Just got my Esbit Stove

“Just got my Campmor box last night:)
I decided to see how well an Esbit Stove works and the following are the resutls of my test:

2 cups of tap water
hot water in 3.5 minutes
boil in 6 minutes
burn out at 13.5 minutes.

Ups- Hot, light, nontoxic, easy to light.

Downs- A little soot on pot, smells funky kinda like burned hair, doesn't simmer

I like it about as much as the Alcohol so it's gonna be a trade off. I do like the simmer modification on my alcohol stove so the pepsi can stove has a little more favor.


Note to self: do not burn the Esbit stove indoors. Wife hates smell and blames head ache on you.”

“I've never used an alochol sstove so I can't compare them but I do like the Esbit a lot. I just boil water for my meals so it does everything I need it to do. Light weight & simple. My Butane stove is great too but it don't work as well when it's real cold.”

“I hike solo a lot and carry my Esbit with me because I only need hot water every once in a while. I really like it. I took a coffee can and cut it in half - using it for a wind screen. It only weighs about 3oz. My Esbit and fuel fit into my cooking pot and my pot fits into the coffee can. It's a neat little package that's small and fits nicely into my food bag. I've noticed that it tends to rust a little if I get it damp, so I just spray it down with WD-40 every once in a while. Enjoy your Esbit!”

“thinair, are you saying you burn a whole fuel tablet in 13 minutes!?! I thought they lasted a while. Like several uses.

I was about to order one but if it isn't any better than a pepsi can stove, forget it!”

“Yep, one tablet lasts 12-14 minutes.”

“The Pepsi can stoves I've seen look kinda flimsey.”

“It wasn't the flimsy-ness, it was my brother drinking coffee and eating a hot meal while I had to pour more alcohol in and re-light!

Give me white gas, baby! I'm not afraid to catch on fire!”

“well if your cooking for one the pepsi is cool”

“he was using a Coleman white gas stove”

“My pepsi can stove can simmer for 25-30 minutes on 1.75 oz of fuel. The esbit is good to boil water. You would only need half a cube to get 2 cups to boil and at .5 oz per cube, thats pretty good.”

“How did you do the holes in the pepsi can stove?”

“I caught myself on fire with White Gas. Since then I've used Butane, Esbit, & Zip stoves. I avoid White Gas. When I do the AT I'll use Butane during the warm days and Esbit when it's cold.”

“Remember Hobbs cabin with the white gas? LOL
it was enough to just throw the gas in there they had to follow it with a match!”

“I just followed the directions that can be found on www.pcthiker.com

What I added makes all the difference. I got a can and a lid that the pepsi can stove fits into. I cut the can down to the level of the burner holes. The lid slides on and off the can and can regulate the amount of flame produced.”

“I use an esbit when going light and solo. The big benefit in my opinion is that there is no fuel to spill, in addition to the weight. Its expensive when compared to other fuels on a per use base but its not a biggy. It cooks a little slow but I now just fire it up when I get to camp,by the time I have changed socks and unpacked a bit (5-10) my water is ready and dinner is done.”

“It's a toy”

“Junk !!!!!!”

“One Mans Junk, anothers prize possession....”

“If an Esbit is slow as an alcohol stove I'll never use one. When I'm hungry I wanna eat now. I hate waiting on a slow alcohol (or esbit) stove while everyone else with white gas is already eating.”

“I don't know, I've had my food ready with my alcohol stove by the time those with a wite gas stove have theirs out of the bag, set up, and lit.”

“5-10 minutes to wait to eat isnt much. Whats the rush anyway???”

“I have been using the esbit for a couple of years now. I use a foil screen <1 oz. I use a paper clip to add a foil tail to the windscreen--I put a rock on the tail so it does not blow away. I bought the boy scout version which weighs 1.5oz. ($6.50 I think) versus 3 oz for the esbit.

It can be hard to light the fuel cubes. I find that if I hold my lighter and the cube down inside of the wind screen it catches easily. With really cold water at altitude you may need more than one tab to boil the water. If you have filtered or treated the water it will work just fine in freeze dried food and coffee if it is just real hot.

I don't just love the thing but I will keep on using it because the fuel is safe and it sure is light. BTW the fuel makes a great fire starter should you need one.”

“I got to agree with you MaryPhyl on that one - I've started carrying a small bottle of alcohol to get my zip going fast - works much better than the old technique of petroleum jelly cotton balls.”

