Esbitt stoves

[spaddock]

Has anybody here tried one of those Esbitt stoves. For the price and weight they look pretty good.

Reading a little bit about them said they would be OK in winter too, something my current cannister stove does not handle well.


S.

 

[Rick]

I used the Esbits along with my Trangia Alcohol stove for a couple of years before I switched to Pepsi can stoves in 2000.
For me they were a great alternative to my whisperlite.

The esbits tabs can get expensive at $.50 each, depending on where you can get them - Plus shipping. (campmor, southsummit.com, etc). I remember getting ready for a week on the trail - I needed only about 20 tablets 1 each in the AM & PM and several backup tabs which weighed in at about 10 ozs - Very light.

I like that they can bring 2 cups to water to a boil in about 8-11 minutes and that they are very stable and you can fly with them. Also, you can put out partial tabs and save them for later.

However, I don't think they perform that well in the winter. You might get a cup of water boiled, but when you want hot water fast and more than a cup, you really need a stove designed for it. I think the heat output of the Esbit would have a hard time trying to overcome the heat loss in extreme cold.

I would absolutely avoid the Coughlins or any other tablet. The heat output is miserable - You need about a 3:1 ratio of other tabs to compete with Esbit, also the others reek and they leave a sticky residue on your stove.

FWIW, I really like my pepsi can stove - when traveling, I pack a candle with it and it becomes a newfangled candle holder. In addition, any 7-11 stryle quicky mart carreis the yellow bottles of Heet, which is perfect for Running the stove on.

Good luck
Rick

 

[peakbagger]

An esbit stove is not going to give anywhere near the performance of a cannister stove. It was the stove to use a couple of years ago by AT thruhikers, but the alcohol fueled tin can style stove won out for lightweight backpacking.

The previously mentioned 8 to 11 minutes to boil 2 cups is a long time to wait for cold weather use. The stove doesnt scale up very well so if you need four cups you are looking at more than 20 minutes.

IMHO, you probably want to switch to a white gas based stove for cold weather use for a hotter flame and more capacity.

 

[Gris]

i have used three diff types (esbit, alcohol, white gas)

hated the esbit 'cause the tabs don't last long and the stove ends up stinking after a use or two and the odor won't come out, but it did it's job since was only backup in a foreign country where we couldn't handily find fuel ...

pepsi can alcohol sure is featherweight and compact - a minimalist's dream (better for heating/boiling water than cooking) if wind not a factor...

SVEA 123 white gas stove wieghs 16 oz but is fast, simple, foolproof and puts out some power yet simmers too. best $ i ever paid for any camping gear...

never tried butane, not sure why...

 

[Barry Sr]

I use my 123 in winter and a lightweight alcohol home made one in the warmer months. I agree that when spending my dollars, the 123 is the best bang for my buck ever.

 

[ripple]

I use the esbit wingstove for all 3 season camping. They are great if you are just boiling water. The stove is 1.5 oz and each tab is 0.5 oz. Pretty darn light. A windscreen is a must when using esbit. Over nighter and 2 nighters are ideal for esbit stoves. The residue the tabs leave behind wipes out easily with a piece of a paper towel while it is still warm, however they do continue to stink. My soda can alcohol stoves collect dust. In the winter I wouldn't even consider using esbit stove. Winter calls for white gas. It would be nearly impossible to melt enough snow for water using esbit.

 

[jbrown]

I used my homemade version of the Esbit stove on my last few hikes. Frankly, I wasn't thrilled with it. I'm going back to the good old pepsi can stove. I'm also going to make my next "major" backpacking purchase an MSR Pocketrocket. 3 oz., can't beat that for a canister stove under 50 bucks.

 

[sardog1]

35 years on the SVEA 123 and it still roars like a sumbitch, even at -30. ("Pump? Pump? We don't need no stinkin' pump!" A candle or a match or two under the tank for priming and you're good to go.) I'm glad to hear there are others who recognize its (inner) beauty.

