Esbit Stove?

[illininagel]

I'm reading "White Blaze Fever" by William Schuette. Throughout the book, he provides Hiker Tips. On page 51, he writes the following:

Hiker Tip: I used an Esbit stove that was very small and lightweight and heated water in a small .85 liter Titanium Kettle to cook my dehydrated meals. I usually used one fuel tab per meal. The tabs were very light but difficult to find on the trail, hence the use of maildrops.

It appears that these fuel tabs weigh 0.5 ounces and cost about 50 cents each---and yield about 15 minutes of cooking time. The stove is very light (3.75 ounces) and runs about $10. The way I'm looking at this is that I could carry one pound of fuel tabs (32 tabs) and that would provide for 8 hours of cooking time. Apparently, you can put these tabs out and save them for later if you are not using the entire amount at one time.

Is this a practical alternative? I realize that the tabs are not readily available along the AT, but it seems that I could carry enough of them to make infrequent mail drops work.

[hungryhowie]

Some of my friends used Esbit and I contemplated using it for a while. The main problem is availability. Most outfitters along the trail will have esbit tabs, but most other townstops won't. I used alcohol and liked it better. It works just as fast, is much more readily available, cheaper, and burns cleaner. Alcohol (with many stove types, anyway) has the ability to use exactly how much fuel is needed and not a "prescribed" amount as well.

It's certainly an alternative, and maybe someone here who actually uses it can give you a more postive perspective, but I chose alcohol and have been very happy.

-Howie

[Former Easy]

I've used both alcohol and esbit. I found 20 esbit tabs in a hiker box and took them to try. I used them for my coffee in the morning and the alcohol in the evening for my meal. They do not burn clean as Howie mentioned and will carbon your pot. But this is only a cosmectic thing and if your not worried what your pot looks like its no big deal. I also use the MSR .85 liter Titanium pot and the esbit took longer to come to a boil than the alcohol and when boiling a full pot for coffee, the esbit block will just about be finisihed once the boil starts. I do realize that if your cooking a meal you won't have to boil a whole pot so you'll probably get more time out of one block. I also didn't use a esbit stove, since I found the blocks in a hiker box and there was no esbit stove in site. However I don't see the need for it, I just put the esbit block in the dirt and put a few stones around it to stand my pot on and this worked fine. Im seriously considering going to esbit on my next hike since there lighter, but I don't like alot of maildrops either. The thing with denatured alcohol that was a pain, was that you would have to buy a full container in some places and wouldn't use it all to fill your alcohol container, which in my case was 8 oz.

Also esbit blocks are excellent to get a fire going, especially if you have to use damp wood.

[Lilred]

I use a pepsi can stove and carry a half dozen esbit tabs for back up fuel/fire starter. I just turn the can stove upside down and put the esbit on that. 16oz. of alcohol lasts five days easily. I don't like how the esbits make the bottom of the pot sooty. It gets soot on everything.

[WalkinHome]

I used Esbit exclusively on my 2000 thru hike. It is a bit pricey, and sometimes hard to find. More and more outfitters on the trail were starting to carry it but I seem to notice the trend going the other way now. I have been told that the Esbit knock-offs (Coleman?) are less efficient. They burn fairly clean, little or no fumes and can be blown out to save pieces. I kept myself supplied with maildrops and a bump box. They can be mailed but must be marked Surface Delivery Only and ORM-D. I don't really have any complaints about Esbit (very convenient) but am anxious to try the alcohol method on my next serious hike. I ordered all of my Esbit at once from Campmor. Be safe

[Skyline]

I've been using Esbit since '98, having tried just about every other type of cooking method. It works great for me, but I got a large supply in '98 as part of a huge group bulk purchase I organized via AT-L. Wound up costing about 25 cents per tab plus shipping costs. If you're going to do maildrops ANYWAY, Esbit is definitely worthy of consideration. But if you plan on resupplying by town purchases, probably not. You can also keep a decent supply in a bounce box.

I bet someone here could do the same and organize a group purchase. From past experience, I'd recommend setting a strict deadline for getting in on the purchase, and getting everyone's $$ in advance. I'd also recommend checking current shipping rates and asking for enough upfront from anyone wanting to participate -- to cover costs.

I have no clue if this info is still accurate, but here is where I placed the order:
MPI Outdoors
85 Flagship Drive
Suite D
North Andover, MA 01845
attention: Susan

Their phone number is/was: 978-685-2700

Each box of Esbit fuel tabs includes 12 fuel tabs. In 1998, MPI packaged 12 boxes to a case for $36.00, making the cost for an individual box $3.00. This was about half of retail in 1998. They did want to deal with a company, not an individual, so I did this via my business. There was significant lag time between the placement of our group order and actual delivery, so early starters might already be shut out if someone wanted to get this going right now.

Even if this info is outdated it's at least a place to start. The product itself I think comes from Germany, and MPI is/was the American distributor.

The round hexamine tabs (Coughlin's is one brand) sold in some sporting goods stores are larger, slightly heavier, do not burn as hot, and are supposedly more toxic. They are cheaper, tho, but if you need three of theirs to do the job of one Esbit maybe not.

To get efficiency when cooking with Esbit tabs you should use a low windscreen. Otherwise double your cooking time, which means for some meals one tab's not gonna do the job. YMMV.