'm >this< close to being able to do a Summer overnight with my 12L BD Bbee. ...of course, developing some serious intestinal discomfort 18 miles from the car would suck, so there's that.
aembleton 10y ago
You've inspired me to give this a go. I do a lot of hiking, but never considered Soylent or the UK equivalent - Huel [1]. Just ordered my first batch of Huel and am going to try it next weekend. Could make my pack lighter and might be more nutritious. 1. https://huel.com/ https://huel.com/
soundwave106 10y ago
Generally speaking it seems like energy bars targeting the outdoors crowd come in bar form. I can see that... from my perspective a bar's easier to lug around in a backpack compared to something you need to add water to. That said I agree in another aspect... I'm actually surprised I couldn't find more MRE (not just energy-granola type) bars that specifically market to the outdoor crowd on Google, especially considering things like ultralight backpacking becoming more popular. I could only find one offhand (http://www.greenbelly.co/ http://www.greenbelly.co/). Maybe I'm missing more, but it does seem like there would be more of a market for this sort of thing.
- skookum 10y ago
  REI sells a bunch of stuff that's similar other than not coming in as large a single serving size. ProBar and Bonk Breaker are the two I've found to be most palatable. Apart from the big brands at REI, there's a ton of smaller brands - for example: http://katesrealfood.com/ http://katesrealfood.com/. I suspect the reasons there's not more of this stuff in full meal size is that a third of a pound of dry, compressed food is not the most enticing thing to eat multiple times a day. Speaking for myself, I also find that after a day of getting your ass kicked by Mother Nature, having something that somewhat approximates comfort food - warm, saucy, even if rehydrated - before crawling into your tent or bivy is a big morale booster.

enraged_camel 10y ago

I tried the powder when backpacking like you described when I went on a camping trip last year. The problem is that you need to rinse the Nalgene bottle thoroughly after consuming the Soylent (which means you have to carry excess water, or find a water source relatively quickly). Otherwise it stinks like hell. I found Soylent 2.0 and Coffiest work a lot better, since their bottles are disposable. Just put it in your trash bag and you're good.

skookum 10y ago

How do you deal with the Nalgene getting funky once you're >1 days into a trip, or does the Soylent rinse out cleanly enough for it to not be a concern? I used to use Accelerade for a significant proportion of my calories when backpacking - mainly because I have trouble getting down enough solid food when I'm on the go - but switched to Accel gels because the drink mix would leave the bottle pretty nasty after the first day. > The alternatives, freeze-dried anything, are mostly disgusting and still require carrying a stove, fuel, and require cleanup I've found Mountain House to be decently close to tasting like real food and requires no cleanup other than wiping the spoon. A Snow Peak LiteMax with a 750ml titanium pot weigh next to nothing, but there is still the fuel canister. I find the MoHo tasty enough that I'll eat it at home or work on occasion if I really don't want to spend any time on a meal.

thaumaturgy 10y ago
I haven't had trouble with rinsing out the Nalgene so far. I'm pretty fastidious with my gear, so everything gets cleaned thoroughly shortly after I get home, which helps. Otherwise, while I'm out, if there's a water source nearby I just rinse with that (not dumping the leftovers into the water obviously), if there isn't, I'll pour about half a cup of my supply into the Nalgene and rinse, shake, and scrub thoroughly with my hands. The older powder was a bit tougher to clean (but not difficult), the newer one is easier. Mountain House probably got better since I last tried their stuff, but it still requires stopping, cooking, cleanup. I've got an MSR Windburner and I love it for what it is, but if I just want to put down a lot of miles for a quick trip the Soylent is king. I'm >this< close to being able to do a Summer overnight with my 12L BD Bbee. ...of course, developing some serious intestinal discomfort 18 miles from the car would suck, so there's that.

aembleton 10y ago

You've inspired me to give this a go. I do a lot of hiking, but never considered Soylent or the UK equivalent - Huel [1]. Just ordered my first batch of Huel and am going to try it next weekend. Could make my pack lighter and might be more nutritious. 1. https://huel.com/ https://huel.com/

soundwave106 10y ago

Generally speaking it seems like energy bars targeting the outdoors crowd come in bar form. I can see that... from my perspective a bar's easier to lug around in a backpack compared to something you need to add water to. That said I agree in another aspect... I'm actually surprised I couldn't find more MRE (not just energy-granola type) bars that specifically market to the outdoor crowd on Google, especially considering things like ultralight backpacking becoming more popular. I could only find one offhand (http://www.greenbelly.co/ http://www.greenbelly.co/). Maybe I'm missing more, but it does seem like there would be more of a market for this sort of thing.

skookum 10y ago
REI sells a bunch of stuff that's similar other than not coming in as large a single serving size. ProBar and Bonk Breaker are the two I've found to be most palatable. Apart from the big brands at REI, there's a ton of smaller brands - for example: http://katesrealfood.com/ http://katesrealfood.com/. I suspect the reasons there's not more of this stuff in full meal size is that a third of a pound of dry, compressed food is not the most enticing thing to eat multiple times a day. Speaking for myself, I also find that after a day of getting your ass kicked by Mother Nature, having something that somewhat approximates comfort food - warm, saucy, even if rehydrated - before crawling into your tent or bivy is a big morale booster.