The MRE does have the advantage of being able to be eaten directly from the pouch with out prep, the Mountain House meals must have water added to it and most meals require hot water. There are two quick options for heating the meals. An instant heat bag, similar to MRE's, or you can carry a jet-boil. I'm an avid hiker and carry the jetboil in my BoB. I think that having options is probably the best advice. To be a good prepper you need to know your options, both pros and cons. I live in deep south, and cool dry locations are hard to come by, thus making MRE's a less desirable option for me. The bottom line is know your options, and do what works best for you.

Ok, so this article was obviously biased towards MRE's. That's fine, but it left out the most important difference between MRE's and Backpacking meals. Which is shelf life. Mountain House meals have a shelf life of 7 years while MRE's are only three. I know there are people who push the three year date, but you could do the same thing with backpacking meals too. The other difference is cost per calorie. MRE's are cheaper on a cost per calorie basis, but if you keep up with shelf life of them that benefit disappears. On a more subjective level I prefer the taste of the mountain house meals. In a survival situation it's amazing how a dessert of Raspberry Crumble can brighten up the day. This one truly comes down to personal preference in my opinion, you have to go with what works with your style. If you enjoy eating MRE's on a regular basis, then shelf life isn't a problem. If you have them prepped for a long term, backpacking meals is probably a better option for you.

I think that the initial Bug Out has to be as light as possible, and therefore care for as few as possible. Only your immediate family. Once you get to your Bug Out spot then you can start to a communal group. I agree with the tribe analogy. Our group is set up so that we all meet up at our Bug Out location, about a 3 days hike out of town, but we're all responsible for getting ourselves there. Once there we're able to work together. Long term survival is going to be much easier, and more enjoyable in a small tribe than doing it alone.