On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 7:16 AM, todd obrien<mtoddobrien@
> Looking for thoughts/opinions on the pros and cons of Esbit vs Alcohol
> stoves.
I've used both, but prefer Esbit for **solo** trips (or trips where I
only have to cook for myself). If you wipe the bottom of the pot off
as soon as you take it off the heat (with your bandanna) the gunk
comes off relatively easily. And a touch of scrubbing afterwords with
sand (or I want 'till I get home and use a scrubby pad) does the
trick.
What I don't like about Alcohol stoves is the mess. I know that is
often a compliant about Esbit, but I find pouring and dispensing the
alcohol very annoying and I always end up spilling a bit on myself,
the ground, or both. And getting the correct amount can be a pain.
Storage and transport of the alcohol fuel is far more annoying than
Esbit. As the bottles are often too awkward to fit inside your pot
which means they have to be stored separately, etc. FWIW, I have yet
to notice the smell with Esbit. Maybe my nose is broken, but it
doesn't bother me.
That said, if I was going on a thru-hike I'd take alcohol as it is far
more available. But for 2-7 day **solo** 3-season trips. I take
Esbit. When I hike with my kids, I take a canister stove, though I
recently purchased a 2c Caldera stove for my next family outing that I
haven't used yet.
For a longer **solo** trip _without_ resupply take a canister stove.
Here are a few of my Esbit "tricks". I use a Ti 600ml cup with foil
lid (simple Al foil double or quad folded into a ~4" square) and the
BPL Esbit stove and Ti foil wind break. I can fit all of that, a
lighter, bandanna and 3-4 Esbit tablets inside the cup which I carry
in its "mesh" bag.
1. Get wind screen ready and find a flat, and somewhat protected,
surface for stove.
2. Pour water into cup (I only use 8-12oz of water for my dinners <-- key point)
3. Light Esbit give it a second for the flame to cover the entire cube's surface
4. Place cup on stove and cover with foil lid (put stick or small rock on lid).
5. Start timer on watch. At 9m I remove the cup (water may not be
boiling, but it is close enough), and take the foil lid and snuff out
the Esbit.
6. Pour water into food pouch, close pouch, put pouch into cup. Wipe
bottom of cup with bandanna. Wait for food to "cook".
7. Once the Esbit has cooled (happens while I wait for my food to
finish cooking), wrap it completely in foil lid. It can be used for
the next day's meal. So, 1 Esbit cube is good for 2 meals (in which I
boil or nearly boil 8-12oz of water).
8. Eat.
9. Put everything back into mesh bag.
PS. in the summer of 2006, I flew from OH to WA with all of my
backpacking gear in carry-on except for a lighter (which I purchased
at the destination airport), tarp stakes and trekking poles. The
later two I checked in a makeshift cardboard "tube". My carry-on
included 2-3 Esbit tablets. YMMV.
--
Yellow Jacket
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