“I got the esbit when I first started doing BP trips again. I was just going to use it until I decided on which stove to buy. Now I don't think I will buy another stove. All I do is boil water anyway, it works great for that.
Found that it is very important to have a good wind screen for it. I just made one out of foil. Stove, fuel,spoon, soap, lighter and windscreen all fit in my pot. Nice small package.”

“It irritates me when people express their opinions as absolute truths.

I don't think of my Esbit as a toy. In My Opinion, it is one of the most refined pieces of gear I own. Simplicity Incarnate.

I like the pop can stoves, but (for me) for more than 3 or 4 days, the Esbit fuel is lighter. And, I may be a klutz, but I've spilled white gas and alcohol.

I'm still looking for a good deal on a case of Esbit tabs - anyone?”

“i just got me a new esbit.

i found it in some truck's lockbox.”

“I haven't seen anything better than $6.00 for 12 cubes.”

“Seems like I paid about $55 for a case--I'll look around.”

“People aren't always going to like something you use. Get over it. I "played" with the Esbit for a while but found it to be less than what people promoted it as. It was a fun but short infatuation.

$6.00 for a box of 12 cubes isn't very cost effective. For $6 in white gas, I can easily go all year.”

“I don't care if you dislike the Esbit in the least. You missed my point. I didn't say it was the best stove, period. You said it was a toy, period. It would have been constructive if you had said what you didn't like.”

“Unless I have been given some mandate I haven't heard about, I assume that anything that I have to say is my personal opinion unless I have stated otherwise.”

“LMAO @ radagast!”

“Try Cabelas for the fuel tabs.”

“I tried Cabelas but they tried to sock me with the hazardous shipping fees.

Even as much as like my Pocket Rocket, the good old Esbit will be coming back out this summer. Simple, quiet, cheap, UNBREAKABLE, and I just love saying Esbit...Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit! Esbit!”

“LS! GS!

Can't we all just get along????”

“I don't know. It seems that the standard TT response of getting panties in a bunch everytime someone disagrees with them is too prevalent. Lots of fragile ego's here, and all over a toy this time too! LOL!”

“LOL nig! I shore likes my EsbitEsbitEsbitEsbit too!

"Simplicity Incarnate" is just beautiful LS. But I shore cain't agree with ya on the weight of alcy vs tabs on more'na weekend. More'n 2 nights out, I MUCH prefer the weight, use, and packability of the alcy/popstove (of course in non-winter temps and at regular elevations). I like my Esbit best for 1 and 2 nighters.

Reckon' I ought to read back and see just who got'em one'a these dandy little thangs...”

“You actually don't wait that long before you eat. Mostly it depends on your cooking style really. If all you need is very hot water (not even the boiling kind of very hot water), then as soon as you arrive at your campsite and pick ya a spot, break out your esbit/alcy stove and start heating a quart of treated water. Water's hot and ready for ya before you even have your tent up and clothes changed. Like Birch said. You'll be eating about the time most others are prepping theirs.”

“I find that the Esbit works best for making a hot drink on dayhikes. It's a good little emergency stove.”

“Naked Ape you could be right about the weight of alcohol vs. Esbit. The alcohol stoves I made might not be the most efficient. I could never find a drill bit as small as I wanted, and I just found out recently that ethanol or denatured alcohol were better than the methanol I waws using.

How much alky do you need to boil a cup or two for 5 minutes? That's about how long an Esbit burns, and I think they weigh 0.5 oz.

You use the popcan version?”

“Gear Slut: Have a Terrific day!”

“Thanks, right back at ya!”

“i agree with gear slut. beercan stoves and esbits are fun little toys. not too much else.”

“Rad, you ignorant slut...



(Just kidding)

Actually, all my gear is/are fun little toys; that's why I use 'em. It's not like I'm on a moon mission.”

“Ape does bring up a good point that the effectiveness of the Esbit can depend on your food. I like to use boiling water in the freezer bag and it is very well suited to that. If I was going to go all out and actually COOK I could see how it could be frustrating.”

“What le Subtil said! Toys all of 'em (this is a hobby after all), and we're all just playin' anyway.”

“I'll agree with that.”

“my toys are better.”

“Maybe, but are they more expensive?”

“he who dies with the most toys wins.”