Esbit Pocket Stove

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

I was surprised at some of the negative reviews, but I think there might be some confusion of how, and when to use this.

YOU WILL LOVE THIS IF:
You are a backpacking minimalist, and want to keep the bulk and weight down. This product is best to boil water for dehydrated meals, oatmeal, beverages, etc. You can't use this for cooking chicken or pancakes. It is just not designed for comfort-driven car campers. If you are a minimalist who camps out of a backpack and eats primarily dehydrated meals, you will get a lot of use out of this.

You will have to practice lighting the fuel a bit, and there is a slight odor, (don't use in an unventilated tent) but it works in a variety of temperature conditions, and I've found that one tablet will boil 1/2 quart of water in about 8 minutes, if properly used.

YOU MUST USE A WINDSCREEN for this to be effective. Use a very small pan, (2 cup max) with a good windscreen and you'll have no problem. This is really not meant for use without a windscreen or with a large pot. Do a search for a windscreen, or Google it for directions on how to make your own.

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

if you watch the bonus features on the MARCH OF THE PENGUINS dvd you'll notice a scene where the film crew make their meal in -40C weather using a fuel tablet stove (can't be certain it was esbit, but sure looked like it). this is probably the most inhospitable place & conditions & they opted to use a solid fuel tablet stove.

i tested esbit hexamine fuel tablets vs trioxane(army surplus) vs coghlan/hi-gear in a water boil test.

20 oz water / 2080' elevation / 78 degree weather.

esbit hexamine : 10 min usable burn time : boiled in 8 min
trioxane : 5 min burn time : never reached boiling
coghlan : 8 min spotty burn time (had to add another tablet )

overall, the esbit tablets worked the best. trioxane tablets, which you can buy at most army surplus stores, are poisonous & you are warned to keep the flaky powder away from your food. they are cheaper, but not worth the money. the coghlan tablets are round & smaller, so you'll have to carry at least 2 to match just 1 of the esbit.

although the coghlan & hi-gear fuel tablets are similar to esbit, their stoves are considerably heavier & larger. the esbit stoves are light, compact & can carry 4 tablets when closed. the fuel smells fishy so it may be a good idea to keep it in a resealable ziplock bag.

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

Okay, first things first. I've used this stove on several trips always with excellent results. But this is not a "cooking" stove. It's best use is for heating up water for coffee, tea, cocoa, and dehydrated meals. For those things, I think it's a 5-star! I generally can bring 2 cups to a simmer/boil with one cube, no problem. In temps under 40 degrees, one might not get the job quite done. But it's easy enough to gather a few twigs and toss those on the stove, under the pot, too. This will get a few more BTU's out of the stove. I use it for backpacking and paddling. Again, exclusively for "heating up water", not "cooking". It's inexpensive, lightweight and durable. Just understand its limitations and don't try to grill a steak over it. It's perfect for what it's designed to do.

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

This is a awesome stove for people like me:

Oatmeal, tea, small dehydrated meals. Anything other than that stuff in my opinion is totally unnecessary for backpacking and if you're gonna carry all that food you probably wouldn't mind a bigger bulkier stove. Here's why I love it. I flip it open and toss my two dollar piece of junk 2-cup aluminum sauce pan on top. I light a survival match and rest it in the groove on top of the cube. One cube easily boils enough for a double oatmeal or small dinner and definitely a good cup of tea. If you really need that much heat control your cuisine is out of my league. I love this stove for it's uses. Simple, light and smart. Plus itself, and about 6 cubes plus matches pack right inside my pan. Win, win.

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

I took this little guy with me on a winter camping trip having purchased it on a whim. I used the product at 6600' in altitude. Temperature was around 15 degrees with a light breeze. Had no trouble lighting the fuel cubes with my windproof lighter. Having only needed to use 3 cubes I cooked my dinner and melted down snow for drinking water. That used only one cube. In the morning I used two cubes, one to melt and boil snow for my oatmeal, and the second to melt down enough snow to fill my 32 oz. nalgene bottle. Did the trick pretty dang well. The only con that I can think of is there is no way to control the temperature. But hey, you're only paying like 10 bucks for this thing and the fuel cubes are way compact and cheap to replace. Overall, it did the trick for me while taking up hardly any space at all. If nothing else, buy it and bring it with you on your next camping trip as a backup plan.

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

I'm surprised at all of the negative reviews for this aw well. I first purchased this approx. 10 years while in the Marine Corps. Have used it in Jungle, high altitude mountains, desert. This is not a cooking platform as others have stated. This was/is used by me to heat a water source or melting snow for consumption. I also have used this to heat water for dehydrated cold weather MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) or coffee (must have, lol). I have always dug a small sump in the ground to place this device into, to protect the small flame. It also proveides a larger more stable platform for a larger canteen cup. For those looking to boil water or heat food, this is not for you. Get a device that a fuel bottle attaches to. Hope this clears up this devices name. Semper Fi!

