Currently thinking about changing up my gear for shorter lightweight trips.  I have alcohol stoves but never really liked them I want to get away from canister as well.  Decided to try esbit stoves and was wondering what people have used and how they have made out.  I years ago tried a Coghlans pocket stove with their fuel looking for something smaller and more efficient.  Locally I found a esbit ti wing stove, online have seen the epicurean stove and gram cracker stoves.  Anyone use any of these and what were your thoughts?

I haven't ruled out trying them all.  In the last month I have bought 4 different mug/pots to test out and see what I like most.  After I do that I will be posting my conclusion.  So far I have picked up the GSI minimalist, Olicamp anodized space saver mug with wally world collapsible cup for a lid, snowpeak 700 and the wally world gsi dualist clone (thinking about getting the gsi dualist and doing a comprison of the two).

I like them but as you are probably aware they don't put off a tremendous amount of heat.  Works as advertised though if you can live with the limitations.

ETA:  Only used them a couple of times -- I'm certainly not an expert.

Some good info here :

Whiteblaze Esbit stoves

What stove did you use with them?

One of the things that made me revisit them is an ITI veteran (Iditarod trail invitational) mentioned in his gear list that he was using an esbit stove.

I keep one of the surplus German ones in my hiking pack; one of the unopened fuel wrapped mil surplus fuel bars fits inside when closed.  It's small and light enough that I carry it and a spare fuel pack in a Ziploc bag.  It's not something you're going to prepare a meal over but then I've always heard it was primarily for heating up packaged foods and drinks.  I've used it a couple of times to brew up some tea or make soup* when on a cold weather hike but that's about it.  For backpacking I carry a different stove.      

My truck is in the shop or I'd grab the bag out of the back and take a picture but it's just a standard German mil surp.  It looks like one of these.  I think I even bought mine from them years ago along with a box of the fuel things.  


* I'll buy those dehydrated soup/noodle cups (the decent ones, not Ramen ) and empty them into one of those Ziploc drug dealer bags (otherwise known as snack size ) then just heat 'em up in my canteen cup.  I've got a couple of them that I vacuum packed into small pouches for longer term storage in my bag; just write the contents and date on them and rotate periodically.

Another rabbit hole to go down:

Backpackinglight - Esbit testing

I like THIS folding stove. You can insert a trangia alcohol burner in lieu of the esbit tray, which is nice.

I know its milsurp.  I'm pretty sure German.

I like Esbit fuel for shorter trips.  It’s not quite as efficient as my alcohol stoves, but they do have some advantages.  I use either an Esbit “tray” in my Emberlit Fire Ant stove or the Esbit titanium folding stove (which is really tiny).  Where I find the solid fuel tabs handy is when using my natural fuel stoves and the weather sucks to the point I don’t want to deal with damp or wet wood.  For a minimalist, short distance setup, I really like that titanium folding stove; the only issue is it’s hard to stack fuel tabs if you have a larger pot, but if managed right it works for warming a couple cups of water for a meal and/or hot drink.  

I’ve found Esbit brand fuel tabs are the best.  Coghlans’ fuel tables are far less efficient to the point it’s almost a two-to-one ratio when comparing the two.  Fuel tablets do smell.  I store the tablets in an Alosak bag and of course, they have a distinct smell when burning…that smell really bugs some people.  Residue is another issue to be aware of.  It’s a pain to clean off the bottom of your pot, but it’s still manageable.  Coating your pot with a little soap before use and storing it in a dedicated bag to keep it from dirtying up your other gear when packed.

That compact folding stove is nice, because it creates about the right height to minimize too much residue; however, you really need a good windscreen to maximize efficiency.  I just use some aluminum foil and you just need to eliminate as much wind as possible.  This is where Esbit isn’t often the best choice if you’re trying to boil water for purification.  I typically just filter water first and use that to heat up because I may not always get a rolling boil.

If you can find an efficient setup without adding too much extra weight, the nice aspect is getting a pretty good idea how much water you can heat up with one tablet and plan accordingly.  What you can’t do is “cook” using Esbit tablets.  I know you can get some different stoves that allow you to simmer, but I think that defeats the purpose of this kind of minimalist setup.  Much like alcohol, I use these stoves to get me hot water which is then added to a dehydrated or freeze-dried meal/soup, or used to make a hot beverage.  I still prefer alcohol, but my small Esbit stove and fuel tablets (Esbit brand) is about half the weight of my alcohol setup for the same number of “boiled” water meals/drinks.  Also, much like alcohol, these stoves require a little more planning and patience than your typical gas stove or Jetboil.

