[Carla]

Hi everybody! Has anybody here used an Esbit and what do you think about them? They are so light and I like the fuel cube idea. Lookin' to lighten up my load... Any thoughts are appreciated!

[Schenk]

Slooooooooow...better figure on just making tea.

[Randito]

http://sectionhiker.com/ultralight-backpacking-stove-guide/

[DigitalJanitor]

Real slow, dirty, but flexible because you can always stuff little twigs, pine cones, etc. in there. I carry a small Esbit kit with me when skiing in the winter. Reasoning: Starting a fire in an emergency when everything is wet/snowed under is an ordeal, and that's when one would benefit most from melting snow and taking in hot liquid. I figure I could get things started w/ a tab and then rummage under/in trees for whatever dry-ish wood I could find for more fuel to keep things going if I had to stick it out overnight. I have a pile of tablets with the kit though on the horrible chance that I busted a leg or something and couldn't really move much farther. Most of the time the Esbit kit lives in my truck. Nice to have 'just in case' and nothing to break or leak or otherwise go haywire between 100°, -15°, getting rattled all over, etc.

[Carla]

Thanks for the responses and thanks for the link, RandyHiker! The alcohol stoves make me nervous 'cuz I'm clumsy as hell in camp, but they do look lightweight and cool. I don't mind that Esbits are slow, and won't need much output. Are they easy to light? I also like that you can plan on the number of cubes you will need for a trip. That means I won't be carrying fuel for no reason. The oily residue doesn't sound fun though.

[Randito]

Typically 1 Esbit tablet will heat 1 pint of water to something like boiling -- or at least hot enough to make coffee or rehydrate freeze dried food. Wind or cold can interfere. I personally wouldn't try cooking anything more elaborate than boiling water or heating canned food. Esbit stoves are very cheap, but the tablets themselves are somewhat expensive -- $8 for 12 tablets. Compare that to denatured alcohol at $8 per quart (32 oz) -- with each 1oz of alcohol providing a similar amount of cooking as one tablet. One very nice aspect of alcohol stoves is how quiet they are -- I've done a lot of cooking with white gas "roarer" burner stoves and for summer hiking the fact that alcohol takes twice as long to bring water to a boil is more than made up for by the peace and quiet. All stoves can be intimidating at first -- I recommend trying them out at home / in the city before depending on them in the backcountry. Just do it far enough away from the house that you won't be homeless if you really screw up. A park with a picnic area and charcoal grills would be a pretty safe place to experiment with a stove for the 1st time. Making your own alcohol stove from a cat food can is fairly basic DIY project. http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/#Designs

[DigitalJanitor]

We have a MiniTattoo OH stove that is pretty rad because it is TINY, eliminates all the 'spilled/contaminated fuel' worry, doesn't have anything really to break, works stupid simple every time, and uses such minimal fuel that we can easily carry enough for quite a few days easily even when boiling water twice a day. Plus the fuel doubles as pitch remover and wound cleaner if you need it, lol. It is slower than other stoves. Given the advantages, we'll gladly live with that. However, the guy that makes them hasn't been available lately and they're all sold out, and we'd like to have a spare, so we're actually getting TWO similar stoves delivered by the end of the week and will be conducting experiments. One is from Tato gear and the other is from Minibull. Stay tuned!

[grannyhiker]

Another fuel that is generally not allowed where there are fire bans. The USDA seems fixated on stoves with on/off switches, even though the esbit cube (unlike alcohol) can be blown out

[DigitalJanitor]

[AlpineRose]

If you are a contemplative sort, the Esbit will be perfect for you.

[Randito]

[HitTheTrail]

I used Esbit and beer can type alcohol stoves for several years and finally ditched them all. Esbit fuel is lite weight but sort of messy and very impacted by wind. Alcohol is a little better but is liquid fuel and almost as heavy as a canister. Now I always just carry a Snow Peak 1 lite max and some kind of titanium cup.

[Snowbrushy]

[Riverside Laker]

I used Esbit for a year, but switched to alcohol. Much less smelly and less black junk on the bottom of my pot. Esbit is nice if you need to mail it, say for a very long trip. That's what I used it for.

[Snowbrushy]

My advice to the OP is to use the stove and see if you like it. Some things are very personal and defy reason for liking and loving. If you like the stove then OWN IT. In your heart. I own gear that others might laugh at but it's what I love. And that's what I tell them if they ask. PS The new fuel doesn't smell either.