Oats come in basically 4 grades
milled oats - odds are you've never seen these.
Steel cut oats - Said to make the best oatmeal, but it can take an hour to make. This is irish oatmeal (brand name) or also refered to as pinhead oats
Rolled oats - Simply steel cut oats rolled out flat. Best for making granola, and makes mediocre oatmeal (takes about 5-10 minutes)
Instant oats - Rolled oats that have been rolled again. worst flavor, of any of these.
The oatmeal that comes in the packets is just instant oats, so the oats themselves are really not better or worse than the others (to my knowledge). You might want to concern yourself with the other contents of the packet (namely sugar). best just to buy a big container of rolled oats, a jar of honey, and some real fruit.