Bushwalk Australia

No they would have been better to follow through after discussion with the owner and let me know what they were going to do.
As far as servers go, I run a business from home and my email server has never let me down with email dealings with a number of multinationals as well as local industries.

You need to read my whole post and I have to ask did you join the forum (1 post only) just to attack me personally?

Recently bought a few meals from them. One pack of laksa lost it vaccum seal. I emailed them and they got back to me rather quickly and even called me back after a few emails. Cannot fault them for service at this point. In fact I was surprised they called.

Packaged dehydrated meals off the shelf are not vaccum seal. They are just dealed in their tinned bags. The lady on the phone mention that they vac sealed it to help save space. It makes sense. I do not get the feeling that they are trying to brush me off. I very much appreciated that. They even send me a new pack of veg laksa.

So I have tried the Vegetable Laksa which I really like, and the Mushroom rissoto which is equally good. The rissoto has a big stick of butter. As soon as I say that pop into the pot, I started feeling really hungry. Which lead to the next problem. It needed to simmer on low, and I really didnt want to waste gas. So I just covered it and let it sit after boiling, and then boil it and let it sit again. It took about 30-40 min before I could eat.

Have 2 more meals that I be eating over a hike on ANZAC.

Conclusion:

I received good customer service from Strive and I find their meals, tasty. I take credit for the tastiness because I am so good at boiling water.

I also have brought many Strive meals over the last few months and now use them almost exclusively for bushwalking meals. They are very friendly in the shop and have dealt with one unsatisfactory product in a prompt and professional manner. Some of the negative things that people have said are foreign to me when I think of my experiences with Strive.
I enjoy most of the meals (as in the flavors), but wish they would have their shop in Sandy Bay open for a few few more hours a day to make it easier to buy the goods or have them available elsewhere for short notice purchase.
Glad they are a fully Tasmanian operation, also!

I was down that way last week, happened to drive by Sandy Bay and noticed they are now in where Mr Pizza used to be. I thought they were somewhere in Magnet Court, upstairs? Not any more unless my eyes deceived me.
Pity I didn't have time to call in.

I have never had the need to purchase any Strive Food products (which I believe to be very good) as I dehydrate my own meals and snacks ,in the past they were just packed in Ziploc bags and stored in the freezer for later use ,had some bag perforations and learned how to overcome that use three bags .
I now use a Vac seal Bag system and still store excess in the freezer but have not noticed any lack of quality if the vac seal was lost whilst on the track
corvus

tasadam wrote:I was down that way last week, happened to drive by Sandy Bay and noticed they are now in where Mr Pizza used to be. I thought they were somewhere in Magnet Court, upstairs? Not any more unless my eyes deceived me.
Pity I didn't have time to call in.

They've been there for at least 8 months or so

Phillipsart wrote:Following there supplied instructions for me it was more like a soup and not a pasta meal. I tried the 2nd pasta meal the following day with a lot less water and it was a lot better. More like a pasta and not a soup.

If they would Cook the pasta with the sauce etc and dehydrate together, I will use there meals on a regular basis. But what I was supplied was a bit of a disappointment. Not worth the price.

The first time I cooked their Bolognaise on the field, it ended up like a soup.



The instructions that they print on the packages, I take them with a grain of salt. I cook with about 2/3rds as much, and add the remainder as needed. That works very well for me, and results in a damn fine Bolognaise.

Their Beef Massman Curry is also very good, tried that a little while back, and was very filling.

What is that pot you're using Mr Malone?

Strider wrote:What is that pot you're using Mr Malone?

I use a GSI Dualist set, and that's the pot that comes with the set. Not bad if you're cooking for two, or solo with a coffee on the side.

I know this is an old thread but ...

I ordered a couple of packets to try from Strive foods. Today I cooked up the Minestrone and it was quite nice, I would get it again. I cooked it slowly for about 15mins on low heat (inside the house ), and used about 15ml of fuel .

I have a massaman curry to try next.

You will use a lot less fuel.if.you bring it to the boil and then turn off your stove, letting it sit for 15mins followed by a short warmup. Are these instructions not on the packet?

Strive foods have not updated their Bolognese to cook in 3 min. Have anyone tried the new batch?

Strider wrote:You will use a lot less fuel.if.you bring it to the boil and then turn off your stove, letting it sit for 15mins followed by a short warmup. Are these instructions not on the packet?

No they are not, I did read those instructions in this thread but I followed what was on the packet to see how much fuel it would use.

Those instructions were added to their website maybe 18 months ago now. Strange that they have not yet made it onto the packaging.

Strider wrote:Those instructions were added to their website maybe 18 months ago now. Strange that they have not yet made it onto the packaging.

Yes that is odd.