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

this stove is perfect for what it is supposed to be. a light weight backpacking stove to heat food/drink for those on the move. it was designed to be used by soldiers during wwII. today it is used by the lightweight and ultra light backpackers. it's primary use is to boil water for a hot beverage and to add to the dehydrated food such as the mountain house dinners. car campers and chefs may want a different stove with greater capabilities. for backpackers on the go this is the ultimate stove and its design is over 60 years old.

some of the negative reviews are entertaining. perhaps these users did not understand the above mentioned design features of the esbit stove.

performance of "all hiking stoves" require the use of some common sense. they all require a wind screen. to increase efficiency, all pots must be sized properly for the stoves used and when used to boil water the pots should have a lid.

my experience with the esbit stove has been nothing but positive. i mate the gsi aluminum teapot to it. it holds a liter/quart of water. it is about 5" in diameter and has a lid. i get rolling boils for 2 cups of water in, between 6 and 8 minutes, depending on environmental conditions. a tablet lasts 13 minutes. the unused portions of the tablets can be conserved by simply blowing them out like a birthday candle. 2 cups of water are good for oatmeal and coffee/tea for breakfast, or, to rehydrate a mountain house dinner and a hot drink. ultralight backpackers get by on <2 tablets per day.

the fuel tablets weigh 1/2 oz each. the stove weighs 3.5 oz with the aluminum wind screen windscreen. it fits in your pocket or in your pot. for those worried about scorching the ground below the stove fold over a piece of aluminum foil and set it below it. the foil will reflect the heat up to the pot.

my white gas stove (svea123) is over 19 oz's. then you have to add fuel and worry about leaks. white gas flares and smells. it is also very flammable when all over your gear.

the pop can and trangia stoves use alcohol which can also leak and require a container to carry the fuel in. these stoves do no more cooking than the esbit stove.

when you have the lindel valve on a canister stove leak, leaving you with no fuel you will swear off these too.

after having a liquid fuel container leak all over my pack i no longer use liquid fuel stoves. for me now, it's solid fuel only. and the most convenient solid fuel is esbit followed by wood. the tablets also make great wood fire starters in an emergency.

a popular complaint is that solid fuel blackens pots. the esbit residue is easily washed off. much easer than the wood residue. some prefer the blackened pot as a black pot heats faster than a non blackened stainless, aluminum or titanium pot. use a plastic grocery bag to keep your gear from getting sooty. another complaint is that the tabs smell. well white gas, kerosene and alcohol smell too. the esbit smell is very faint. only noticeable when you stick your nose to it.

lighting a fire is a mandatory skill that needs to be learned before going in the woods. those who have trouble lighting the esbit tablet (or feel compelled to eat raw chicken) have no business being in the woods. they will be a hazard to themselves and those who have to rescue them. the tablets easily light with a match, lighter or blast match. one should practice with their gear before needing to rely on it for survival. they will then know the limits of their gear and themselves.

the esbit stove is a great light weight backing stove for it's intended purpose.

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

This is the Army folding can opener of stoves. You can't get more simple or reliable. Unless, of course you want to cook a whole chicken as a disappointed previous reviewer wanted to do. Sheesh. It's for boiling water and simple frying.

As Charles Kettering, inventor of the electric starter said, "Parts that aren't there cost nothing and never go wrong. The parts are the stove, the tablets, foil, and windproof matches. It will ALWAYS work.

You CAN get more heat for larger pots or boiling; use two tabs. Or often better, when the first tab peaks, add a second. Or third.

Something I find handy is to take the contents of a can of Sterno and fill one of those refillable tubes with it. You can use it by itself if you don't have tablets. You can add it to a tablet for more heat and also more easily light the tablet at the same time.

Take along a bit of heavy duty aluminum foil and there's your wind screen.

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

Simple, light, effective, and best of all, it boils water. No, not for the 40 lb back pack gourmet camper. It's meant to boil water and it does it very, very well. Coupled with a Ti pot this is all you need for backpacking. One to two tablets will boil 20oz. of water, enough for your standard dehydrated meal. One tablet will do oatmeal and coffee. I add twigs and grass to supplement the fuel tab and so I can conserve the fuel tablets to one per meal. Otherwise plan on two. You'll probably need 1 1/2 but plan on two. I use some aluminum foil as a wind screen to optimize the heat and control the draft. Better than an alcohol stove since your fuel is dry and can't leak.

Comments about Esbit Pocket Stove:

The first stove of this kind I ever used was my grandfather's. Years later, I share his enthusiasm for them. I've owned several. Compact, not ultra-light, but lighter than a stove and fuel bottle (less space too). If you boil water, heat food, stir and eat, this stove is for you. If you want to make pancakes under the stars, go with something with temp control. A great stove for the price!