Dave's visit to Radix Nutrition: The future of Hiking Food

In this exciting blog post, Dave Parker from PAST Outdoors talks us through his inspiring visit to Radix Nutrition in New Zealand.

I have eaten almost every type of camping and hiking food over the years and consumed countless different army ration packs from many different nations. I think this qualifies me to pass judgment on what is hot and what is not.

Malaysian Army ration packs from the 70’s with a fish curry that’s exploded in your pack - they are not.

Radix Nutrition Ultra 800 Chipotle Lime Burrito Bowl - now that is hot!

Complex science for ultralight hiking meals

Radix does not ‘make food’ or freeze dry a favourite recipe in the hope it performs and tastes good. Radix Nutrition uses the latest science, AI modelling and a team of scientists and nutritionists to engineer healthy, complete nutrition that can be prepared in minutes wherever you are.

At PAST Outdoors we have partnered with Radix Nutrition for over 4 years to provide healthy, convenient food for hiking to everyone from first time hikers, airline pilots, professional athletes, special forces, commuters, biologists, Duke of Ed programs, flood relief victims and the list goes on. 

Only the best nutrition for hiking meals

Gaining a reputation for curating only the best nutrition and using the Radix Ultra 800 range as the core products, PAST Outdoors has been working directly with the NSW Ambulance Service and Police Force specialist rescue teams to provide custom ultralight 12 and 24 hour meal packs that enable them to stay in the field longer and remove unnecessary weight out of the backpacks. 

After coming off a mountain in the Canterbury Plains on the South Island it was a quick shower and off to the airport for the short flight to Hamilton NZ  where I was greeted at the gate by Mike who along with his family hosted me for my stay. 

After my first sleep in a real bed after 10 days we were up early to begin our day at Radix HQ. Arriving at the purpose built facility I was warmly greeted and welcomed by the team and finally I could put a face and voice to everyone that we deal with on a regular basis via email.

First up was an intro to the development team that demonstrated how they are using AI to collate thousands of academic studies, health data, and nutritional information from across the globe to set nutrition goals and design the recipes and search out nutritionally dense ingredients to continually improve and expand the range of offering from Radix Nutrition.

Freeze dried camping food of the highest quality

After a hygiene routine that rivaled my Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare de-contamination training I was in head to toe tyvek suits, gloves, mask and head nets. This was required to tour the -22 degrees manufacturing facilities where fresh and frozen raw ingredients are received, catalogued and prepared for the state of the art freeze dryer that looked like something out of a dystopian film. 

With each individual component freeze dried and vacuum packed they are moved into storage ready to be recalled when a particular meal is being blended.

Blending the perfect, nutritionally balanced hiking meals

In the blending room it was Basil Pesto Pasta day in the Ultra 800 range and I was able to see how the various whole foods are blended together and added to the packaging along with the oils and freeze dried sauce, all ready to be brought back to life with the addition of a little water.

After a short lunch Mike invited me into the research and development room where the team were testing out new ingredients. I was thrilled to see that the team still used Mike’s original benchtop freeze drier that he started Radix Nutrition with in a lounge room to conduct the R and D. Now I can’t tell you what was being worked on - but it was exciting and I can wait to see it move through and into the backpacks of people around the globe.

I had an amazing and educational day. Seeing what the team has built at Radix under the leadership of Mike and his refusal to deviate from his clear mission of building a world where a natural, nutrient dense diet with everything your body needs is available to you anywhere on earth. I believe that Radix Nutrition is the food we will eat on Mars!

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