Real Turmat Bidos Review

Overview

Bidos is Real Turmat’s freeze-dried take on the Sami reindeer stew of northern Scandinavia: potato, carrot, onion and reindeer in a dark, savory game broth. It weighs 54 g dry and turns into a 370 g bowl with a pour of hot water. The trade-off is plain. The flavor and texture beat most trail food, and the 246 calories mean it works as a lunch or a starter, not as a full dinner.

Key Specs

Spec	Detail
Weight (dry, net)	54 g
Prepared weight	370 g
Calories	246 kcal per pouch
Macros (per pouch)	14 g fat, 18 g carbs, 12 g protein, 3 g fibre
Salt	3.2 g per pouch
Water needed	About 370 ml (3.7 dl)
Steep time	8 minutes
Shelf life	5 years, stored at room temperature
Allergens	Gluten (wheat flour), soy
Dietary	Lactose free, milk free
Origin	Made in Norway

Performance

Flavor and texture. This is where Bidos earns its reputation. The ingredient list is vegetable-forward: potato (25%), carrot (19%), reindeer meat product (18.5%) and onion (15%), thickened with wheat flour and rapeseed oil and seasoned with game bouillon, leek and soy sauce. The result eats closer to a stew than a soup, and several buyers make that point themselves. The Great Outdoors magazine gave it 5 out of 5 and named it best in test. Its reviewer expected a gamey flavor and instead found the meat restrained, with the savory depth coming from the leek, onion, soy and bouillon blend. She added no salt or hot sauce. UK buyers describe the reindeer as small, chewy chunks, something like biltong. They also say the reindeer flavor carries through the potato and carrots, including for people who normally dislike carrots.

Rehydration. The pouch has a fill line. Tear the top, add about 370 ml of hot water to the mark, stir, seal and wait 8 minutes. Testers report that potato, carrot and meat all rehydrate fully in that window, and the broth thickens into a homemade-style consistency rather than staying watery. That reliability matters on a cold evening when no one wants to chew crunchy carrot. As with any pouch meal, the bag has to stay warm, so a cozy helps in sub-10°C weather.

Calories and weight. At 54 g and 246 kcal, the dry-weight energy density works out to about 4.6 kcal per gram. That is respectable for something so vegetable-heavy, but the absolute number is the problem. A full dinner pouch typically delivers well over 500 calories, and Bidos delivers less than half of that. Retailers position it for short trips and lunches. Reviewers say the same, noting that it satisfies a smaller appetite and needs snacks or a second pouch to handle a hungry day. The Great Outdoors review lists “cost for low calories” as its only con. The reviewer plans to carry it as a calorie top-up on harder days.

Sodium. A pouch carries 3.2 g of salt. That helps replace what a hiker sweats out, and it explains why the broth tastes seasoned without additions. Anyone watching sodium should account for it.

Shelf life and packing. Five years of shelf life at room temperature makes it a good resupply-box or emergency-kit item. The flat pouch packs small. Retailers list the dry food at 54 g, and some list the packaged weight closer to 71–72 g, so the empty bag adds a modest amount to the carried and packed-out weight.

Diet notes. The soup is lactose and milk free, which suits many hikers who struggle with the dairy in cream-based pouch meals. It is not gluten free, since wheat flour is the thickener. It also contains soy, and the bouillon includes beef extract alongside the reindeer.

Price. Retail prices run from about 85 NOK in Norway to roughly £7.99 in the UK and about $7 at a Swedish retailer’s USD listing. That is a lot for 246 calories, and buying two to make a proper meal pushes the cost above that of most single-pouch dinners.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Rich, savory flavor with a restrained reindeer note, and no extra seasoning needed
• Potato, carrot and meat rehydrate fully in 8 minutes
• Thickens into a stew-like texture rather than a thin broth
• Light at 54 g dry, with a five-year shelf life
• Lactose free and milk free
• Made from recognizable ingredients, with vegetables listed first

Cons

• Only 246 kcal, so it needs a partner to count as dinner
• Expensive per calorie
• Contains gluten and soy, so it is no use for celiac or soy-allergic hikers
• High sodium, at 3.2 g of salt per pouch
• Reindeer is a modest share of the recipe (18.5% meat product), with potato and carrot making up most of the bulk

Who Should Buy This

Bidos suits hikers who want a hot, interesting lunch or a warm-up course before a main meal on a weekend or section trip. Cold-weather hikers who value a thick, comforting bowl will also like it, as will anyone avoiding dairy who is bored with the usual pasta-and-cream-sauce pouches. Thru-hikers who budget by calories and dollars should look elsewhere. So should anyone avoiding gluten or soy, and anyone who wants one pouch to cover a full day’s dinner.

Verdict

Bidos is among the better-tasting freeze-dried soups on the market, and it rehydrates reliably in 8 minutes. It is a side or lunch course, and at its price it is a treat more than a staple. Recommended as a lunch or starter, with a clear note that it will not fuel a dinner on its own.