Wife's Whisperlite (which I bought for her) comes along only when I want to practice with it. (I set my sock on fire one time with a dropped match while trying to light it as I hovered over it. Just imagine the movements that were necessary to keep the exposed fuel from igniting while my foot burned ...... )

Butane and its pressurized cousins are convenient, but only three-season, fuels. When you need them most in cold temps is when they will fail. Alcohol is for summertime thru-hikers and fondu cookers. Esbit is already evaluated below. When you absolutely, positively gotta have hot water in winter conditions, it's some form of gasoline or you're the one who's cooked.

 

[Mad Townie]

Alas, my Svea turned into a rocket engine one January at Avery Col, then exploded when I tossed it into the snowbank.

My current stove is a Whisperlite, hot and reliable. Tried my daughter's Pocket Rocket last weekend but was unimpressed. It took an awful long time to boil a pot of water, and we burned through a small canister doing dinner and breakfast for 3. Until I need something overseas, the Whisperlite will be my choice.

That said, the Pepsi can stoves intrigue me. Could someone please post the link to the construction directions again?

 

[spaddock]

Pepsi can instructions are here:
http://www.pcthiker.com/pages/gear/pepsistoveinstruct.shtml

Not sure what you were doing with the Pocket Rocket, that's my cannister stove of choice and except in winter or high winds I can boil a litre of water in 4 minutes.


S.

 

[Barry Sr]

Try this site as well for many choices.

Hiking HQ Stove page

 

[Mad Townie]

Thanks, spaddock & Barry Sr.

The reason we used so much fuel is that we "cook", not just boil. So think one dehydrated meal, one mashed potatoes, one Lipton and tea for supper for 3!

 

[rambler]

For a week-end trip it is hard to beat the convenience and weight of the pepsi can stove. However, for a 10 day hike, carying 10 oz. of alcohol is equal in weight to a small can of gas fuel and the sno-peak stove. With a piezo lighter, simmer/flame adjustment options, the gas cannister stove comes out on top- weight and ease of use.

 

[dave.m]

My pref for winter is white gas stoves, no question. However, I think they require the most amount of practice to use reliably. My general advice is to make a cup of tea every day for a month on a stove before commiting to a real backcountry situation with it.

I too treasure my Svea 123 as my most beloved piece of equipment. I've had it turn into a blow torch once when I over heated it. Colin Fletcher is right -- having the so-called safety valve blow and ignite is only slighly less scary than having the stove blow up. But, it was easy to shut the stove down and a pretty controlalbe situation.

Was reminded this past week at Crag why I *hate* MSR stoves as I was up there and recounted to somebody that I have removed MSR stoves that were burning from the fuel pumps and melting down fast!! Not once. But twice I've had to do this.

If somebody like the original poster was looking for better cold weather performance than a cannister without going the whole way with white gas, another alternative would be the newer style "blended" canisters. From what I've observed (not a user, just watching over shoulders) they seem like a significant improvement over those blue GAZ stoves which whimper at temps close to freezing.

 

[Rick]

The reason we used so much fuel is that we "cook", not just boil.

Mad Townie,
you can easily conserve fuel by using (you can make or buy a pot cozy. Many winter campers use them to keep pots of water pipin'' hot.

The concept of the cozy allows you to cook your food in water that is kept very hot, while you either turn your stove off or use it for another pot.

The first ones I made were from an old ensolite foam pad, but I got smart long ago (well not that smart and not that long ago) and started making them from Reflectix.

At the bottom of this page is a picture of a reflectix cozy. I used to be able to get Reflectix in a 2x4 single sheet for a couple of bucks back in the early nineties at Chase-Pitkin in Rochester.

I finally needed some more about 3 years ago and found that all you can buy (Home Depot, Lowes) is a big 25 foot roll for around 16- I picked one up - But it only takes very little material to make a cozy.

If there are any other backpackers nearby, maybe you could all chip in for a roll. I ended up using my extra material for an AMC workshop I gave on making Pepsi can stoves.


Reflectix Pot Cozy