ROCK6

Thanks for the reply rock I actually picked up the esbit ti stove last night on the way home.  From what I have read the mass of the Coghlans is half the mass of the esbit tablets so it would figure with the 2 to 1 ratio.

I have been a jetboil guy for years and decided to go lighter and used a brs stove last year.

I plan on trying some stuff with the esbit stove I bought and see if I can come up with something still light but more efficient I am thinking wings like the gram cracker and a cone wind screen might both help. I will admit the epicurean (sp) has me intrigued.

I use the Esbit Pocket stove for boiling water for dehydrated food packs, and keep one in my emergency kits.  It's a great size for 2 fuel tabs and a Bic lighter inside the stove.
Definitely works better with something to block the wind.

https://www.rei.com/product/653343/esbit-pocket-stove

I have several. as well. I have never used
a gas stove on trail, but I don't hike as much
as I would like.

I like them for the light weight, compactness
and simplicity for preparing freeze dried meals.

And they are affordable enough to have several
scattered through out my gear bags.

John

I had the same thought and tried to like them, but it always ends up being a pain in the ass somehow. I can never get much more than a cup of water to a boil for some reason...and it leaves a nasty soot. 

I have used esbit stoves extensively over the years. They are my go-to cook system.

I use this one -



I want to start off by giving a little tip to those who are new to esbit fuel cubes. The more surface area of the cube exposed, the hotter and faster the burn. The usual way that people burn them is with the bumpy side of the cube up. This is actually the slowest burning and lowest heat output for the fuel tabs. If you stand the cube tall, it will burn much faster and much hotter. Additionally, I am not sure where this idea came from that you HAVE to use just one cube to meet all of your boiling needs. If you want to conserve your fuel tabs, I totally understand that. In that case, throw some twigs and pencil sized sticks in there as well. Problem solved. If you are ok with using 2 cubes, then stand both of them tall with the flat "bottoms" touching and enjoy a very hot burning fire.

Here are a few more quick tips

-If you run out of fuel - the esbit stoves work great as a pot stand in the fire. If you find yourself with the fuel tabs and no esbit stove, you're in luck.. because they still burn just fine.

-Want to use Trioxane bars in the stove? Go for it.

-If you want to keep your esbit stove clean - Cut some tin foil to the rough size of the base and put the esbit cube on that. Then when its done all of the unburnt gunk is left on the tin foil. Super easy cleanup.

-If you want a wind screen - cut the tin foil a little larger and make a small bowl out of it.

-You can fit four 14g esbit cubes and a "peanut" style lighter inside the folding stove, along with a few pre-cut sheets of tin foil.


TLDR; The Esbit folding stove and fuel cube system is extremely versatile, adaptable, and reliable. Do recommend.

Some great tips!  Thanks!

One of the stoves I have is the Esbit CS985HA Cookset, which allows you to use either solid fuel tablets or an included alcohol burner. The alky burner is a copy of the Trangia. Back in April I did a comparison of the two fuels to see which was more efficient. Link here. I tired to be as scientific as possible, hence the multimeter with the thermocouple in the water.

Used to use them in the Alps training with the French and German forces.  Always had a hot meal (just heated up our rations)

CD

Thanks for the tips.  I bought a six pack of the German field stoves 14 years back from Cheaper Than Gold and trioxane milsurp tabs and I've used those just playing around.  They do gunk up, as you mention and work well with smaller pots/cups.  I keep a few in my SHTF boxes, although I now like the Trangia stoves with yellow HEET, since they don't leave any residue on the bottoms of the cooking pots/pans.

Chris

Chris

I used a folding Esbit stove this weekend on an overnighter. Heating a tin of beef tortelli for dinner last night:

Attached File


(The Uco lantern was burning a citronella candle. The gnats were annoying.)

Boiling water for coffee and muesli for breakfast this morning:

Attached File


I didn't need a windscreen since there wasn't any breeze on this trip. I really appreciated the simplicity of the Esbit on this trip.