Just had a quick look at their site and these are the recommendations:

Cooking Method 1:

Cook the meal for the specified period of time on the packet stirring occasionally. Your meal will then be ready to eat.

Cooking Method 2:

To preserve fuel an alternate method has been recommended by one of our long term Strive clients.

In a pot mix the meal with recommended amount of water on product label and bring to the boil. Once boiled turn off the gas, cover and let the meal sit for the time specified on the pack. Bring back to the boil (just to re-heat) and the meal should be ready to eat!

I can feel a comparison test coming on .

Strider wrote:Those instructions were added to their website maybe 18 months ago now. Strange that they have not yet made it onto the packaging.

They changed the instructions on their packaging last year. The earlier packaging still had the old 10-15minute cooking instructions but the newer ones, since September last year, have had the fuel efficient instructions, at least the vegetarian ones I bought did

I've been sent a Strive 24hr ratpack (with the new spag Bol) and their gnocchi and laksa kits to do a gear test on. I'll let you know when I've done the tests. Oh and no, I'm not a Strive ambassador

We ordered on Friday and Stive sent out our order Monday via Express Post. arrived Tuesday. so can't fault the service and prompt delivery.

Spag bol was very good. An hungry guys in our group were very full from a double serve. a single serve would probably not suffice for hungry eaters.

I had the Laksa and while tasty was a bit too salty. Saltier than instant noodles and I put in more water then recommended to dilute it a bit.

Beef massam curry also good although rice took longer to cook than other meals.

Tried Strive on my recent trip. Had the Massaman Curry, Spaghetti Bol, Laksa & Gnocci. Used a bit less water than on the packet after reading this forum. The best dehydrated / freeze dried commercial meals I have tried. Especially enjoyed the spaghetti Bol and Gnocci. Didn't really like he Massaman curry- I have a pretty mild palate and found it a bit strong for me (prob not strong I know!). Anyway will be buying Strive again

I tried the Strive Spog Bol last week on a walk and it was a great dissapointment, it was very bland, lacked texture (mince was like dust) and the pasta did not rehydrate /cook out well at all. On the same trip i tried the Backcountry Spag Bol (which I had tried before) and it appears that they have changed the recipee as it was not very good either (but better than the Strive) I guess I will stick to making my own.

Steve

Interesting- my spag Bol pasta rehydrated really well & was tasty (in my opinion). Different strokes for different folks I guess...

True, I have a palate that favours savoury food, I love spicy intense strong flavours etc

I found the Bolognaise to be quite bland too. But it was edible and filling.

I liked the Spag Bil but thought a splash of extra tomato paste and some dried herbs would help with the blandness. The Gnocci and Chilli Con Carne are excellent. On a 7 night walk I'll take 4 strive meals and 3 salmon with cous cous meals with different flavourings for every night. Most excellent variety

The Strive are far and away better than backcountry, chefsway or any others I've tried.

These meals are excellent. My husband and I tried a couple on the six foot track in preparation for the overland next year. The meal sizes were ample and relatively quick to prepare. The postage was fast and the meals were well packaged. I would definitely buy these again!

I haven't tried the food but I have taken a personal exception to a couple of the product descriptions and have exchanged a few emails with the business.
I am talking from my POV as a food professional here tho and not as a bushwalker but to describe something as well known as "Chile-Con-Carne" and substituting red lentils for black beans is IMPO a "No-No" and I have let them know about their obligations under the TPA as to accurate product descriptions [ of which they seem to be blissfully unaware] and at this stage I am waiting on a reply.
Other than that there seems to me no real reason to purchase the product as these could be very simply assembled at home for a much lower cost using readily available supermarket ingredients [ with the exception of the dried beef ]

Moondog55 wrote:...I have let them know about their obligations under the TPA as to accurate product descriptions [ of which they seem to be blissfully unaware]...

Had a good belly laugh at this. Cheers.

corvus wrote:L8r.
Sth and I have good appetites and we both are satisfied with the Freeze Dried meals (they do make really good plain FD rice which you can add if you need extra bulk ),expensive not really especially if you get them with a "membership card 25% discount"and the fact that there is no washing up and only a minimal use of fuel to boil the water.

How and where do you get this magical 25% discount!

Son of a Beach wrote:Has anyone tried any of the dehydrated meals from the Tasmanian company Strive Food?

It looks like they will customise their packages to order, which looks interesting. And the prices look good.

I'd be keen to hear from people who've tried them.

Hi There
I have been using Strive foods for some meals and trips for a few years now. They are pretty good and the staff are very helpful with packaging, making up large group meal sizes and will post to anywhere for pick up.I take a "spice rack" with me to "rev" things up a bit but otherwise they are fine. Well priced and they do mince and dry veg which is good when I am in a hurry and have no time to dry my own.
Cheers
Graeme