Backpacking Discussions

I've always pretty much been an alcohol stove guy but when my brother gave me his old esbit stove, I thought I'd try it out. I had to laugh when I opened the package because I've heard people say ESBIT tabs smell like fish and they are absolutely right! I think if I'm going to use these I'll have to make sure and carry a ziplock for the left over packaging to keep the smell away. I wonder if it attracts critters?

I've also heard that they leave a lot of residue, but I disagreed. Just a tiny waxy blob where the tab had been. The bottom of the pot got some smut on it that came off pretty easily. The size was just about right for the amount of water I needed to boil.

All in all I liked it better than I expected. I like the fact that the "fuss factor" was so small, just light and sit back. The cost is more than alcohol but there is no concern about measuring or spilling. And it removes the concern about accidentally crushing your can stove.

But those are my thoughts after one outing. Anyone want to weigh in on downsides or upsides I haven't thought about?

Esbit has it's applications.
It works well to bring 16 oz of water to boiling.
That's about all you do with it.

I own one that I use one quick and simple trips, but I bring my whisperlite with me on longer trips that I plan on making more fancy meals (and when I say fancy I mean instant potatoes compared to top ramen.. ). Another thing is that if it is windy at all it is hard to get the tab burning and going, and if it's cold, then you want a windscreen.

I went on a overnighter with a friend who used an esbit stove and wow it stunk and we couldn't get it started because there was a tiny bit of wind. I'm not a fan. I'll stick with my MSR Pocket Rocket thank you very much.

I used it this my esbit stove this weekend for the second time. It worked great overall. When you open the individual packaged tablet it stinks so bad so you don't want to touch it with your hands, so that is a little hard. There was some wind were I was camped, but I had a little aluminum homemade windscreen and it worked so much better with that. It made my pint of water boil at 10,000 feet on just one tab so I'm happy. There was some residue on the bottom of the pot though so I made sure to keep it in it's own sack. The stove though just had some liquid that I poured out and it was pretty much clean! I love esbit!

I've used my esbit a few times now, and I've decided that I like it. I've tried some other stoves, but for boiling water for just one or two people, I like this one. I use some tin as a wind screen and it works fine (it actually boils the water much quiker with it). It does make a bit of a mess, but nothing to hard to clean up. And I can be a man and just handle the smell ha ha